What assessments, if any, has the Minister undertaken of the impact the Conservation Amendment Bill will have on the statutory role of Conservation Boards?

Answer

Department of Conservation officials have provided advice to me on the potential impacts of amending the processes for developing and approving conservation planning documents. This advice has been proactively released and can be found on the Department’s website at https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/oia-responses/2026/ In response to concerns around a lack of local input from conservation boards, the Government amended the proposed process for the National Conservation Policy Statement so that conservation boards are involved in the drafting and revision stages.