Radio New Zealand

A Government agency is defending the time it took to reject an Australian mining company's applications for exploration permits in Golden Bay, Buller and elsewhere in New Zealand.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals on Tuesday officially turned down Greywolf Resources, two days after the miner said it was withdrawing its applications.

The agency says it had identified deficiencies in the financial information provided by Greywolf Resources and is also concerned about its ability to do the exploration work.

Iwi in Golden Bay say some of the applications were lodged six months ago and a quicker response would have been useful.

Chris Hill, representing iwi, says the agency should have realised long ago the company had no credibility.

The agency says the assessment of applications is very thorough and takes time to complete.