5 Nov 2008

Appeal withdrawn over Crown forest deal

5:59 am on 5 November 2008

The New Zealand Maori Council has withdrawn an appeal to the Supreme Court over the use of rental proceeds from the Crown Forestry Rental Trust.

The case was due for a hearing on 11 November.

At the centre of the case was a settlement in 2006 between Te Arawa and the Crown, which gave the iwi the ability to buy land within Kaingaroa Forest when several other groups also had Waitangi Tribunal claims over the land involved.

A minute, issued by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, says all parties have withdrawn their appeals, meaning next week's scheduled hearing will not take place.

It says that while the Crown had intended that rental proceeds from the Crown Forestry Rental Trust would be used for Maori development purposes, it understands the Maori Council and other appellants did not consider that to be consistent with previous legislation.

The Crown has apologised for that.