Environment Minister Trevor Mallard this week announced his intention to "call in" the 180turbine Hauauru ma Raki wind farm planned for construction between Te Akau and Port Waikato.
In deeming the project to be of national significance, Mr Mallard has used his ministerial intervention powers to direct that the resource consent process be referred to a board of inquiry, rather than be heard by Environment Waikato, Waikato District Council, and Franklin District Council.
But while the move has been welcomed by applicants Contact Energy and Contact Wind, all three councils have told the Environment Ministry they consider such intervention inappropriate.
Contact Wind and Contact Energy lodged a suite of applications for resource consents with the councils on June 26, and at the same time requested ministerial intervention, fearing council processes could be cumbersome and protracted.
But Waikato District Council chief executive Gavin Ion said all three councils believed they could better handle the resource consent process than the Environment Ministry.
"That is a view that we hold unanimously," he said. "We have local knowledge, local input, and are quite capable of handling something like this.
"We have worked on other projects of this nature, such as the NGC pipeline, which had five different councils involved."
Mr Ion said it was important for councils to have close involvement to ensure "robust outcomes" for communities, but the ministerial decision came as no surprise.
"We had been expecting it."
To date the Te Akau proposal has not generated the same level of opposition as Wel Networks' Te Uku wind farm, though that may partially be due to the councils deferring any public notification while awaiting the minister's decision.
Contact chief executive David Baldwin said the decision to use the call-in powers and have the application considered by an independent board of inquiry would remove the possibility for unnecessary delays while still preserving the right for public participation.
"The decision to call in the Hauauru ma Raki wind farm consent application recognises the national significance of the project and the important contribution it can make to a secure, renewable electricity supply for New Zealand," he said.
Contact Wind and Contact Energy say the wind farm is expected to meet the electricity needs of about 180,000 households a year.
