Illegal building conviction appealed

A Taranaki couple are seeking to appeal their conviction for the illegal construction of a Maori meeting house.

Russell and Parani Gibbs were convicted in New Plymouth District Court in 2008 for breaching the Building Act by constructing the 150msq wharenui on their land without a building consent.

They were fined $2500 each.

An appeal was last year dismissed by the High Court, but the couple have again sought to overturn the conviction.

At the Court of Appeal in Wellington yesterday, defence lawyer Miharo Peter Armstrong said the couple did not need a permit for the meeting house, as it was built on Maori Reserve Land and therefore not subject to the Building Act.

The Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 (Maori Land Act) provided a separate legal regime for Maori reservations, he said.

Prosecutor Susan Hughes QC previously said it did not matter that the meeting house was on reserve land, it still needed building consent.

In court yesterday, she said the couple "refused to see sense" and New Plymouth ratepayers should not have to pay for a "meritless succession of appeals".

The court reserved its decision.

- © Fairfax NZ News