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Kahawai
Application made to the Supreme Court
Kahawai Challenge team
July
2008
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Kahawai
Legal Challenge Update New Zealand Fishing News
August
2008 edition |
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| On
July 9th the Kahawai Legal Challenge team lodged an application
with the Supreme Court challenging some aspects of the recently-released
Appeal Court ruling.
There
is no automatic right to appeal so the Supreme Court’s
response, as to whether it will accept the application,
is awaited with interest.
There is also no formal timeframe for the Court to decide,
so work is continuing on developing the legal arguments
in anticipation of a hearing. It will be the end of the
legal process if the application is rejected. |
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| Supreme
Court application
Any
application to the Supreme Court has to be more specific
than matters raised in the lower Courts. Eight main points
relating to the Appeal Court decision have been identified
as being errors of law. These issues will be supported by
legal arguments if a hearing is granted. |
Appeal
Court decision
The
Appeal Court ruling was released on June 11th and all
parties had until July 9th to lodge an application to
appeal that judgment. The three Appeal Court judges agreed
with some of the claims made by both the commercial appellants
and amateur fishers, so it was a mixed result for both.
Moreover, the Appeal Court confirmed the findings of the
High Court, that the Minister of Fisheries must first
allow for the non-commercial fishing interests of Maori
customary and recreational fishers and make an allowance
for fishing-related mortality, before he sets the commercial
catch limit in any fishery.
Interestingly, the Appeal Court did not agree that it
was mandatory for the Minister to provide for the social,
economic and cultural wellbeing of people when setting
allowances. In summary they said:
“As with
most aspects of the decision-making role played by the
Minister, the consideration of the wellbeing factor
requires a balance of competing interests, especially
in the case of a shared fishery such as kahawai.”
The
commercial claim that the Minister should be required to
monitor and assess the recreational kahawai catch was turned
down by the Court.
The claim by non-commercial fishers that the Minister must
have “particular regard” to the national significance
of natural resources in the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park,
when setting allowances, was upheld by the Court.
A copy of the full Court decision is online, as is an overview
of the decision from our legal team. Visit www.kahawai.co.nz.
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Why
the Challenge?
Even
the Appeal Court judges mentioned the unusual feature of
this case was that the Minister had not appealed against
the 2007 High Court decision that went against him.
It
was commercial fishers who challenged the decision.
After serious discussions amongst the NZ Big Game and Recreational
Fishing Councils, option4, Ngapuhi and other non-commercial
fishing organisations, the KLC team decided that the principles
upheld in the High Court ruling were far too precious to
let go without mounting a defence. |
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Protecting
your fishing rights
Protecting
our children’s right to have access to abundant fisheries
and a healthy marine environment has been arduous at times but
made possible by those who believe in, and have supported, the
Challenge. Thank you all.
You can contribute
in a number of ways:
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Dial 0900 KAHAWAI (0900 52 42 92) to automatically donate $20
via your phone account
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Contact Trish Rea on 0800 KAHAWAI (0800 52 42 92) for larger
amounts.
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Cheques
to the ‘Kahawai Challenge Fund’ can be sent to New
Zealand Fishing News, PO Box 12-965, Penrose, Auckland.
We
will keep you posted on further developments.
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