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Supreme Court grants leave for Maori Council to appeal High Court ruling that govt's asset sales decisions can't be reviewed

Supreme Court grants leave for Maori Council to appeal High Court ruling that govt's asset sales decisions can't be reviewed

By Alex Tarrant

The fight to stop the government's asset sales programme is heading to the Supreme Court.

The highest court in the land today granted approval for the Maori Council to appeal a High Court decision a week ago that the government's decisions regarding moves to partially privatise four state-owned energy companies were not reviewable in court.

The Supreme Court also granted leave for the appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court, meaning the next decision could be the final act in the Maori Council's bid to prove the sales would be unlawful.

The approved ground of appeal was whether the High Court was right to dismiss the application for review.

The Supreme Court said it would hear the appeal on January 31 and February 1 next year.

A decision in favour of the government will allow it to move forward with its plans to sell up to 49% of Mighty River Power in the second quarter next year. Mighty River is set to be followed by partial privatisations of Genesis Energy, Meridian Energy and Solid Energy.

The government is also looking to sell down its three-quarter stake in Air New Zealand to no less than 51%, in its bid to raise NZ$5-7 billion from the 'mixed-ownership model' programme.

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4 Comments

Surely to god these assorted trouble makers are not going to be funded by the taxpayers yet again......?

Why dont the woolly liberals of the judiciary grow some balls and tell them all to get lost !

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Given the vast majority of New Zealanders would strongly prefer the power companies were not sold, and this now seems the only plausible path to stop them being so, then all power to the Maori.

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Maori King "We own the water!!!"

 

Muppet King "From my cold dead hands"

 

Rawiri Taonui,  who told the programme John Key was acting under a misconception when he stated no one owned water.
 
“You can’t go into another country and help yourself to their water or hook a hose up to an irrigation scheme on the farm or help yourself to water in a supermarket – you have to pay for it. It’s quite interesting Scotty that misconception is only ever cited when it comes to Māori water rights.”

 

I'm sorry but if you had a bigger army you could, and people did, and people will.

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when are Iwi taking over Xero while they are about it   - they are using the clouds for computing and thats where the water comes from last time I looked

 

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