THIS IS SO IMPORTANT TO OUR KIWI WAY OF LIFE …ATTENTION ALL 4WD CLUBS, JET BOATERS, HUNTERS, FISHERS and OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS!
So important The Government has just introduced the Conservation Amendment Bill, and it is the biggest threat to our traditional Kiwi outdoor heritage in 40 years. They are calling it “cutting red tape,” but what it really does is pave the way to commercialise and privatise our public conservation land.
If we don’t stand up right now, the open, unrestricted backcountry access we’ve enjoyed for generations could be gone for good.
How this Bill disadvantages everyday Kiwi outdoor lovers:
You lose your voice: It removes your automatic right to a public hearing.
If a big corporate wants to lock up your favorite river access or 4WD track, whether you get to object face-to-face is now entirely up to the Minister’s discretion.
60-Year private leases: It allows the Minister to grant exclusive commercial leases for up to 60 years!
That means corporate eco-lodges, private tourism ventures, or infrastructure projects can lock everyday Kiwis out of public valleys and tracks for generations.
60% of our conservation land could be swapped or sold: While National Parks are “safe,” the other 60%, including our stewardship lands, forest parks, and river margins where most of our 4WD tracks, hunting grounds, and boat launches sit is being opened up for easier land swaps and disposals.
Commercial priority over recreation: DOC will now have a legal mandate to actively look for and “enable economic opportunities.”
Volunteer clubs who maintain huts and tracks will be pushed to the back of the queue behind cashed-up commercial operators.
New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party is encouraging EVERYONE to have their say.
Note:- There are two processes …the Conservation Amendment Bill AND the Conservation Management Strategy..Ideally make you views known on both.
This is our land. We cannot let them hand the keys over to corporate interests and shut Kiwis out of their own backyard.
Submissions close Thursday, July 2, 2026. It only takes a few minutes to lodge your objection and demand that public access to the outdoors remains free, open, and protected for all New Zealanders.
https://www3.parliament.nz/…/54SCEN…/CreateSubmission… also Join us and support to fight for you this election! https://nzofp.co.nz/join-the-nzofp at Muddy Waters Hunting NZ New Zealand Pighunting Association fijiannz_4x4 4WD South Explorers Club Jet Boating New Zealand New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc Taihape Deer Stalkers Association
This bill dovetails with Bishop and Jones Fast Track Approval bill – it’s about exploitation of the public’s land and resources. Shame on Bishop and Jones and useless Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka.
Why isn’t Potaka speaking up?
Potaka has to be one of the worst conservation ministers ever and that’s saying lots because over decades we’ve had very poor ones.
This calls for a mass response.
It’s Takaro Lodge all over again. And look at what a disaster that was…
It saddens me that supposedly intelligent people are happy to put there name to a process that goes against what the majority of Kiwis don’t want, but it is also frustrating that these same people who use the outdoors for recreational activities, don’t speak up, and when it gone, these same people start pointing fingers
There’s a lot of heat in this discussion. The real issue isn’t whether conservation land is being sold, but how it may be used and how those decisions are made. Access, consultation, and long-term balance are the parts worth focusing on.
Access has always depended on more than ownership. Tracks, rivers, and backcountry areas remain public, but how they are managed and who gets priority of access seems to be changing over time.
The current discussion is less about losing land outright and more about how access, recreation, and commercial activity are balanced. That balance deserves careful attention, particularly where decisions are more centralised.
Public concern around access is understandable, but it helps to separate headline claims from what is actually changing. Conservation land is unlikely to be “sold off” in the way suggested, however there are real shifts underway in how it may be used and how decisions are made.
The balance between protection, access, and commercial activity is not fixed, and changes to decision-making and consultation processes matter over time. Public land remains public, but how it can be used - and who has influence over those decisions - is where the focus should sit.