MEDIA RELEASE
 
 
Council to seek costs
For immediate release: 22 April 2009
 
Environment Bay of Plenty today voted to seek court costs after a High Court judicial review of its decision to move its regional council headquarters from Whakatane to Tauranga.
 
Three district councils, Whakatane, Opotiki and Rotorua, mounted a legal challenge over the decision, saying consultation procedures required under the Local Government Act 2002 had not been properly followed.
 
However Justice Ailsa Duffy ruled in favour of the regional council, finding no grounds to support the claim decision-making processes were unlawful or invalid.
 
Environment Bay of Plenty Chairman John Cronin said it was a “sad day” when the regional council needed to seek costs against three other councils in the region.
 
“It’s a sad day for local government in the region but we have to seek costs if we are to abide by our own rules,” he said.
 
“In any other situation with any other party we would be doing the same and in order to be fair, we cannot make an exception in this case.”
 
Environment Bay of Plenty incurred legal costs of just under $300,000 in relation to the Judicial Review.
 
Ends