The Whangarei hapu asserting their rights to Poroti Springs say the Maori Council has their full support to take the government to court over the water claims.
Taipari Munro, of Te Uri Roroi, says the hapu has tried for decades to get the Crown to acknowledge their right to exercise rangatiratanga.
He says similar grievances have been discussed for years at marae all over Aotearoa.
But it wasn't until the Maori Council put those grievances on the national stage, with its Waitangi Tribunal claims, that anyone took any notice.
Taipari Munro says the Poroti hapu are poor and may not be able to pay much towards Maori Council's High Court challenge - but it has their absolute moral support.
The hapu has welcomed a Northland Regional Council decision this week - refusing an Auckland company consent to take more water from Poroti for an export venture.
