FMC appalled by the biggest threat to outdoor recreation in 40 years

The Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand (FMC) is calling for three sections of the Conservation Amendment Bill to be dropped entirely.

“Right now, DOC holds our conservation land in trust for all New Zealanders,” FMC President Allan Brent says.

“This Bill starts to dismantle that. It opens the backcountry to commercial development, concentrates decisions in ministerial hands, and makes it far easier to sell land off permanently. New Zealanders never agreed to that trade-off.”

The Bill changes the legal basis on which that land is managed, and not in the public’s favour.

Buried in the Bill is a purpose change that was never publicly consulted on. The government is requiring economic use and development of conservation land to be enabled “to the greatest extent practicable.”

“That runs through every level from national policy down to decisions about specific rivers, forests and mountains.

“The Bill also guts public accountability, stripping the New Zealand Conservation Authority of its power to approve how National Parks are managed and replacing it with ministerial discretion.”

It also prevents consideration of recreation when selling or swapping conservation land.

“A valley floor trampers have used for generations, a river corridor that’s been hunted for decades, none of that counts,” says Allan Brent.

FMC is urging the Environment Select Committee to remove the new economic development purpose from the Bill, restore the New Zealand Conservation Authority’s approval role, require recreational values to be considered before any conservation land can be disposed of, and restore the disposal threshold to land with no or very low conservation value.

Submissions on the Bill close 2 July 2026.

Image: Dan Kitching