Environment, Arts, and Heritage

• National’s fiscal plan adds $122 million: $105.1 million to fund the Department of Conservation from an international visitor levy, and $17.2 million to double funding for the QEII National Trust.
• ACT’s fiscal plan includes a $793 million saving from cutting environmental spending (excluding the Emissions Trading Scheme), as part of its non-frontline public service cuts.
• The Greens’ Hauraki Gulf protection policy adds $52.5 million, taking their total to $1.8 billion.

This page details the election promises related to the environment, arts and heritage (including tourism), including:

• conservation and recreation;
• arts, culture and heritage; and
• tourism.

Conservation & recreation
The Greens again have the largest commitment in this category: $1.6 billion over four years, or $773 per household. This includes $1.25 billion to expand Jobs for Nature, based on reinstating the previous Government’s fund, $200 million to introduce a price on agricultural emissions, $90 million to restore the Ministry for the Environment, $13.5 million to boost funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and community environment groups, calculated at 10 percent of the EPA’s 2026/27 functions budget, and $52.5 million to protect 30 percent of the Hauraki Gulf by 2030. The Greens give no figure for the Gulf policy, so we have scaled up the Department of Conservation’s $10.5 million cost of establishing the current protected areas (about 6 percent of the Gulf) five times. 

We have costed the Opportunity Party's proposals at $750 million over four years, or $362 per household, split between $100 million for ocean conservation policies and at least $650 million to support sectors reducing emissions and adapting to climate change. The figure on the latter was based on the 'Government Investing in Decarbonising Industry' (GIDI) funding provided by the last Government.

National’s fiscal plan commits $122 million, or $59 per household: $105.1 million to fund the Department of Conservation from an international visitor levy ($15.4 million, $17.9 million, $32.9 million and $38.9 million), and $17.2 million to double funding for the QEII National Trust ($4.3 million a year).

ACT includes a saving of $793 million, or $383 per household, from cutting environmental spending (excluding the Emissions Trading Scheme). This is one of the examples within its non-frontline public service cuts ($162 million, $245 million, $207 million and $179 million). We have assumed it includes scrapping the Zero Carbon Act.

Labour and NZ First have not announced costed conservation or recreation policies this election.

Arts, culture and heritage

The Greens have proposed $200 million in funding to promote te reo Māori.

Tourism

ACT's Local Tourism Dividend for councils has been placed under Government Services rather than tourism. No other party has announced costed tourism policies this election.

Note: Te Pāti Māori announced a Toi Māori authority at parity with Creative NZ and a Toi Māori artists income programme this week. We have not included them in this week’s Bribe-O-Meter. On our costing they would add around $433 million over four years, or $209 per household.

Click here to return to the Bribe-O-Meter.