Mayors from the central North Island will travel to Wellington today to meet Health Minister David Clark over the future of chopper rescue services there.
Taupo Mayor Dave Trewavas, Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick and Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron are meeting Clark at his Beehive office this afternoon.
Eleven rescue helicopters operate in the North Island - Northland, Auckland, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Taupo, Taranaki, Palmerston North and Wellington.
The Ministry of Health, ACC and district health boards, through the National Ambulance Sector Office, are proposing a nationally integrated and consistent service across the country.
The proposal does not include Rotorua or Taupo and under the proposal, the closest bases would be in Tauranga, Hamilton and Palmerston North.