Vote for the Environment

We will direct all waste disposal levy revenue into waste minimisation and stop the local government share being diverted to other purposes. We will raise the levy to match international best practice, with one consistent rate across all landfill classes. We will prioritise local, mana whenua and community-driven resource recovery, along with organic waste reduction, diversion and processing. We will also introduce binding, measurable waste reduction targets and duty-of-care systems covering the whole waste and resource recovery sector.

Labour supports moving New Zealand up the waste hierarchy by preventing waste in the first place, recovering valuable materials, and reducing reliance on landfill. We would work with councils, iwi, community organisations and the resource-recovery sector on durable co-funding arrangements for local reuse, repair, composting and recycling infrastructure. Funding settings should recognise the public value these networks deliver—including local jobs, lower emissions and stronger community resilience—and should give successful regional organisations enough certainty to plan, retain skilled staff and invest in facilities.

National is investing in practical waste minimisation through the Waste Minimisation Fund, which has supported $68 million in new projects since 2024/25, alongside improvements to recycling infrastructure and resource recovery.

National is also modernising waste legislation to improve resource recovery and ensure waste levy funding delivers measurable environmental benefits. I support community-led initiatives, including those delivered by the Nelson Environment Centre, that achieve these outcomes.

Here in Nelson, the Government has also contributed $3.44 million to clean up historic contamination at Tāhunanui Back Beach, removing thousands of tonnes of contaminated material and protecting our coastline.

Opportunity will introduce a nationwide container deposit scheme, reinstating the scheme design that was completed and then halted in 2023. It carries a 20–30 cent refundable deposit and a target of 90% recovery within five years. The scheme is producer-funded, with accessible return points where iwi and hapū, schools and social enterprises can participate and benefit.

We will also put a levy on virgin fossil-fuel plastics (primary polymers) and use the revenue to fund circular-economy infrastructure, innovation, ecosystem restoration and community action to reduce plastic pollution.

Support for community resource recovery networks and efforts to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills, would on the face of it be best provided by local councils. The recent legislation that limits Council rate rises, hobbles local councils’ ability to consider this type of support and warrants being relaxed.

We will establish mandatory product stewardship, a beverage container return scheme, phase-outs of problematic products and comprehensive right-to-repair. We will build on the proposed Waste Minimisation Act reforms with binding waste reduction targets, and ensure the legislation gives effect to Te Tiriti. We will also introduce comprehensive duty-of-care obligations covering every waste stream, including hazardous waste.

Labour supports well-designed mandatory product stewardship for priority products, based on the principle that producers should take responsibility for the full life cycle of what they place on the market. We would use clear targets, transparent reporting and enforceable obligations, while designing schemes with affected sectors. Priority should be given to waste streams that are hazardous, difficult to recycle or costly for communities to manage. Scheme fees should encourage durable, repairable and recyclable products rather than simply shifting costs to households or councils.

Labour has announced a right-to-repair law for vehicles. Car manufacturers would be required to give independent mechanics fair access to the manuals, software, tools and information needed to repair modern vehicles. This would give motorists more choice, back local workshops, skilled jobs and apprenticeships, extend the useful life of vehicles and reduce avoidable waste. Labour is starting with vehicles because legislation can be introduced quickly and because repair costs have a major impact on households, while remaining open to extending right-to-repair protections to other products in future.

National is modernising the Waste Minimisation Act to create a stronger framework for Extended Producer Responsibility, making manufacturers and suppliers more accountable for their products throughout their lifecycle. The Government has already supported Tyrewise, New Zealand's first regulated tyre stewardship scheme, and is progressing a nationwide rural recycling scheme for farm plastics and agrichemical containers. I am also supportive of a container return scheme once the necessary legislation is in place.

Opportunity will make producers responsible for the full lifecycle of their products. We will introduce mandatory product stewardship for major plastic categories, with binding reduction and recycled-content requirements, national design standards, transparent reporting and penalties for non-compliance.

We will phase out the most harmful and unnecessary plastics (PVC, polystyrene and oxo-degradable plastics), support businesses to move to safer alternatives, and scale up reuse and refill systems. A levy on virgin plastics would price-in the cost of fossil-fuel packaging.

Mandatory product stewardship schemes could be strengthened by making producers and importers responsible for the full lifecycle of the products they place on the market.

• The coverage could be expanded by requiring schemes for priority waste streams, including plastics, tyres and e-waste.
• Producers could be required to pay for collection, reuse, repair and recycling, with binding targets and penalties for non-compliance.
• Design out waste by promoting durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable products.
• Build a circular economy through transparent reporting, stronger enforcement, and support for local recycling businesses, worker cooperatives and community initiatives.

Decisions are best made in collaboration and consultation with those actually doing the mahi. We already work closely with community organisations across the country on waste minimisation, and we will maintain that active dialogue and partnership as new legislation is developed. We will put community-driven solutions first in resource recovery, and provide secure, flexible and full funding for the community sector, ensuring its independence within a supportive legislative framework.

Community recyclers and social enterprises must be involved from the outset, not consulted after key decisions have already been made. Labour would support co-design, including representation for community and not-for-profit operators on scheme governance and advisory groups, publication of impact assessments, and transition arrangements where a new scheme changes existing material flows or revenue. Contracts and funding should recognise the social, employment and educational benefits these organisations provide, and no scheme should inadvertently displace an effective local service without a workable alternative and fair transition support.

Community recycling organisations like the Nelson Environment Centre have spent years developing valuable expertise and infrastructure. New national schemes should build on that work, not undermine it. I support involving community organisations in this process, understanding the financial implications of proposed changes, and ensuring local providers have opportunities to participate. I will always be open to a conversation and connecting you with our ministers to ensure that NEC’s voice is heard. I brought the environment minister to NEC last year to introduce her to some of the team, see NEC’s work in action, and listen to feedback from your team on the ground. I look forward to positive future engagements like that, as I know they are valuable for the government and for us here in Nelson.

Opportunity has designed its container deposit scheme to include community organisations rather than displace them: return points are explicitly open to social enterprises, schools, and iwi and hapū. Revenue from the virgin plastics levy is directed to community action to reduce plastic pollution, which provides a funding channel for local organisations. We would commit to meaningful consultation with existing community recyclers as the detail of any new scheme is designed, so that their services and financial sustainability are protected.

The Progressive Party would recognise community organisations as partners in waste reduction, rather than allowing them to be casualties of its implementation.

• Need to consult early with community not-for-profit organisations.
• Assess impacts on existing services and financial sustainability.
• Provide support to prevent undue harm.
• Monitor outcomes and address adverse impacts.

We have introduced the Waste Minimisation (Food Waste) Amendment Bill, which would require big supermarkets to minimise food waste and partner with food rescue organisations to donate edible surplus. We will also invest $150 million a year in community-led food security initiatives and food grants through our Affordable Kai policy.

As your local MP, I’m proud to have contributed to the establishment and governance of Kai Rescue, as a former Nelson Environment Centre board member. Food rescue services such as Kai Rescue deliver two public benefits at once: they keep usable food out of landfill and support people and whānau facing food insecurity. Labour would work towards predictable, multi-year operational funding rather than forcing organisations to rely on short-term grants. Government support should complement—not replace—local partnerships and donated food.

I've seen the excellent work of the Nelson Environment Centre's Kai Rescue programme and strongly support its efforts to keep good food out of landfill while helping local families experiencing food insecurity. Food rescue delivers both environmental and social benefits. It reduces waste and associated methane emissions while getting nutritious food to people who need it.

While the government has announced funding for a number of food waste reduction initiatives, I recognise that securing ongoing operational funding is really challenging for community organisations like Kai Rescue. I am always open to engaging with NEC and supporting your efforts wherever I can.

Opportunity's published policy doesn't yet address food rescue programmes directly. However, we recognise that programmes like Kai Rescue cut landfill methane and support whānau experiencing food insecurity, and we would advocate for stable, long-term funding for them.

As with Community Resource Recovery, support for regional and local food rescue and redistribution programmes, would on the face of it be best provided by local councils. The recent legislation that limits Council rate rises, hobbles local councils’ ability to consider this type of support and warrants being relaxed.

We will strengthen the Zero Carbon Act so every Budget is consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, with gross emissions reduction targets. We will empower the Climate Change Commission to set Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) unit supply directly, in line with emissions budgets. We will price agricultural emissions, with financial and technical support for farmers. We will reform the ETS by phasing out free allocation and removing forestry offsetting, and redirect that funding into the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund. Locally, we will fund councils and communities to respond to their climate adaptation challenges and establish a dedicated central and local government fund that includes partnerships with tangata whenua and community organisations.

Labour is committed to the Paris Agreement and to putting New Zealand back on course to meet its emissions budgets and net-zero target. Our immediate priorities include an urgent review of the Emissions Trading Scheme so it drives genuine gross emissions reductions rather than excessive reliance on offsets, restores confidence in the carbon market and prevents whole-farm conversion to exotic forestry. We would pair national direction with practical regional action—cleaner energy, lower-emissions transport, industrial decarbonisation and resilience investment—and publish transparent progress so communities can see whether policies are delivering.

National is 100% committed to New Zealand's legislated net-zero target for long-lived greenhouse gases by 2050. The Government's second Emissions Reduction Plan sets out how New Zealand will meet its 2026–2030 emissions budget, including through the Emissions Trading Scheme, renewable energy, electrification and waste reduction.

For Nelson Tasman, that means supporting practical measures like solar generation, reducing organic waste going to landfill, and making cleaner transport options more accessible. National targets and emissions budgets are set nationally, rather than through separate regional compliance requirements.

Restoring climate credibility is one of Opportunity's five bottom lines for any governing partner. Our plan has three parts.

• Targets and accountability. We will restore the link between our Nationally Determined Contribution, the Paris 1.5 degrees goal and our national emissions budgets. We will develop a plan to meet the NDC and record its cost as a liability on the Crown balance sheet. We will implement the Climate Change Commission's advice on the 2050 targets, including international aviation and shipping, and restore a science-based methane target of at least 35–47%.
• Carbon price. We will restore the integrity of the ETS with a rising price path, and give the Commission power over annual unit supply, minimum auction prices and cost-containment thresholds. Free allocations phase down to zero before 2050.
• Cutting emissions and costs. Our proposed Industry Energy Resilience Fund, backed by a green bond against future ETS revenue, supports industrial decarbonisation. Our proposed low-interest electrification loans, EV tax changes and sinking-lid tailpipe standards will help households and businesses.

For regions like Nelson and the West Coast, a $5 billion Climate Resilience Fund (including $500 million for nature-based solutions) would resource community-led resilience programmes through marae and community groups. We will also back the provisions of the Climate Change Response Amendment Bill that make local bodies responsible for planning for climate impacts.

The Progressive Party would align regional action with national emissions budgets and 2050 targets by:

• Setting measurable regional emissions-reduction targets.
• Monitoring and publicly reporting progress annually.
• Funding local climate solutions in transport, energy, waste and agriculture.
• Partnering with councils and iwi/Māori on local climate action.
• Reviewing progress and require corrective action where targets are missed.

We will immediately save people money by making bus and train fares free for children, teenagers, students, apprentices, Community Service Card holders, and Total Mobility Users, and capping bus and train fares at $2 for adults. We will deliver mass rapid transit in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and improve public transport in smaller cities and towns, as well as major metropolitan areas, by funding the shortfall councils need to deliver services.

We will also deliver more frequent inter-regional bus services so people can travel in and around smaller cities and towns affordably and frequently, and connect the country with intercity, long-distance rail through new train services including an Auckland-Wellington overnight rail service, passenger rail between Christchurch and Dunedin with a potential extension to Invercargill, and improve, electrify and extend the Te Huia route to Tauranga.

Finally, we’ll enable councils to pedestrianise more inner-city areas to boost urban revitalisation, increase safe walking and biking spaces, and make urban areas beautiful places where people want to spend their time, with an extra $290 million for the Walking and Cycling Activity Class, and the provision of targeted subsidies for e-cargo bikes and e-bike sharing schemes at community hubs.

Labour will make public transport more affordable through a weekly fare cap of $10 to use the eBus in Nelson Tasman. Alongside affordable fares, central government must partner with councils on reliable services, safe walking and cycling connections, accessible stops and interchanges, and practical links between neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces and town centres.

I support a transport system that gives people safe, practical choices about how they travel, including public transport, walking and cycling. Here in Nelson Tasman, we need to continue improving connections between Nelson, Richmond and our surrounding communities, making public transport more convenient and ensuring safe walking and cycling routes. My main transport priority is the Hope Bypass (which will bypass Richmond, not Hope), and I have been a strong advocate for this project also improving cycling and pedestrian connections in Richmond. The project will also have a positive impact on public transport, as currently our e-buses also get stuck in the Queen St/Gladstone Road bottleneck, reducing the reliability of the buses.

National has made big investments in the Great Taste Trail, which as well as being a great tourist attraction, also helps people get around the region by bike. We are also supporting the transition to electric vehicles through investment in charging infrastructure, with a target of 10,000 public EV chargers nationwide by 2030.

I believe we need a balanced approach that improves public transport and active transport options while addressing congestion and the resilience of our road network.

Opportunity will introduce permanent, universal free-to-ride public transport across New Zealand. We will electrify the urban bus fleet by 2030 through a fully centrally funded mandate to councils, covering both charging infrastructure and vehicles (up to $125 million a year, supporting up to $2.5 billion of capital). A ringfenced $3 billion injection into the National Land Transport Fund will boost investment in rail, active transport and public transport. We will also remove fringe benefit tax and accelerate depreciation on electric vehicles, and require all new builds to be wired for EV charging and solar.

The Progressive Party would commit to

• Expand affordable, integrated public transport, including regional services and passenger rail.
• Invest in safe, connected walking and cycling networks, including protected cycleways, safe routes to school and secure bike parking.
• Subsidise e-bikes for low-income households and support businesses using cargo bikes for urban deliveries.
• Prioritise underserved communities through targeted central government funding.
• Reduce transport emissions through climate-aligned investment, emissions education and support for solar energy and clean electricity.
• Improve road safety and accountability through evidence-based speed limits and road-user charges reflecting the full costs of driving.
• Shift freight from roads to rail and coastal shipping, reducing congestion, emissions and road damage.
• Reform transport funding to prioritise long-term health, resilience and reduced car dependence, with independent infrastructure assessment and investment decisions based on full-cost analysis.
• Ensuring the education curriculum enabled students to fully understand the need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

We will invest $200 million in community energy projects across the country, funded by reallocating subsidies for fossil fuel companies. Funding will be open to locally led projects, including schools, marae, libraries, recreation centres, community energy groups, iwi and Māori, local government and other locally governed organisations. We will also change the rules to make community-scale generation work: we will enable peer-to-peer trading and energy sharing, reform network pricing so that solar users, whether exporting or consuming locally, pay only for the infrastructure they actually use, and regulate to ensure households and businesses with rooftop solar receive a fair price for power they export to the grid.

We will also deliver:

• $80 million over four years for renewable energy on Māori housing, including solar on kaumātua homes and papakāinga, geothermal, and local distribution on whenua Māori.
• Rooftop solar on more than half of all public homes within four years (about 40,000 homes, costed at $460 million), with solar mandated on new or renovated public homes where appropriate.
• Zero-interest clean energy loans for household solar and batteries, backed by central and local government and tied to the property, available to up to 90% of homeowners if all councils participate. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority would run the scheme, which we estimate could be operating in as little as six months.
• Legalised plug-in solar and a renters’ right to solar, through changes to tenancy and body corporate law.
• Kiwipower, a new public Crown entity funded by a $980 million four-year appropriation from our super-rich tax, to build renewable firming capacity (geothermal, batteries, demand response, biomass and pumped hydro) and open up existing backup capacity to independent generators so solar and wind projects can compete.

Labour’s SolarSaver policy is designed to remove the upfront-cost barrier to solar. It includes government-backed, long-term low-interest finance, kick-start support of up to $3,000 for eligible low- and middle-income households, regulatory changes to enable plug-in solar for renters, fairer time-of-use payments for exported power, free independent advice through EECA, and a $30 million community battery fund. These measures would help households, renters and neighbourhoods share the benefits of local renewable generation while reducing power bills and improving energy resilience.

I’m very active with the BlueGreens, National’s environmental policy wing, and have been a strong advocate within that group for policies to promote more electrification and renewable energy generation, particularly with solar. We have announced a significant policy to accelerate household and small-scale renewable energy called the Home Energy Fund.

The Home Energy Fund will be government and council-backed financing platform offering low-interest, long-term loans to eligible property owners. These loans will help households install solar panels, batteries, insulation and other energy efficiency measures without the large upfront costs.

National will also make it easier to install rooftop and ground-mounted solar, micro-hydro and battery storage by removing unnecessary consenting requirements and introducing clearer national rules.

We have also allocated $30 million in funding for solar installations at 500 schools nationwide, including 17 schools across Nelson and Tasman. These practical measures will help households and communities reduce power bills, improve energy resilience and increase renewable electricity generation.

With our sunshine hours, Nelson has enormous potential to benefit from more affordable, locally generated renewable energy.

Opportunity's Abundant Energy policy treats communities as part of the energy system. We will:

• Co-invest directly in small-scale (up to 15 MW) community-owned generation and storage, up to $500 million of capital works, including the grid infrastructure needed in isolated communities.
• Fund a community engagement fund so communities and electricity distributors can work together to fit local initiatives into the wider grid.
• Offer low-interest electrification loans through a national Ratepayer Assistance Scheme administered by local government. The loan is tied to the property and does not add to council or central government debt.
• Expand and double Warmer Kiwi Homes to about $200 million a year to fund solar and appliance electrification for low-income households.
• Allow tax write-offs for building energy improvements such as rooftop solar, batteries and smart EV chargers.

The Progressive Party of Aotearoa New Zealand would

• Provide grants and low-interest loans for community-owned solar and battery projects.
• Simplify consenting and grid connections for small-scale renewable energy.
• Enable community energy sharing and fair payment for surplus electricity exported to the grid.
• Offer targeted incentives for marae, worker cooperatives, schools and low-income communities.

We will provide secure, flexible and full funding arrangements for the community sector, recognising the value of its work and ensuring its independence within a supportive legislative framework. We will also re-establish resourcing for the Community Environment Fund to support grassroots environmental education and action.

Strategic environmental NGOs need funding settings that match the long-term nature of their work. Labour would support a shift toward transparent multi-year agreements, with proportionate reporting and room to fund core capability—not only short projects. Decisions should use clear public-interest criteria, respect organisations’ independence and include fair regional access. We would also look for opportunities to align central government, council and philanthropic funding so organisations spend less time repeatedly applying for small grants and more time delivering measurable environmental and community outcomes.

I recognise the important contribution environmental NGOs make to conservation and the challenges created by short-term and unpredictable funding, and I hope that over my career I can contribute to efforts to move away from volatile funding streams to help streamline planning and ultimately improve environmental outcomes.

National has supported community conservation through the Department of Conservation's Community Fund, which awarded $9.2 million to 20 community conservation projects in August 2026, with funding available for projects lasting up to three years. This included $791,250 for the Te Tau Ihu Environmental Trust's Pest Free Onetahua project at Farewell Spit, supporting the restoration and protection of internationally significant habitats and threatened species. National has also committed to permanently doubling baseline funding for the QEII National Trust, from approximately $4.2 million to $8.5 million annually, providing greater long-term certainty for biodiversity protection on private land. These investments recognise the value of conservation partnerships and longer-term planning.

While National has not announced a general scheme guaranteeing multi-year operational funding for environmental NGOs, I strongly value the work of local organisations and support funding approaches that deliver measurable conservation benefits and make good use of public, philanthropic and community resources.

Opportunity's published policy has several funding streams that community and environmental organisations could access:

• A $500 million Nature-based Solutions Fund open to community-level organisations, iwi and hapū, and local government.
• Stable, coordinated funding for Predator Free 2050 networks and invasive weed and pest control, plus an increase in Vote Conservation funding.
• A new Impact Company legal structure, with tax deductibility for investors, to help organisations with a social or environmental purpose access finance for growth.

A Progressive Party of Aotearoa New Zealand government would

• Establish multi-year operational funding for strategic environmental NGOs through three-to-five-year agreements.

• Provide core funding, not just project grants, to cover essential staffing and operating costs.

• Ensure transparent, independent allocation based on environmental impact, community benefit and accountability.

We will implement Te Tiriti-based decision-making models across government, resourcing iwi and hapū as partners. We will make councils’ role as a Te Tiriti partner explicit in law and reinstate their ability to keep Māori wards. We will devolve further responsibilities to councils with appropriate resourcing, and enable more community-based decision-making, such as citizens’ assemblies. We will also fund Māori organisations, iwi, hapū and marae to run community and environmental initiatives in their rohe.

Labour believes better environmental outcomes depend on durable partnerships, clear responsibilities and early engagement. We would restore and strengthen mechanisms such as Mana Whakahono ā Rohe so iwi and hapū can establish enduring participation arrangements with councils under the Resource Management Act. Central agencies should coordinate funding, data and delivery expectations; local government should have a clear route to seek support; and Māori, community organisations and affected sectors should be involved at the problem-definition stage. Partnership must uphold Te Tiriti obligations, mātauranga Māori and local knowledge, with transparent decisions and shared monitoring of outcomes.

I'm a strong supporter of practical partnerships between government, iwi, councils, businesses and community organisations. I recently visited the Kotahitanga mō te Taiao Alliance with Environment Minister Nicola Grigg, and I think that collaboration between 17 partners across the Top of the South is a brilliant example of working together to restore biodiversity. I believe effective partnerships and local knowledge are key to delivering better environmental outcomes for Nelson Tasman.

Opportunity believes better environmental outcomes require central government, councils, Māori and community organisations to work together towards shared goals, with clear responsibilities and long-term funding.

We would strengthen coordination between agencies, iwi and hapū, local government and not-for-profits, combining scientific evidence with mātauranga Māori and local knowledge. Our policies support Māori and community-led conservation, alongside a proposed $500 million Nature-based Solutions Fund to support councils, iwi, hapū and communities to restore nature.

We would prioritise long-term investment, shared accountability and measurable environmental outcomes – reducing duplication and empowering local partnerships to deliver lasting results for nature and future generations.

Opportunity will also:

• Support iwi- and hapū-led marine management and make Māori full partners in marine protection planning. We will resource 20-year regional ocean plans developed with regional councils, iwi, fishing communities and conservation groups.
• Reinstate Te Mana o te Wai as the governing principle of freshwater policy.
• End unfunded mandates on councils and expand their funding tools.
• Resource community-led resilience programmes through marae and community groups, prioritising high-risk and low-income areas.

To this end the Progressive Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, would

• Establish formal partnerships between government, iwi/Māori, councils and community organisations.
• Fund collaborative, locally led environmental projects with shared goals and accountability.
• Require regular consultation and coordination to align policies, resources and environmental outcomes.
• Ensuring the education curriculum enabled students to fully understand how this alignment and collaboration upholds the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

We will phase out damaging fishing methods, starting with a ban on bottom trawling on seamounts and in ecologically significant areas including the Hauraki Gulf, and bans on set netting and dredging. We will protect at least 30% of our ocean territory by reforming marine protected areas law. We will ban seabed mining, and roll out cameras across the entire fishing fleet and set fisheries-related mortality limits to reduce bycatch of protected species. We will review the Quota Management System and move towards ecosystem-based fisheries management, in line with the Māori fisheries settlements, and resource iwi and hapū to lead ocean protection.

Labour supports an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management that protects biodiversity, fish stocks and the long-term future of commercial, customary and recreational fishing. We will ban bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana, ratify the UN High Seas Treaty within our first 100 days in government, and ban bottom trawling on newly identified seamounts and other sensitive marine areas. These commitments will strengthen protection for vulnerable seabed habitats at home and support the creation of marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction. Fisheries decisions must consider how species interact, warming oceans, habitat impacts and wider ecosystem health—not only individual stock assessments. We will improve monitoring and transparency, use the best available science and mātauranga Māori, and work with iwi, fishers and conservation groups on a fair transition away from damaging activity in sensitive areas.

Protecting our marine environment is important, as is ensuring that our fisheries remain sustainable for future generations. Nelson is home to one of New Zealand's most important fishing industries, supporting local jobs, businesses and families. We need a balanced, science-based approach that protects sensitive marine habitats while supporting a sustainable seafood industry.

National's newly announced 2026 fisheries policy includes a commitment to increasing protection across New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone, with a plan to expand protected areas from 32% to 50% by 2040, including greater protection for seamounts. The policy includes reviewing designated trawl corridors in the Hauraki Gulf, strengthening marine protection and increasing enforcement of fisheries rules.

National is not proposing a blanket nationwide ban on bottom trawling. Our approach is to use the best available science, marine protection, improved fishing technology and effective fisheries management to reduce environmental impacts while maintaining sustainable fisheries. And we will establish a $20 million Fish Tech Innovation Fund to support innovation in the fishing sector. I believe innovation and marine conservation can go hand in hand, particularly in Nelson, where our fishing and marine industries have significant expertise and opportunities to develop new technologies.

Phasing out bottom trawling is one of Opportunity's five bottom lines for any governing partner, and a core part of our Healthy Oceans policy. We will implement a staged phase-out of bottom-contact fishing (trawling, dredging and Danish seining):

• Immediate closures in the Hauraki Gulf and other inshore areas facing critical ecosystem decline.
• A three-year phase-out on all seamounts, including on the High Seas.
• A five-year phase-out on other deep-sea features, including cold-water coral habitats and vulnerable benthic ecosystems.

Transition assistance will cover retraining, retooling and dignified exit for affected operators. We will work with fishers, quota owners, iwi and communities throughout.

Opportunity has also committed to roll out cameras on all commercial fishing vessels over 8m (including deep-sea trawlers and scampi boats currently exempt), higher sustainability baselines (management targets raised from 40% to 50% of virgin biomass), a permanent ban on seabed mining, and expanded marine protection from 0.5% to 30% of our ocean territory by 2035.

The Progressive Party of Aotearoa New Zealand would

• Phase out destructive bottom trawling.
• Expand marine protected areas.
• Support sustainable, community-based fisheries and Māori kaitiakitanga.
• Enforce science-based catch limits and hold fishing operators accountable.
• Promote worker cooperative and ecologically responsible fishing that prioritises long-term community wellbeing over short-term profit.
• Significantly, with a view to removing the power wielded in the industry by the ultra-wealthy, it would establish a commission to consider capping private wealth.

We do not support the Bill, and we will stop it. The select committee dropped the land disposal and exchange provisions, but that does not fix a Bill that rewrites the purpose of the Conservation Act so commercial development comes first and nature second. Our conservation laws need to be strengthened, not weakened. We will reform them to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and make halting and reversing nature loss their core purpose. We will restore the Act’s purpose so conservation comes first, remove the economic imperative on public conservation land, and resource the New Zealand Conservation Authority and conservation boards. We will also ban new mining on conservation land, including stewardship land.

Labour voted against the Conservation Amendment Bill at its first reading because it puts the founding purpose of the Conservation Act at risk. Conservation land is held for the protection of nature and for future generations—not as a commercial asset waiting to be opened up for development. We strongly oppose provisions that weaken the primacy of conservation, narrow Te Tiriti obligations, reduce the influence of independent conservation boards and the New Zealand Conservation Authority, curtail public participation, or give Ministers broader discretion to prioritise economic activity over environmental protection. The National-led Government only backtracked on its proposals to make millions of additional hectares of conservation land available for sale or exchange after a major public backlash. Removing those provisions was necessary, but it does not fix the bill’s fundamental direction or its remaining threat to the purpose of conservation law.

Labour could support genuinely administrative improvements that help the Department of Conservation operate effectively, but only where they demonstrably strengthen conservation outcomes and retain robust public, scientific and Treaty safeguards. Unless the bill is substantially rewritten to restore the protection of intrinsic natural values as its clear overriding purpose, Labour will continue to oppose it.

Labour will start the process to add Sam’s Creek and adjoining conservation land around the Tākaka River and Cobb Valley to Kahurangi National Park. The approximately 4,500-hectare addition would protect an area with outstanding scenic and natural values, close a longstanding gap in the park boundary, help safeguard the catchment near Te Waikoropupū Springs, and permanently protect Sam’s Creek from mining.

In Nelson Tasman, our natural environment is central to our lifestyle, our economy, and our collective wellbeing. I believe we can protect and restore it while creating opportunities for responsible tourism and sustainable economic activity (which in turn can help fund further conservation efforts). I support protecting our indigenous forests, threatened species, and biodiversity, and while I think there have been some issues with this bill, we absolutely need to modernise our conservation legislation. I think with some work at select committee this bill can help improve management, streamline unnecessary processes and deliver better environmental outcomes. Importantly, National listened to conservation organisations' concerns and agreed to remove the proposed provisions allowing wider disposal or exchange of conservation land.

Opportunity supports sensible streamlining of the conservation system. The concessions process can be slow and complex, and conservation management planning could be more flexible. We would support streamlining where it improves DOC's ability to deliver its work and robust environmental safeguards remain in place.

However, we would not support the Bill without significant changes, because it goes beyond administrative reform and risks shifting the fundamental direction of conservation policy toward development. We are calling for:

• Conservation to remain the primary purpose of the Department of Conservation, rather than requiring economic development to be enabled "to the greatest extent practicable".
• Natural capital (ecological, recreational and cultural values) to be assessed alongside economic benefits for significant development proposals.
• Meaningful roles retained for the NZ Conservation Authority and Conservation Boards, with genuine public participation in significant decisions.
• Te Tiriti obligations strengthened rather than narrowed, with early, properly resourced engagement with iwi and hapū.

We assume the provisions on exchange or disposal of conservation land will be removed, as the Government has announced.

The Conservation Amendment Bill 2026 would be assessed by the Progressive Party in light of its commitment to kaitiakitanga, protection of community resources, and ensuring that economic activity serves collective wellbeing.

It would support only those provisions in the Bill that demonstrably protect biodiversity, uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, maintain public ownership and strengthen long-term ecological wellbeing.