Consent to dredge the Port of Tauranga shipping channels is being taken to the Court of Appeal.

Last month the High Court dismissed Tauranga hapu Ngati Ruahine's appeal to stop consent to widen and deepen the shipping channel to allow bigger ships access to the port.

The appeal was lodged after the Environment Court granted consent to dredge the port at the end of last year.

Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns told the annual meeting yesterday the hapu has decided to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

'Unfortunately, we received notice last week that Ngati Ruahine is appealing to the Court of Appeal.

'Ngati Ruahine is a hapu of Ngati Ranginui iwi, one of twenty four hapu that make up the Tauranga Moana Collective.”

Mark says the port will challenge the legitimacy of the appeal.

The dredging consent was initially recommended by a panel of Independent Commissioners in May 2010 before being confirmed by the Environment Court in December 2011 and also the High Court last month.

'We hope the appeal to the Court of Appeal can be resolved quickly,” says Mark.

'Once we have the consent finally approved, the dredging project will be carried out in several stages. We had hoped to commence the first stage towards the end of next year.

'New Zealand's economy desperately needs the $338 million of benefits that the New Zealand Shippers Council estimates will flow from bigger ships operating on the South East Asia trade routes.”

Mark says the four-year dredging process has cost the port $2.5million.

'We consider that it has been undertaken with a great deal of mutual respect and co-operation from most hapu,” says Mark.

'One of the proposed resource consent conditions requires the establishment of a new trust that will set priorities and allocate funds for harbour improvement projects.

'The Environment Court described this as a relatively sophisticated approach to dealing with the various issues that arose during the case and concluded that the proposed conditions offered by the Port during the closing of its case; ‘adequately avoid, mitigate, or remedy the cultural effects'.

'We sincerely hope the new trust will provide a forum for building on the relationship between the port and iwi and really making a difference in improving the health and wellbeing of the beautiful harbour that we share.”

Mark is hoping the second phase of reforms of the Resource Management Act which are expected before Christmas will include ports under Section 6 of the Act – to be considered as matters of national importance.

Almost all 99 per cent of New Zealand trade by volume, passes through a port.