Case to be heard in December

December 8 is the date that has been set for the High Court review of the Department of Conservation's revocation and land swap decisions on the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme.

Whether this matter, filed by Forest & Bird against the department, would be heard this year was up in the air with the High Court's tight schedule.

F&B lawyer Sally Gepp said the concerned parties were emailed on Thursday afternoon asking the affected parties to avail themselves for a teleconference yesterday morning. She said it was then they were informed of court time becoming available on the eighth which meant the hearing could be heard in December. She said she was surprised but pleased with how soon the review date had arrived, which means that all documents required by the High Court from F&B need to be filed by next Thursday.

"HBRIC and DOC will file their submissions by Monday the seventh and then the hearing on the eighth," she said. "So it is an extremely tight timetable, but that is okay, we are all working to it."

F&B sought the review following the decision made by DoC's director general Lou Sanson to swap 22ha of the Ruahine Forest Park for 170ha of land the Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company (HBRIC) will potentially buy from Smedley Station.

The environmental group claims the land deal is unlawful as DoC has the power to swap stewardship land but not specially-protected conservation parkland.

"This issue goes far beyond Hawke's Bay and Ruahine Forest Park," Ms Gepp said then. "It sets a precedent for all specially protected conservation land, which includes forest parks, conservation parks, and ecological and wilderness areas."

Ms Gepp said as it is a judicial review the merits of the DoC decision on the land swap cannot be argued. "We have our views on that, but it's not a matter that the High Court could look at on a judicial review."

The matter will be heard by the recently appointed Justice Matthew Palmer.