Hastings District Council missed an opportunity yesterday when a discussion on the Havelock North water issue was not held in public, a councillor says.
An extraordinary item relating to the water issue was to be added to the agenda for a council meeting yesterday, however it was instead discussed in a publicly excluded briefing after the meeting.
Before this, councillor Wayne Bradshaw asked whether the council would be discussing the Hawke's Bay Regional Council investigation into the district council in public.
However, Mayor Lawrence Yule said he thought it would be more prudent to talk "privately amongst ourselves".
Mr Bradshaw said he was concerned as councillors should be discussing it in public rather than "go behind a veil".