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Te Whanau-a-Apanui and Greenpeace returned to the High Court today
to hear the Crown's response
to the iwi claiming the Minister of Energy did not act lawfully
in approving an oil exploration permit to Petrobras.
Peata Melbourne has more.
The Crown was questioned today about their consultation process with iwi
prior to granting permit to Petrobras.
The Crown replied that iwi were irresponsive
despite efforts to engage them.
A Whanau-a-Apanui representative said
that as Treaty negotiations were still in process,
the Crown shouldn't have granted the permit.
Applicants also said
the Minister of Energy and Resources
should've considered the environmental issues,
but the Crown argued that wasn't the Minister's mandate.
Despite the judge's want to resolve the matter quickly,
the amount of required reading means a decision is expected in July.
Peata Melbourne, Te Karere.