Dunne welcomes High Court heli-hunting ruling

Associate Conservation Minister Peter Dunne has welcomed a High Court judgement dismissing a claim that he was biased in his approach to heli-hunting.

“While no Minister ever wants a judicial review of their decisions, I was always confident that the integrity and reasonableness of the decisions I made would stand up to scrutiny.

“The judgement is very clear-cut and my decisions were vindicated by Justice Kos on every point,” Mr Dunne said.

The case was brought by a number of heli-hunting operators unhappy with a 2012 decision by Mr Dunne to give just two-year heli-hunting permits rather than the 10-year consents they had sought.

Prior to becoming Associate Conservation Minister in 2011, Mr Dunne, as UnitedFuture leader, had campaigned strongly to end the practice of aerial assisted trophy hunting, more commonly known as heli-hunting.

In its confidence and supply agreement with National, signed after the 2011 election, UnitedFuture succeeded in negotiating agreement for the following provision:

Put in place the necessary legislative provisions to cease guided helicopter hunting on the conservation estate involving the shooting of game animals from helicopters and the herding and hazing of game animals as part of the hunt, and the inequitable access provisions for guided helicopter hunting in wilderness areas

“And I absolutely intend to move forward and deliver on that,” Mr Dunne said.

“But what the High Court judgement found very clearly was that that political intention had no bearing on the 2012 decision to grant two-year concessions, and that at every step, my process and intention were fair and correct.

“The conditions of the concessions were set to reflect the sensitivities of the issue on both sides and to give a reasonable period of time for applicants to book clients for their businesses, while also providing opportunity to review the situation within a reasonable time period,” he said.