The PoO team has come up with a scheme – dare we describe it as a fiendish scheme? – for addressing its budgetary concerns.
We propose lopping the salary paid to the Minister of Conservation according to the amount of DoC land that is sold on his watch.
Tama Potaka, the incumbent Minister, receives an annual salary of about $320,600.
The Opposition has warned that the reforms he is overseeing will open up 60 percent of the conservation estate to sale.
PoO reckons those sales should be encouraged: they would justify the lopping of $192,000 from Potaka’s salary on the grounds that the size of the conservation estate for which he is ministerially responsible has been significantly reduced.
Having set a precedent, the way would be cleared for other ministers to have their portfolios shrunk – and their salaries cut accordingly – by selling off bits of their ministries, departments or whatever.
Fair to say, Potaka isn’t drawing much attention to the privatisation which bothers Labour.
A few days ago he announced that faster decisions, more jobs, and stronger protection for nature were at the centre of his “landmark overhaul of New Zealand’s conservation system” .
The Government had lodged the Conservation Amendment Bill to modernise how conservation land is managed, support economic growth, and improve environmental outcomes, he said.
“Tourism on conservation land generates around $5.3 billion a year and supports jobs across the country. More than 1,600 businesses operate on or around conservation land, contributing to regional economies and local livelihoods.
“But the system has not kept pace. The Conservation Act is nearly 40 years old, and outdated rules and slow processes have created unnecessary cost and delay.
“These changes mean less red tape, faster approvals, and more investment into biodiversity, tracks, huts, and visitor infrastructure.”
The reforms would make it faster and easier to get concessions by removing unnecessary rules and lodged exempt and pre-approved activities. Up to 30 to 40 percent of applications no longer would require individual processing.
A new National Conservation Policy Statement would replace overlapping plans, providing clear national direction and greater consistency.
The Bill will:
The Opposition has warned that the reforms he is overseeing will open up 60 percent of the conservation estate to sale.
PoO reckons those sales should be encouraged: they would justify the lopping of $192,000 from Potaka’s salary on the grounds that the size of the conservation estate for which he is ministerially responsible has been significantly reduced.
Having set a precedent, the way would be cleared for other ministers to have their portfolios shrunk – and their salaries cut accordingly – by selling off bits of their ministries, departments or whatever.
Fair to say, Potaka isn’t drawing much attention to the privatisation which bothers Labour.
A few days ago he announced that faster decisions, more jobs, and stronger protection for nature were at the centre of his “landmark overhaul of New Zealand’s conservation system” .
The Government had lodged the Conservation Amendment Bill to modernise how conservation land is managed, support economic growth, and improve environmental outcomes, he said.
“Tourism on conservation land generates around $5.3 billion a year and supports jobs across the country. More than 1,600 businesses operate on or around conservation land, contributing to regional economies and local livelihoods.
“But the system has not kept pace. The Conservation Act is nearly 40 years old, and outdated rules and slow processes have created unnecessary cost and delay.
“These changes mean less red tape, faster approvals, and more investment into biodiversity, tracks, huts, and visitor infrastructure.”
The reforms would make it faster and easier to get concessions by removing unnecessary rules and lodged exempt and pre-approved activities. Up to 30 to 40 percent of applications no longer would require individual processing.
A new National Conservation Policy Statement would replace overlapping plans, providing clear national direction and greater consistency.
The Bill will:
- support economic growth and regional jobs on conservation land
- cut red tape and speed up decision-making
- reinvest revenue directly into conservation and visitor infrastructure
- provide clearer, more consistent processes for applying Treaty obligations
“This is expected to raise around $60 million a year, which will be reinvested back into conservation, biodiversity protection, heritage sites, tracks, huts, and visitor infrastructure. New Zealanders will continue to have free access.”
RNZ today reported that the Bill yesterday its first reading supported by the coalition parties, and opposed by the opposition – 68 votes to 54.
Potaka called it the most significant reform to conservation law in 40 years.
He said it cuts red tape, enables foreign tourists to be charged a levy for access to some areas of conservation land, and makes changes to how concessions – permissions for tourism and other operations on conservation land – are managed.
It enables “amenity areas” where buildings like toilets or potentially eateries could be established; simplifies planning in line with the Resource Management Act reforms; and amends or clarifies how Treaty Settlement and Takutai Moana rights are upheld.
The RNZ report was headed –
Opposition warns reforms open up conservation estate to sale as government pushes on
The warning was sounded by Labour’s conservation spokesperson, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who said the Bill would also open up 60 percent of conservation land to being sold. This included areas home to species considered ‘at risk’ rather than endangered – like the Lewis Pass beech forests.
But to whom might DoC land be sold?
Writing on Waikanae Watch, Williams Chambers notes Potaka’s statement that he is removing certain DoC land from the stewardship category to allow for future sale or exchange.
Chambers bridles at what might happen:
A majority of respondents during last year’s consultation opposed this. But Patoka confirmed that he is going ahead with it anyway.
Then he becomes conjectural:
There must, or should, be a lot of people wondering why a Conservation Minister, tasked with protecting our DoC Estate, would personally push so hard for this proposal.
Well, the revealing fact is there is a concerted agenda at play by certain Activists of every hue, to have the entire DoC Estate placed under Maori “control” if not outright “ownership”. And it needs acknowledging that Potaka is considered by many as a committed activist. Which could very well explain his enthusiasm for changes to what the majority presumed were air-tight rules around our publicly owned conservation land.
It should be kept in mind that, when Activists push for something, it inevitably involves an income stream of easy money for them. Which is also glaringly evident in the additional proposal to charge international visitors $20–$40 for access to high-traffic DoC areas like Milford Sound, Cathedral Cove, and Tongariro Crossing.
Hence, it looks very much like Potaka could be deeply involved in setting up a lucrative future for elite Maori to benefit from. The point about getting these devious changes made now is so that when Maori do take over our Conservation Estate, they won’t be accused of making changes in order to profiteer. The ability to sell, charge users, or claim a percentage of royalty payments from mining of whatever sort, will already have been set in place.
Māori Part co-leader Rawiri Waititi is blissfully unaware of those intentions or is trying to distract us from Maori designs on the conservation estate.
According to the RNZ report, he warned the new legislation would have a chilling effect on those yet to reach a Treaty settlement, describing the bill as another part of the coalition’s “ram-raid” on conservation.
“This demonstrates a blanket lack of good faith, and only adds to the iwi Māori suspicion of the Crown’s ability to act with honour.
“Amending settlement legislation cannot be taken lightly – how can this government believe it can amend any legislation regarding Te Tiriti o Waitangi when it continues to fail to uphold it?”
Fair say, a landmark agreement has returned approximately 3,068 hectares of land at the top of the South Island, including portions of the Department of Conservation (DOC) estate and key sites like parts of the Abel Tasman Great Walk, to Māori descendants in the South Island.
But this has been a specific settlement of long-standing private litigation rather than a general, ongoing sale of conservation land.
The agreement includes provisions for continued public access to the Great Walk and reserve land.
As of late 2025, over 2.7 million hectares (roughly 9% of New Zealand’s total land area) was held in “stewardship” by DOC.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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