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A legal challenge has delayed an attempt by authorities to resolve a longstanding blockade of a road to the Urewera ranges.
The Whakatane District Council is moving a section of Matahi Valley Rd, southeast of Ruatoki, in a bid to end the blockade by a group affiliated to the local Omuriwaka hapu.
But the work was halted soon after it began on Tuesday, when a member of the group sought an injunction from the Maori Land Court. Judge Caren Fox considered the application at Opotiki yesterday and ruled that the council's relocation of the road was legal.
Council contractors resumed work, but the Omuriwaka group is vowing to continue fighting the road relocation, saying the new route is also on disputed land.
The existing road passes across private land and the group objects to council staff and other officials using the route.
Members of the group have been camped out in buses beside the road since September 2006, forming a blockade and charging individuals who want to access Te Urewera National Park.
The council hopes that by moving the road on to land it says is council land, Omuriwaka will end the blockade.
But the group has resisted numerous attempts by police to move them and looks unlikely to shift.
On Tuesday, Omuriwaka elder Te Rake Te Pairi sought an injunction from the Maori Land Court to prohibit the contractors from working on the new route.
"The Whakatane District Council is widening their boundary for a roadway without proper consultation with the people of the land," his application said.
The application asked that no work be carried out on the Tahora 2AD2 and Omuriwaka blocks because the boundaries of both were disputed.
But Judge Fox ruled that Tahora 2AD2 was "general land" and that the court had no jurisdiction over that block.
She also questioned Mr Te Pairi's authority to seek the injunction in relation to the Omuriwaka block, saying he had filed no formal resolution from six other trustees authorising his action.
Council chief executive Diane Turner said last night work on the new route was almost complete. She said an order for removal of the buses used by Omuriwaka had been carried out successfully by police on Tuesday.
Mr Te Pairi could not be contacted last night but a spokeswoman for Omuriwaka said members would continue resisting the council action.
