A Stratford District Council ruling in favour of oil and gas wellsites near the Egmont National Park comes as no surprise to Taranaki iwi.
The council on Tuesday ruled in support of Tag Oil to drill eight wells within 300m of the park - a decision local Maori plan to appeal.
Mt Taranaki is considered sacred to all iwi in the region and there are fears drilling may end up beneath the mountain.
Ngaruahine spokesperson Daisy Nobel says she's not surprised the project got the go-ahead.
Such rulings can take cultural concerns into account but they don't have to, she says.
