West Coast development coal miner Bathurst Resources yesterday lost a bid to hasten to the Court of Appeal a challenge to an earlier climate change declaration which initially went in its favour.
Bathurst wants to mine and export up to two million tonnes of high-grade specialist hard coking coal from the Denniston plateau above Westport, but environmentalists are fighting the proposal at every step, adding months of delays to the start of any new mines production.
The Environment Court found in May that climate change need not be discussed in a consents challenge made by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand and the West Coast Environmental Network against two councils' more than 20 consents granted to Bathurst last year.
That challenge, minus any climate change evidence, is scheduled for an Environment Court hearing in late October.
In the meantime, Forest and Bird and the Environmental Network sought leave to go to the High Court and appeal over climate change issues not being heard at the consents challenge.
Yesterday, the High Court announced that challenge would be heard on July 30.
Bathurst said in a recent statement it had applied to the High Court to transfer the climate change appeals directly to the Court of Appeal, in order to avoid potential "significant delays" to setting a High Court date.
Bathurst said yesterday it welcomed the July 30 High Court date and was finalising hearing preparations.
Just as environmentalists become increasingly outspoken on Bathurst's mining plans, Bathurst has become frustrated at the regulatory hurdles and appeals it has faced over the consents.
Going directly to the Court of Appeal for a decision would have sidestepped at least one potential appeal, should environmentalists have lost their case in the High Court.
