The High Court has ordered an immediate halt to
the burning and destruction of the hut network throughout Te Urewera.
In an interim ruling released by the High Court in Rotorua on Wednesday, Justice Mark Woolford said the Te Urewera Board and the Trustees of Tūhoe – Te Uru Taumatua, their employees and contractors, must “immediately cease their programme to demolish or remove the huts”.
Justice Woolford also said the Trustees of Tūhoe – Te Uru Taumatua must “file and serve a complete list of the huts that have been demolished or removed by 5pm on Wednesday November 9.”
The ruling comes after applicant Wharenui Clyde Tuna sought to halt what he described as “the hasty destruction by fire of the hut network throughout Te Urewera”.
A list provided to the court by TUT late on Wednesday afternoon showed that 29 huts had already been demolished or removed. The organisation had originally said about 48 huts in total would be removed.