Has the Minister received advice identifying any conservation outcome that cannot currently be achieved under the existing Conservation Act?

Answer

The Conservation Amendment Bill is intended to streamline the management of conservation land and better enable appropriate uses of that land. For example, the Bill addresses inefficiencies of the current conservation planning and concessions systems, which will mean that the Department of Conservation has more time and resources to invest in conservation outcomes, and enables access charges targeted at international tourists accessing popular sites, which is not possible under the current Act, helping those visitors contribute fairly to conservation outcomes and the natural taonga they come to see. In this sense, most of the advice that I have received on the Bill to date relates to creating a better legislative framework for enabling conservation outcomes. This advice, where it has been proactively released, can be found on the Department’s website at https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/oia-responses/2026/