New Zealand / Otago

Wānaka group relieved court case probes airport concerns

08:54 am on 25 September 2020

A judicial review of decisions surrounding Wānaka Airport is expected to finish today.

Photo: Queenstown Airport

The High Court has been hearing the matter in Queenstown this week.

The Wānaka Stakeholders Group is asking the judge to review decisions made by the Queenstown Lakes District Council in relation to the airport.

The group's argument is the council's awarding of a 100-year lease to the Queenstown Airport Corporation is unlawful.

Justice Gerard van Bohemen has been presented with 10,000 pages of evidence.

The Wānaka Stakeholders Group's deputy chair, Mark Sinclair, said he was pleased the group had got its day in court.

"We've been frustrated for many, many months at the lack of transparency and the way in which the council and the airport have blocked our requests for information at almost every step," he said.

"It is good to be in court because we're in front of a judge. The judge is able to look at all the facts and the law, and decide whether what the court and the airport company have done is lawful or done in the right way.

"That's all we want. We want the community to be heard and we want some resolution of some of the issues we are very concerned about."

It is expected Justice van Bohemen will reserve his judgment and it will be some weeks before it is delivered.