The public will have an extra 10 days to have their say on the Government’s controversial Conservation Amendment Bill after the Environment Committee agreed to extend submissions following a significant change in the Government’s position.
Submissions, which had been due to close today, will now remain open until midday on Monday, July 13, after Conservation Minister Tama Potaka asked the committee to delay the deadline.
The extension follows the minister’s announcement last week that the Government would abandon the bill’s contentious land exchange and disposal provisions after extensive criticism from environmental groups, iwi and opposition parties.
In a letter to Environment Committee chair Catherine Wedd, Potaka confirmed the Government “no longer supports the land exchange and disposals provisions as currently drafted” and instead wants to retain the existing legislative settings.
“The Government invites a recommendation by the Committee to remove those clauses or will submit an Amendment Paper at the appropriate point in the legislative process if the Committee does not do so,” Potaka wrote.
The committee said it had unanimously agreed to the minister’s requests.
“As a cross-party committee, we have agreed to all these requests,” the committee said.
“We will work with the legal drafters to delete the land exchange and disposal provisions before reporting the bill back to the House.”
The committee also confirmed people who have already made submissions do not need to resubmit.
However, submitters can lodge an additional submission if they want to comment on other parts of the bill after previously focusing on the now-abandoned land disposal proposals.
Alongside removing the land exchange provisions, Potaka has also asked the committee to undertake broader consultation on proposed changes to section 6 of the Conservation Act.
The proposed new section 6(ea) has also attracted criticism from conservation groups and iwi, who argued it could shift the purpose of conservation land towards economic development.
Potaka acknowledged those concerns in his letter, saying the Government wanted the committee to work with environmental organisations, iwi and other stakeholders to ensure the provision supports “strong and enduring conservation outcomes while at the same time enabling tourism and other economic activities, and access charging.”
He maintained the bill had never been intended to encourage the disposal of conservation land for financial gain.
“Together, these two areas of concern have been interpreted by some as creating an impetus on the Department of Conservation to dispose of or exchange land in pursuit of financial gains. This has never been the purpose of the Bill,” he wrote.
“If the language currently drafted in the Bill does not reflect this intention, then it needs to be fixed.”
The committee said it would now provide Parliament with specific commentary on the proposed purpose clause after considering further public feedback.
