New Zealand Coalition Introduces Natural Environment and Planning Bills

The New Zealand Coalition Government presented the Natural Environment and Planning Bills for a second reading in Parliament on August 4, 2026. The legislation is designed to replace the Resource Management Act, but it has faced immediate criticism from environmental advocates.

Greenpeace condemned the bills, claiming they remove the precautionary principle and replace the polluter pays model with a regulatory relief scheme. The organization warns that this shift could force ratepayers to pay up to $2 billion in compensation to companies impacted by environmental protections. Furthermore, the bills scrap Mana Whakahono ā Rohe arrangements, which previously allowed for shared environmental decision-making between councils and iwi.

In response to these changes, Greenpeace campaigner Gen Toop described the legislation as an all-out assault on environmental law. Toop argued that the bills roll back Māori participation in decision-making and prioritize corporate profit over the protection of native wildlife and water. To protest the dismantling of these safeguards, Greenpeace has organized a March for Nature scheduled for September 19 in Auckland.