Opposition to Waitaki plan

A retired fisherman, an electricity generator and a group of irrigators have lodged appeals in the High Court against the final plan of the Waitaki Catchment Water Allocation Board to divide the river's water among competing uses.

Meridian Energy and Mackenzie Irrigation are jointly arguing that it is not clear that some of the allocation plan's provisions are consistent with an earlier High Court ruling upholding Meridian's existing resource consents which give it rights to water above the Waitaki dam.

The board was set up for the sole purpose of drawing up the allocation plan. It will remain in existence while the appeals are heard, but has no responsibility for implementing its plan. That task lies with Environment Canterbury.