Hearing into Minister’s veto of marina begins
The Whangamata Marina Society’s judicial review into Conservation Minister Chris Carter’s handling of the marina issue
begins this Tuesday in the Wellington High Court before Justice Wild.
The Society is seeking to have the Minister’s decision set aside on the basis that it is illegal, unfair and
unreasonable.
“We are confident of our case and will have a strong presence in the court room with a number of supporters coming down
from Whangamata for the three day hearing,” Society President Mick Kelly said.
The Society invested $1.3 million and 13 years in getting the necessary resource consents through local and regional
government and ultimately through the Environment Court.
“To have the Court’s recommendation overturned by the Minister after this exhaustive procedure on the basis of
uncontested submissions from disaffected third parties, some of whom had not bothered to engage in the consents process
or in the Environment Court hearings, is just not on,” Mr Kelly said.
The Society’s arguments are that the Minister and his officials misunderstood their statutory role:
• the Minister illegally reinvestigated evidential findings of the Environment Court and instigated an
investigative consultation process outside that prescribed by statute;
• the Minister gave “veto” weight to protection of the salt marsh area and tangata whenua values, and failed to
give any or adequate weight to mandatory relevant considerations under Part II of the Resource Management Act, including
the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement;
• the Minister was influenced by information received from opponents of the marina outside the Environment Court
process and before he had considered fully the Court’s decision and documents;
• the Minister breached natural justice principles by deciding the matter prior to hearing from the Society, and;
• the Minister breached the Society’s legitimate expectation that he would exercise his discretion consistently
with an agreement entered into between the Society and the Department of Conservation on the Minister’s behalf in 1998
and a Memorandum filed with the Environment Court on the Minister’s behalf in 1999.
Ends