The land swap would have allowed the Ruahine Forest Park land to be flooded to create the country's largest irrigation project. English, speaking to NewstalkZB, immediately said Parliament would have to consider a law change. "The Supreme Court apparently, on the face of it, is telling us that that's not what the legislation lets you do. "But It is eminently sensible to increase the net conservation value by trading away higher value for lower value conservation land. That is up to one million hectares of conservation land that have been rescued from commercial interests by this precedent-setting decision."

Source: New Zealand Herald July 05, 2017 23:57 UTC