Fight the Conservation Amendment Bill

What is happening, and what is at stake?

The Government is proposing the biggest change to Conservation legislation of the last 40 years.

The full Conservation Ammendment Bill proposal is lengthy and complex, but some of the main points are new rules that:

prioritises economic benefit over conservation and recreation values,
makes it much easier to sell up to 60% of our public conservation lands to private buyers (which includes lots of top canyons), and
significantly reduces the ability of the public to have a say on controversial proposals.

Like many recent changes, it is happening quickly and quietly – we only have until 2 July to make a submission, so PLEASE do a little homework and make a submission to oppose the Bill.

What canyons are under threat?

Here’s a short list of 3 & 4-star canyons which could be SOLD under this proposal.

Griffin
Dickson
Red Granite
Whirling Water
Bartrum
The General
Eagles Nest
Bedford
Canyon Creek

Basically, any canyon within our Conservation Parks, Stewardship Land, and other Reserves becomes much more vulnerable to sale. We haven’t calculated them all , but its likely in the dozens or hundreds…

National Parks and Wilderness Areas are off the table – for now….

What can I do to help?

Make a personalised submission before 2 July.
Share this page, engage on social media, get people talking about it, and then tell them what they can do.
Support organisations who fight for issues like these (join up or donate)
VOTE in the General Election for a party that will protect our canyons.

Can I just sign a petition?

Its our opinion that signing petitions or simple copy/paste submissions are not effective. Please take the time to make a personalised submission, then tell your mates, family, colleagues and wider community to do the same.

But I don’t live in NZ – can I still help?

Yes! Some of the main proposals are aiming to increase tourism income – please show our politicians they risk loosing visitors if they sell our lands, prevent access or over-develop our wild places.

If you’ve ever come to NZ to canyon, or hope to come one day, your voice is important. Tell the politicians how you might re-consider your next trip to NZ if this proposal becomes the law.

Quick submission guide for busy people

It should only take you about 10-15 minutes to make a submission – time well spent if it helps prevent your favourite canyons being sold in the near future.

Read the info below, draft your words, then enter them in the online parliment submission form before 2 July 2026.

If you want to know more:

Our NZCA submission guide was heavily inspired by Whitewater NZ’s resource – with plenty of changes, but also some direct copy/pasting. Thank you to our wild-river-loving cousins for your support. whitewater.nz

Example & template for your submission

A submission is in two main parts:

your comments about the proposal, (which you need to personalise) and
your reccomendations for what to do. (which you can mostly copy/paste)

Comments section

The comments section is your chance to explain who you are, how you’re connected to the places under threat, and why they are important to you.

By all means be inspired by the example below, but please take the time to personalise your story. Add photos if you like, but keep it fairly concise. Hopefully there will be thousands of submissions – we want them to get the point across quickly and clearly.

The more indidividual submissions with unique and personal reasons for submitting, the louder our collective voice is.

I’m a canyoner based in Christchurch. I’ve been canyoning for about 6 years, mostly around Canterbury high country, and West Coast region near Hokitkia.

Canyoning is all about exploring river gorges, canyons and waterfalls, using ropes, absieling gear and wetsuits to follow the water downstream.

Being able to enjoy the beauty, challenge and unspoilt natural environment is the reason that I love to canyon. Experiencing places like these on thier own terms is hugely important to my physical and mental wellbeing.

These canyons I love run through Conservation Parks, Stewardship lands and Forest Parks, which are exactly the types of lands which would be easier to sell or swap under these new laws.

In particular, the canyons behind Hokitika are some of the most incredible wild places I’ve ever experienced anywhere in the world. These amazing places are part of our shared heritage but we don’t own them, we just hold them in trust for future generations. They must not be allowed to be sold off to private buyers, exploited, restricted or over-developed.

Please do not allow these law changes which make these lands easier to sell. Please protect these places, their natural values and ensure permanent public access to all of them.

Reccomendations section

The full Conservation Ammendment Bill is complex and lengthy.

The good news is that a coalition of recreation organisations (including the NZCA, Whitewater NZ and led by Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ), is going to submit a very comprehensive set of reccomendations.

They’re doing the heavy lifting on the detail – allowing you to copy/paste the main points below (and adapt them if you wish).

SAs a member/supporter of the NZ Canyoning Association, I support the reccomendations made by our organisation.

I also support the submission and reccomendations made by Federeated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand jointly with many of NZ’s other outdoor recreational organisations.

In particular, I recommend that the Select Committee:

Retains the strong protections and robust processes that ensure public conservation lands are not sold or swapped without a long term defensible vision, expert advice and community support.
Keeps conservation as the primary purpose of the Conservation Act, and does not allow changes that makes economic development a core function of DOC (new section 6(ea)) without a full and proper public conversation.
Keeps real decision-making and oversight with the public, the New Zealand Conservation Authority and Conservation Boards, rather than with a few select individuals in Government.
Guarantees that free and unhindered public access to our public conservation lands are maintained forever.
Whenever any conservation land is exchanged or disposed of, that enduring access provisions are a mandatory part of the transaction. These must include easements or other legal mechanisms allow the public to cross that land freely and without unreasonable restriction, to access the public lands behind.