Environment · Party position

Te Pāti Māori on Environment

Māori authority over water, land, food and ocean protection

Te Pāti Māori says Māori should have the right to make decisions about freshwater, land and the ocean. They want to permanently ban seabed mining, protect traditional food systems, reject genetically engineered foods, and support farming methods that work with nature. They say protecting the environment means upholding Māori authority as kaitiaki (guardians) over whenua (land), wai (water) and moana (ocean).

What they say they'll do

Assert Māori rights and authority over freshwater and natural resources including whenua, wai, and moana
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
Increase access to land for food production
Uphold Māori authority as kaitiaki (guardians) over whenua, wai and moana

Who this affects

Coastal and fishing communities

A permanent ban on seabed mining would affect anyone living near or relying on coastal waters, as the party says seabed mining causes irreversible harm to marine ecosystems and taonga species.

Iwi and hapū

The party's proposals would give iwi and hapū formal authority over freshwater and other natural resources, and involve them in decisions about the ocean and land.

Farmers and food growers

Policies on regenerative Māori agriculture and increased land access for food production would affect those growing food, particularly Māori land-based producers.

In their own words

“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.”

“KAITIAKI | GUARDIANS OF THE WHENUA: Protection of our whenua, wai and moana, including banning seabed mining and upholding Māori authority over natural resources.”

“Kai sovereignty means affordable,healthy kai connected to whenua, whakapapa, and Māori control.”

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

Summarised neutrally from Te Pāti Māori’s own official policy (as at 2026-09-21) and checked by an editor. Nothing is paraphrased without the source linked. Read the original ↗ Politika 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

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Te Pāti Māori on Environment

What they say they'll do

Who this affects

In their own words

A permanent ban on seabed mining

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