{"id":100156,"date":"2025-10-25T08:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T08:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/100156\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T08:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T08:51:09","slug":"northland-group-seeks-judicial-review-of-northport-expansion-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/100156\/","title":{"rendered":"Northland group seeks judicial review of Northport expansion appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Both say they remain committed to protecting cultural and environmental values. <\/p>\n

Te Pouwhenua chairman Pari Walker said the trust had facilitated extensive engagement with hap\u016b since 1997, while Patuharakeke said it had helped strengthen consent conditions and would continue to pursue other avenues to uphold kaitiakitanga.<\/p>\n

Dr Mere Kepa,<\/a> an academic and member of Te Parawhau hap\u016b, said the decision to pursue a judicial review was made by about 20 people at a hui on Monday evening at Te Koutu, Marsden Point. <\/p>\n

She said those involved in the legal challenge included relatives from Takahiwai, including members of Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board and their taiao unit, as well as kin from P\u014droti, Whang\u0101rei, Pat\u0101ua, and Tamaterau.<\/p>\n

Kepa said the group was concerned about exclusion, inadequate consultation, and broader political developments, including the Government\u2019s legislative agenda. <\/p>\n

The challenge coincides with the Marine and Coastal Area (MACA) Amendment Bill <\/a>reaching its third reading in Parliament this week \u2013 its final stage before potentially becoming law.<\/p>\n

The bill, which has sparked nationwide protests,<\/a> would overturn seven recent iwi court victories and require Whang\u0101rei Harbour MACA evidence to be re-heard under a more restrictive legal test<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"SomeSome of the Whangarei Harbour M\u0101ori group who will be launching a legal challenge to an Environment Court appeal decision last October, which allows Northport to expand. Photo \/ Dr Mere Kepa<\/p>\n

Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Trust, which shares whakapapa with Te Parawhau and operates within its rohe, is mandated to consult on environmental and resource management matters. <\/p>\n

However, that mandate does not mean it has full hap\u016b endorsement. <\/p>\n

There has been discord over several issues, including sandmining company McCallum Bros proposal for Bream Bay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Walker said the trust could not comment on individual statements or the judicial review.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I am at liberty to discuss, however, is our involvement with the Northport project thus far.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the trust, alongside Te Parawhau and other hap\u016b of Whang\u0101rei Te Renga Paraoa, had been involved in engagement around the port since 1997, organising hui at venues such as Barge Park, Takahiwai Marae and Okara Stadium. That process had continued throughout the latest stages of the project.<\/p>\n

Walker said Te Parawhau had consistently supported Northland\u2019s economic development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis in short, means we need an efficient and effective port. In doing so Te Parawhau has and will continue to engage with Northport and NRC to ensure our taiao [natural resource] is protected in line with our uara [values],\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n

Kepa, chairwoman of Takahiwai M\u0101ori Committee – a grassroots entity revived in 2023 as an alternative to the trust – claims the appeal process failed to meet legal standards for M\u0101ori engagement under the Resource Management Act and Treaty principles. <\/p>\n

She said the trusts\u2019 engagement did not reflect wider hap\u016b views, and other M\u0101ori groups were not adequately notified or consulted. <\/p>\n

\" Dr Mere Kepa. Photo \/ supplied<\/p>\n

Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board said it has spent eight years advocating for cultural and environmental protection amid large-scale development. <\/p>\n

Concerns it raised contributed to the commissioners\u2019 2024 decision to decline consent.<\/p>\n

Patuharakeke withdrew from the Environment Court appeal process following the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024, which named Northport\u2019s expansion a nationally significant project. <\/p>\n

The decision reflected a strategic shift, recognising the limits of the court process and the need to focus on more effective avenues for influence – especially now there were six projects afoot, the Trust said.<\/p>\n

Withdrawal did not mean stepping back from kaitiakitanga. <\/p>\n

Its growing relationship with Northport offers a path to address unresolved issues and uphold hap\u016b connections to Whang\u0101rei Te Renga Paraoa. <\/p>\n

The trust said it remains committed to protecting customary rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and will continue to pursue all available legal and political pathways, including the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011. <\/p>\n

In a letter to its hap\u016b groups on October 10, the trust urged its members not to join protest action against the appeal decision until hap\u016b had met \u201cto ensure that our leadership in any future engagement or collective response is grounded in unity and clarity\u201d. <\/p>\n

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years\u2019 experience in journalism, most of which she spent as a court reporter in Gisborne and on the East Coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Both say they remain committed to protecting cultural and environmental values. Te Pouwhenua chairman Pari Walker said the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25806,6375,665,6636,1349,14134,273,11598,13689,209,28450,20589,73229,4479,6712,2720,111,43,139,1067,73230,69,1118,762,27950,1361,1869],"class_list":["post-100156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-allows","tag-appeal","tag-around","tag-challenge","tag-court","tag-decision","tag-environment","tag-expand","tag-expansion","tag-group","tag-groups","tag-harbour","tag-judicial","tag-launching","tag-legal","tag-mori","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-northland","tag-northport","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-review","tag-seeks","tag-that","tag-whangrei"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}