A noise complaint about the late-night testing of aircraft engines at Whenuapai Air Force Base could jeopardise Air Force operations, Defence Minister Ron Mark says.
Neil Construction Limited went to the Environment Court, saying aircraft noise, particularly from engine testing, from the airport was excessive and in breach of the Resource Management Act.
Auckland Council and the Ministry of Defence opposed the claims.
The Environment Court released a decision on Friday, upholding the complaint and stating late-night testing of aircraft engines must comply with noise restrictions.
The base is in West Auckland and was established by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) shortly before World War II. Until 1965 it also served as Auckland's civilian international airport.
Neil Construction's desire for NZDF to mitigate the noise generated by testing of aircraft, could mean moving the testing to another area of the base, Mark said.
"To me, that makes the noise somebody else's problem and would impose significant cost on the taxpayer," he said.
Mark said he was also concerned with the precedent the ruling set.
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"Other organisations may now be able to use this ruling against the Defence Force and it could put in jeopardy our ability to conduct search and rescue, and disaster relief operations outside of 'commercial office hours'," he said.
"Looking at the ruling it makes me wonder if perhaps one of the threats to our national security is property development."
The NZDF legal team are due to respond next week, he said.
The Environment Court said the decision was not to be enforced immediately.
An interim suspension is in place for 20 working days, while an appeal is considered.
If an appeal was submitted, the suspension will continue pending the outcome of that appeal, the decision said.
