Louis Collins

The Government says a new law would cut conservation red (or should that be green) tape. The Opposition say the law redefines what conservation even means.

The Conservation Amendment Bill received its first reading debate in Parliament on Tuesday. It is in the name of National MP Tama Potaka, who called it "the most significant reform of conservation legislation in nearly 40 years."

Potaka previewed the reform during Question Time, thanks to a patsy question from his party colleague Catherine Wedd.

"We cannot protect a modern conservation estate with a loosey-goosey 1980's system wrapped up in red and green tape," Potaka told the House.

Right now, conservation management has layers of plans, approvals, concessions, hearings, and consultation processes. The Government says that the current system is too slow and too complicated, and that the proposed legislation would lift the perceived regulatory burden.

"We [will] establish a National Conservation Policy Statement [NCPS], providing one clear source of national direction for conservation land," Potaka said. "It will replace outdated and fragmented settings with a more modern framework.

Up to 30 to 40 percent of current concessions will either be pre-approved or exempt. The bill creates the ability for low-risk activities to be pre-approved through the NCPS."

Meanwhile, critics in the Opposition say that existing settings are there for a reason. Labour's spokesperson for conservation Priyanca Radhakrishnan said the Minister's speech undersold the significance of the reform's impact.

"Anyone listening to the minister's contribution would think that this legislation is just about modernising the Conservation Act, but it's not. It's a sneaky, egregious bill that goes so much further," Radhakrishnan said, even going as far as calling it "the most significant rollback of conservation protections in a generation."

The bill also proposes charging international visitors fees to access iconic natural sites.

Ultimately, the first reading debate conveyed several radically different visions of conservation, as well as interpretations what the bill intends to achieve. Underneath all the technical language about concessions, approvals, and policy statements sits a much bigger ideological argument about what conservation actually means.

The Conservation Amendment Bill is now with the Environment Select Committee for consideration and is due to report back to the House by November 11. You can find out how to submit on the Parliament website. Once the bill is open for submission it will be listed here.

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