Conservation Amendment Bill, Fisheries Amendment Bill, and new poll results w/ the Green Party's Ricardo Menéndez March: 1st July, 2026

Last week, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced that the government would be removing a clause from the Conservation Amendment Bill that permitted expanding the sale of conservation land. The decision followed multiple weeks of pressure from members of the public, environmental activists, and political parties, who claimed that the change would open pathways to selling large portions of Aotearoa’s natural landscapes. 

Earlier this month also saw the government backtrack on another bill, the Fisheries Amendment Bill. Among other changes, the bill would have reduced restrictions on overfishing and disallowed members of the public from accessing footage from shipping vessels. 

Lastly, recent polls have seen centre-left political party Opportunity polling close to or above 5%. With Opportunity spending much of its campaign period targeting the Green Party, it’s unclear what a coalition between the two could look like. 

For this week’s catch-up with the Green Party’s Ricardo Menendez March, News Director Castor asked about each of these issues, beginning with the Conservation Amendment Bill.