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Government minister Gerry Brownlee - Source: Getty Images -
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The High Court has ruled Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee ''stepped outside the legal limits'' of his earthquake powers in rearranging Canterbury housing boundaries.
In the first legal challenge to Brownlee's special powers his Canterbury land zoning decisions have been set aside by the High Court.
In a decision released today, Justice Chisholm ordered a judicial review of the process Brownlee took. He also set aside the land zoning changes Brownlee made.
At a High Court hearing in Christchurch early this month Independent Fisheries, several Canterbury property developers and supermarket giant Progressive sought to overturn
Brownlee's post-quake redrawing of housing boundaries.
He stopped short of giving Brownlee directions for reviewing the development potential of appellants' land saying the court's jurisdiction was on the scope of Brownlee's powers, not the outcome.
Brownlee used his earthquake recovery powers, unnecessarily and for the wrong purposes, Justice Chisholm said.
Brownlee's actions stepped outside the legal limits of his powers under the Cera Act, he said.
''Having said that, I accept that the minister acted in good faith.''
Brownlee also denied developers access to the courts on the matter - a "serious error" which deprived the applicants of a private right, Justice Chisholm said.
It was impossible to see how the amendments Brownlee made served any significant earthquake recovery purpose, he said.
''To the extent that it addresses urban limits, it is addressing issues that existed long before the earthquakes and it provides solutions that are likely to endure well beyond the expiry of the CER [Canterbury Earthquake Recovery] Act.''