Environment · Party position

Te Pāti Māori on Environment

Māori rights and authority over water, land and food

Te Pāti Māori says Māori should have the right to make decisions about freshwater and land. They want to protect traditional food systems, reject genetically engineered foods, and support farming methods that work with nature. They say water is life and that decisions about it should be made by those who have always cared for it — hapū, iwi and whānau.

What they say they'll do

Assert Māori rights and authority over freshwater and stop decisions being made without Māori consent
Permanently ban seabed mining in New Zealand waters through the proposed Seabed Mining Prohibition Act 2026
Protect Māori food systems including seed sovereignty and reject GE foods
Invest in community food systems and regenerative Māori agriculture
Ensure natural resources are protected and benefits are shared fairly
Uphold Māori authority over natural resources including whenua, wai, and moana

Who this affects

Iwi, hapū and coastal communities

The party's proposed seabed mining ban would affect communities near affected coastlines, particularly in areas like South Taranaki, by seeking to stop mining activity that the party says would cause irreversible harm to marine ecosystems and taonga species.

Farmers and food producers

The proposals around regenerative Māori agriculture, seed sovereignty, and rejecting GE foods would affect how food is grown and what farming methods and crop types are supported.

Freshwater users and communities

The freshwater policy would change who has decision-making authority over rivers, lakes, and waterways, placing that authority with Māori rather than allowing decisions to be made without Māori consent.

In their own words

“Protection of our whenua, wai and moana, including banning seabed mining and upholding Māori authority over natural resources.”

“Seabed Mining would cause significant, irreversible, and unmanageable effects on marine ecosystems, taonga species, tikanga Māori, as well as the relationship of Iwi and Hapū with the moana.”

“Water is life. It carries whakapapa, sustains our whenua, feeds our people, and binds generations together.”

Verify at Te Pāti Māori — Fresh Water (maoriparty.org.nz/fresh_water)

Summarised neutrally from Te Pāti Māori’s own official policy (as at 2026-09-09) and checked by an editor. Nothing is paraphrased without the source linked. Read the original ↗ Arapono is non-partisan. Compare all parties on Environment →

In depth — from Te Pāti Māori’s policy document · 8 February 2026

A permanent ban on seabed mining

Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has reintroduced a member’s bill, the Seabed Mining Prohibition Act, to ban seabed mining permanently — closing all legal pathways including fast-track approvals, and applying across the coastal marine area, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. It is the second version, strengthened to account for fast-track legislation; the first was supported by the Greens and voted down by Labour.

The bill

Seabed Mining Prohibition Act

Scope

All legal pathways

Also contesting, without seats in Parliament
Women’s Rights
Animal Justice
ALCP
Conservative
Outdoors & Freedom
Vision NZ
Alliance
Free Palestine
NZ Loyal											∅
Te Tai Tokerau											∅

Te Pāti Māori on Environment

What they say they'll do

Who this affects

In their own words

A permanent ban on seabed mining

Coverage at a glance