In the final sitting week before New Zealand's election campaign begins, a quiet but consequential question has surfaced: who is public conservation land ultimately for? The Government's Conservation Amendment Bill would require the Department of Conservation to pursue economic opportunities on protected land 'to the greatest extent practicable' — language that conservation advocates say reframes a custodial duty as a commercial one. The Green Party has drawn a clear line, pledging to repeal the requirement if elected, while New Zealand First signals it would push further in the opposite direc