President of the Whangamata Marina Society Mick Kelly (right) and committee member Dick Mahoney prepare to file for a judicial review against Conservation Minister Chris Carter's veto of consents for the marina proposal in 2006. Although the Environment Court had recommended that consents be granted for the 205 berth marina, the minister took heed of the views of opponents who claimed that the development would destroy a salt marsh and affect Māori gathering of seafood. The judicial review found that Chris Carter had made a procedural error and had acted unfairly in the exercise of his ministerial powers. Subsequently the marina proposal was given the go-ahead, and it finally opened in 2009.