The accused gunman removed his application for a change of venue before the hearing at the High Court at Christchurch on Thursday morning.
The Australian-national allegedly opened fire at the Al-Noor and Linwood mosques with semi-automatic weapons while Muslims were attending Friday prayers on March 15 . Fifty-one people were killed and 49 injured. It was New Zealand's worst mass shooting.
He has previously pleaded not guilty to murdering 51 people, 40 charges of attempted murder, plus a charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002.
Defence counsel Shane Tait told the court the defendant had removed his change of venue application.
Justice Cameron Mander told the courtroom: " The change of venue application is not being pursued by the defendant and has been therefore dismissed."
About 80 people sat in silence in the public gallery as they waited for the defendant to appear.
The accused appeared by audio-visual link. He is being held in isolation in a high-security wing at Auckland Prison.
He appeared to be sitting in a concrete room and wore a grey jumper.
Justice Mander denied all media application to record film or photograph during the hearing.
The trial - which could take six to 12 weeks - had been scheduled to begin on May 4 next year.
However, last month Justice Mander ruled the trial date be changed to June 2 due to the clashes with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
