Have your say on the Conservation Amendment Bill

The clock is ticking, have your say on the Conservation Amendment Bill

Parliament needs to hear from you about the Conservation Amendment Bill before Monday 13 July 2026.

The Government is modernising the Conservation Act 1987 through the Conservation Amendment Bill. Fish & Game supports this long-needed update.

The legislation is outdated and challenging to operate under and is not delivering good outcomes for anglers and game bird hunters.

The Conservation Minister, Tama Potaka, has responded to public concern by removing the land disposal and exchange provisions. Now we need to make sure fishing and game bird hunting are properly recognised in what remains.

This is a bill where change is possible and feedback is being sought to shape the future of our conservation law.

 

What's at stake

The Conservation Amendment Bill will determine:

• Whether fishing and game bird hunting are recognised as priorities on public conservation land, or ranked below tourism and development
• Whether trout, salmon and game birds count in the decisions that shape the places you fish and hunt
• Whether your access to rivers, lakes and wetlands is protected and enhanced

 

What Fish & Game is asking for

1. Put fishing and hunting alongside conservation, not below tourism and development. Given angling alone is worth $130m to New Zealand and overall hunting is valued at over $400m, angling and game bird hunting should not be included with other recreational activities and instead have the same status as tourism.
2. Make sports fish and game birds count. The new National Policy Statement will list the values that guide every decision about conservation land. If trout, salmon and game birds are left off that list, decisions will be made without considering your fishing and hunting at all
3. No access charges for New Zealand anglers and hunters. Charging for access to public conservation land would undermine public access. Charges should only apply at high-use international visitor hotspots, with the money reinvested in habitat and access
4. No selling off exclusive hunting and fishing rights. Commercial deals on public conservation land must never lock the public out of the places you hunt and fish. Exclusive access already happens on private land and has no place on public land
5. Make gun dogs welcome on conservation land. Game bird hunting dogs support ethical hunting. With existing management plans being replaced, dog access must be clearly protected
6. Protect wetlands. New Zealand has already lost most of its wetlands. There should be no further loss of wetland on public conservation land, which is vital game bird habitat that hunters help fund and restore

 

How to make your submission

Use your own words. This is important. If lots of submissions arrive with identical wording, the select committee treats them as a single form response. One submission written in your own words carries far more weight than a copied one. Pick the issues above that matter most to you and say why, in the way you'd say it.

Step 1. Draft your submission. Choose the points that matter to your fishing or hunting and put them in your own words. Please include a request that the committee amend the Bill to recognise fishing and game bird hunting values and the species and habitats we care about. If you share photos to highlight what you care about, then do include those.

Step 2. Visit the Parliament website. Go to the Conservation Amendment Bill submission page here.

Step 3. Submit your response. Click "I am ready to make my submission". You can either upload your submission as a document or PDF or paste your text directly into the comment section.

Step 4. Share your submission with us (optional). Please also email it to [email protected] if you're happy for us to share your messages and encourage others to do the same.

 

Why this matters

Fish & Game represents 175,000 anglers and game bird hunters. Anglers and game bird hunters care deeply about conservation, spending countless hours protecting and enhancing New Zealand's outdoors, including wetlands, rivers and remote wild places.

This Bill can be good law with the right amendments. The Minister has shown he's listening. Your submission helps make sure fishing and hunting are written into the final legislation, not left out of it.

Deadline: Midday Monday 13 July 2026

P.S. It doesn't need to be long. Ten minutes and a few sentences in your own words about the points that matter to you is a genuinely effective submission.