An Environment Court appeal decision allows Northport, pictured, to expand.
Māori groups around Whangārei Harbour are launching a legal challenge to an Environment Court appeal decision that allows Northport to expand.
The court granted Northport consent earlier this month to expand its port facilities at Marsden Point, overturning a 2024 decision by independent commissioners who had declined the application because of adverse effects on cultural values, public access, and the marine environment.
Northport said the consents enabled it to realise its decade-long vision for a dedicated container handling, storage and logistics facility, which will support economic growth and supply chain resilience in Northland and the Upper North Island.
With a 35-year term and a 20-year lapse period, the company has flexibility to plan expansion around projected freight demand, Northport said.
Two iwi authorities — Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board and Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Kukupa Trust — withdrew their opposition during the appeal process.
Both say they remain committed to protecting cultural and environmental values.
Te Pouwhenua chairman Pari Walker said there had been multiple opportunities for engagement by interested Māori, including Te Parawhau, in the port proposal since 1997.
Patuharakeke said it had helped strengthen consent conditions and would continue to pursue other avenues to uphold kaitiakitanga.
Dr Mere Kepa, an academic and member of Te Parawhau hapū, 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.
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 Pōroti, Whangārei, Patāua, and Tamaterau.
Kepa said the group was concerned about exclusion, inadequate consultation, and broader political developments, including the Government’s legislative agenda.
The challenge coincides with the Marine and Coastal Area (MACA) Amendment Bill reaching its third reading in Parliament this week – its final stage before potentially becoming law.
The bill, which has sparked nationwide protests, would overturn seven recent iwi court victories and require Whangārei Harbour MACA evidence to be re-heard under a more restrictive legal test.
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.
However, that mandate does not mean it has full hapū endorsement.
There has been discord over several issues, including sandmining company McCallum Bros proposal for Bream Bay.
Walker said the trust could not comment on individual statements or the judicial review.
“What I am at liberty to discuss, however, is our involvement with the Northport project thus far.”
He said: “Te Pouwhenua o Tiakiriri Trust members, along with Te Parawhau Hapū and many other Hapū of Whangārei Terenga Paraoa have been engaged with the Northport build project since July 1997. There have been multiple opportunities held to allow Te Parawhau Hapū members and others to be a part of the engagement process, for example, hui at places such as Barge Park, Takahiwai Marae, Okara Stadium, and so forth. In the latest iterations of the project, the same process of engagement has been applied.”
Walker said Te Parawhau had consistently supported Northland’s economic development.
“This 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],” Walker said.
Kepa, chairwoman of Takahiwai Māori Committee - a grassroots entity revived in 2023 as an alternative to the trust - claims the appeal process failed to meet legal standards for Māori engagement under the Resource Management Act and Treaty principles.
She said the trusts’ engagement did not reflect wider hapū views, and other Māori groups were not adequately notified or consulted.
Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board said it has spent eight years advocating for cultural and environmental protection amid large-scale development.
Concerns it raised contributed to the commissioners’ 2024 decision to decline consent.
Patuharakeke withdrew from the Environment Court appeal process following the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024, which named Northport’s expansion a nationally significant project.
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.
Withdrawal did not mean stepping back from kaitiakitanga.
Its growing relationship with Northport offers a path to address unresolved issues and uphold hapū connections to Whangārei Te Renga Paraoa.
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.
In a letter to its hapū groups on October 10, the trust urged its members not to join protest action against the appeal decision until hapū had met “to ensure that our leadership in any future engagement or collective response is grounded in unity and clarity”.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent as a court reporter in Gisborne and on the East Coast.