The lawyer representing Maori living south of Whangarei Harbour says the hapu will fight hard in court to stop the Crown from striking out its application preventing Mighty River Power selling off its land.
Prue Kapua said a date has been set for the Crown to make its case in the High Court in Whangarei on 1 December.
She said the land used to belong to Patuharakeke hapu until it was sold into private hands and then acquired by the Government under the Public Works Act.
Ms Kapua said the Crown's argument is that Mighty River Power is not part of the Crown, but a separate entity, and any Treaty obligations cannot be linked to land owned by a state-owned enterprise.
The Crown had given an undertaking not to sell land blocks until at least October, but that time frame has now been extended due to the High Court hearing, she said.