The sale of Tauranga’s marine precinct could cause “irreversible harm” and drive some businesses out of town, a court has been told.
Tauranga City Council’s $13.98 million sale of the precinct to Christchurch developer Sam Rofe was due to settle in November 2024, but was halted by a last-minute High Court interim injunction.
The injunction was filed by Sean Kelly, managing director of marine service company Pacific7, who owns land at the precinct.
Kelly also applied for a judicial review of the council’s processes relating to the transaction.

Justice Peter Andrew heard arguments in the case in the High Court at Tauranga on Tuesday before a packed public gallery in the main courtroom and an overflow courtroom.
The basis for Pacific7’s injunction was the displacement of the working boats that use the precinct and a lack of consultation with precinct users.
Pacific7’s lawyer Matthew King said fishing boats had a long history in Tauranga and had been using the area that became the precinct for decades.

A proposal for the fishing boats to instead work from Fisherman’s Wharf near Tauranga’s CBD was “not a feasible alternative” as some could not fit under the Tauranga Harbour Bridge, King said.
Evidence from some businesses was they would have to leave the area if they did not have access to a wharf north of the bridge.
This would mean a loss of jobs and loss of significant revenue for the city, King said.
“Commercial marine business is the fabric of our culture and this deal puts it at risk.”
Under the sale and purchase agreement, there was no guarantee for berthing for working boats at the precinct, King said.
King said he was currently not looking for a full judicial review of the sale but for the interim injunction to continue while the sale was examined.

Tauranga City Council’s lawyer Sally McKechnie said the key context was the marine precinct was a “non-core council” activity.
She said King’s submission was about commitments to the marine industry but much of this was focused on fishing.
“There is no statutory requirement for the council to provide a marine precinct at all or for particular users or in a particular form.
“It’s not a strategic asset of the council’s and it never has been.”
The council did not have to provide fishing or working boat facilities, McKechnie said.
There were no ongoing contractual commitments to the users or potential users of the current wharf, she said.
The council had acknowledged that the sale would impact on some current users, McKechnie said.
For the interim orders to continue, the council submitted Pacific7’s challenge did not have the merit to further delay the development of the precinct, she said.
There would be “further costs on the council to maintain an asset which is underperforming and not achieving the economic aspirations of the city”, McKechnie said.

The issue of whether the precinct users were consulted about the sale was discussed at length.
Lawyers for the purchaser argued numerous meetings were held with marine users and, over the years, the option to sell was openly discussed.
Lawyer Jeremy Johnson said: “The issue of the future of the [marine precinct] was much discussed in this community for years.”
Rofe approached the council in late 2023 with a proposal to buy the precinct with a vision of it becoming a “premier superyacht refit destination”.
King said when the decision was made to sell the precinct to Rofe, users were not made aware of it.
Kelly was overseas when the sale was announced publicly in May 2024 and did not find out until September when he returned, he said.
When the sale was entered into in May the council was run by a government-appointed commission. It was due to settle in November after the July election.
The newly elected council first discussed the sale at a meeting in October where users aired their frustrations with the sale and being forced to leave the precinct.
Justice Andrew reserved his decision and said the interim orders remained in the meantime.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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Original Article: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/taurangas-marine-precinct-sale-could-cause-irreversible-harm-court-told/PRWZZUNDZBFCLK2F243F3O45YM/ 

It was an overflowing courtroom in the High Court at Tauranga on Tuesday as locals were told the sale of the Tauranga marine precinct should not have come as a surprise to residents who "were widely consulted".
Last year, Tauranga City Council sold the precinct to Christchurch developer Sam Rofe.
However, the sale was paused at the eleventh hour after an interim injunction was granted by the High Court.
Justice Andrew was hearing arguments on an application for a judicial review of the sale.
Lawyers for the purchaser argued that numerous meetings were held with marine users and over the years the option to sell was openly discussed.
Lawyer Shane Campbell said what the applicant, marine precinct user Pacific 7, really wanted to achieve was to pressure the council into cancelling the contract with their client.
"This proceeding has been brought on an admitted basis for trying to bring overt pressure to bear on elected officials to exercise what they say are cancellation rights," Campbell said.
Justice Andrews pushed back on this and asked whether the applicant was simply asking to hold Tauranga City Council to account.
"That's entirely legitimate isn't it, in a democracy?" the justice asked.
Outside the court, locals disagreed that there had been wide consultation and said they wanted justice for ratepayers.
"We haven't been included, there has been no consultation," said one.
Another said that it felt like a very small group of people were playing monopoly with the city.
Justice Andrew is expected to reserve his decision.

Tauranga's controversial marine precinct sale heads to the High Court today, where opponents of the sale are expected to pack out the courtroom.
Tauranga City Council (TCC) sold the precinct at Sulphur Point for $13.987m to Christchurch developer Sam Rofe last year. But the sale was paused at the eleventh hour after the High Court granted an interim injunction.
The court today is expected to hear arguments on whether to continue the interim injunction stopping the sale, which has been in place since November 2024.
RNZ understands it will also be argued by some parties that the judicial review proceedings raising concerns about TCC processes relating to the transaction should be thrown out.
Erika Harvey is a marine precinct user and director of public affairs for Lobby for Good. She said she was not against the selling of the marine precinct as such, but against the private sale process under which it was sold to Rofe for lower than valuation.
"It should be sold with public consultation, for the right amount of money - this deal is just a bad deal," she said.
She called for locals to meet at the High Court at Tauranga to 'be there. Be seen. Watch history unfold'.
Asked what she was hoped to achieve by organising a crowd, Harvey said she wanted people to be aware of the decisions being made in their town which affected them.
She believed the best outcome would be for the sale in its current form to not go through.
RNZ approached the purchaser's lawyers for comment, who replied that their client had none to make at this stage.
Local Tauranga MP Sam Uffindel said he was planning to attend the beginning of court proceedings today because the sale was of strong public interest.
"(It's) one I've been vocal on, and one that I'm determined to see TCC held accountable for."
Tauranga City Council spokesperson Christine Jones said the council will be represented by their lawyers in court on Tuesday.

Article: ​https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/542871/tauranga-s-marine-precinct-sale-goes-to-the-high-court