Transpower appeal would be fruitless

Following additional legal advice, Federated Farmers has opted not to appeal Transpower’s Whakamaru to Auckland transmission line project.

“While the Federation’s counsel believes there are strong grounds for an appeal, in the end, the project would go ahead whether we did so or not,” says Philip York, Federated Farmers electricity spokesperson.

“With this in mind, we’ve decided not to appeal the Board of Inquiry’s approval of the transmission line project. We will instead continue to advocate that Transpower make ongoing compensation payments to affected landowners on top of the proposed one-off payments.

“The appeal may have resulted in a better definition of how the law around compensation relates to resource management, but ultimately, it would not have affected the size of or manner by which compensation payments are made.

“We are also aware that a majority of the affected landowners have already accepted Transpower’s offer of a one-off compensation payment.

“Landowners who have not yet accepted the deal are holding out for an improved compensation package, which would include ongoing payments when the productive use of land is lost.

“These landowners can rest assured the Federation will continue to push for an improvement to the current deal. They deserve ongoing compensation in order to offset the income that may be lost in the long term.

“Nevertheless, there are more general problems with compensation under the Public Works Act that still need addressing. But any appeal of the transmission line project would be ineffective in dealing with those.

“How compensation relates to the Resource Management Act (RMA) is just one of several issues where the Board of Inquiry has, in the opinion of Federated Farmers, strayed from the law. That’s why we want Transpower to stop hiding behind its massive legislative privilege and rent, at fair market value, the land the pylons will cover,” Mr York concluded.