Five Million Voices

Should the ban on new petroleum exploration permits outside onshore Taranaki be removed and the Crown Minerals Act's purpose shifted back to promoting petroleum and mineral development?

The bill amends the Crown Minerals Act 1991 to reverse the 2018 restriction limiting new petroleum exploration permits to onshore Taranaki and changes the Act's stated purpose from managing to promoting the Crown's petroleum and minerals estate. It also adjusts permit allocation, the decommissioning regime, and creates a new small-scale mining permit category.

⚡ Taken under urgency

Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (first reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.

MPs’ arguments for and against the bill

Why support it
  • Supporters argued the 2018 ban signalled to investors that New Zealand was closed to exploration, shrinking permitted acreage and contributing to declining gas supply and price volatility.
  • Supporters said natural gas remains necessary as a contingency for dry years and low renewable output, and that domestic gas produces lower emissions than the imported coal currently used to fill supply gaps.
  • Supporters argued the bill's immediate signal to investors would encourage investment in both new exploration and existing fields, helping energy security and easing cost-of-living pressures.
Why oppose it
  • Opponents argued investment in existing fields actually rose after 2018, so the ban did not have the chilling effect claimed, and reversing it would not deliver new gas or lower prices.
  • Opponents said the change would add an estimated 14.2 million tonnes of emissions and risk New Zealand's climate targets and international reputation, with no plan offered to offset it.
  • Opponents cited official advice that reversing the ban could be inconsistent with obligations under several free trade agreements, putting export market access at risk.

These are claims MPs made in Parliament’s debate — not verified facts.

Full bill summary & link to official bill page

This bill amends the Crown Minerals Act 1991, which governs how the Crown's petroleum and mineral resources are managed and permitted. Its central change reverses a 2018 restriction that stopped new offshore petroleum exploration permits and confined them to onshore Taranaki, so new oil and gas exploration can again be permitted more widely. It also shifts the Act's stated purpose from "managing" back to "promoting" development of the Crown's minerals estate, and adjusts permit allocation, the regime for decommissioning (safely shutting down) oil and gas fields, and creates a new category of small-scale mining permit.

It is a coalition Government bill reversing the previous Government's 2018 exploration ban. Supporters argue it improves energy security, supports gas supply as an alternative to coal, and aids regional economies and jobs. Critics, including environmental groups and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, argue it is a backward step on climate change, encourages fossil-fuel development at odds with emissions goals, and risks locking in investment that could become stranded.

See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.

Oppose (No) Support (Yes)

Crown Minerals Amendment Bill · Third Reading, 31 Jul 2025
Parliament voted 68–54 — it passed.