Forest & Bird’s maps of public conservation land made a major impact. They showed that, under the Conservation Amendment Bill as introduced, 60% of public conservation land could potentially become easier to sell or exchange, while 100% of public conservation land would be subject to a new requirement for DOC to enable economic development to the greatest extent practicable.
After a huge public response, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced that the Government would remove the bill’s disposal and exchange provisions. In this episode, Forest & Bird regional conservation manager Nicky Snoyink explains why that is a significant win — but not the end of the story.
Nicky talks through Forest & Bird’s remaining concerns with the bill, including the proposed new economic development function now known as '“the Shane Jones clause”, the weakening of Section 4 Treaty obligations, the reduction of decision-making roles for the New Zealand Conservation Authority and conservation boards, and the risk of new amenity areas becoming commercial nodes inside public conservation land. She also breaks down how these changes would work in practice, what they could mean for different types of conservation land, and why they matter for the future of conservation law in Aotearoa.
This episode also includes a lot of practical, accessible information for anyone thinking about making a submission on the bill — including what to focus on, how to frame concerns, and why public input still matters at this stage of the process.
Her central message is clear: public pressure has already made a difference, but the bill still needs major changes if conservation is to remain at the heart of conservation law.
Watch the video above or listen to the audio here or on most podcast platforms:
