Outdoor Recreation Sector Submits on the Conservation Amendment Bill
Federated Mountain Clubs, the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association, and eight other outdoor recreation organisations have submitted jointly on the Conservation Amendment Bill, representing the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who tramp, hunt, climb, kayak, cave, mountain bike, and explore our public conservation land.
While we support the Bill’s overhaul of the concessions regime and the simplification of conservation planning, we have serious concerns about the provisions that really matter in this Bill. Those that amount to bedrock agreements on what public conservation land is for, who it is for, and who decides.
Our key concerns and recommendations are:
- The disposal and exchange proposals must include a mandatory public process and explicit protection of recreational access. The scope of the Minister’s withdrawal on this issue remains unclear and seems unlikely to address core recreation concerns relating to access.
- Section 6(ea) must be withdrawn and redrafted. A great deal of economic activity on conservation land is already enabled under current law. Elevating economic development above the recreational birthright of everyday New Zealanders is not something our community considers up for discussion.
- We have reservations about concentrating decision-making in the Minister. Ministers turn over frequently, while conservation decisions have consequences that last generations. While we acknowledge frustrations with current conservation decision-making processes, concentrating power in the Minister is not the solution — greater thought needs to be given to which decisions are made at which level, and by whom.
Public conservation land belongs to all New Zealanders. Decisions about what it is for deserve a proper, durable, national discussion. You can read the full submission here.
This submission was made on behalf of: Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand (FMC), Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust (ACAT), New Zealand Deerstalkers Association (NZDA), Mountain Bike New Zealand (MTBNZ), New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC), New Zealand Canyoning Association (NZCA), New Zealand Speleological Society (NZSS), New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (NZHGPA), Whitewater NZ (WWNZ), and Packrafting Association of NZ (PRANZ).
You can make a submission on the Conservation Amendment Bill until July 13th, 2026.
Image: Crooked Spurs Hut, Malcolm Carr
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