Members of the Rotorua Lakes Council have voted unanimously to go ahead with a full public consultation process for the council's controversial Te Arawa Partnership proposal - but not without some debate.
Councillors met yesterday to discuss how they would go about the consultation process - the upshot of which was to extend public consultation from four weeks to seven weeks in the hope the extra time would lead to better public understanding of the proposal and its consequences.
The consultation process was debated in front of an almost full Council Chamber with various Te Arawa kaumatua, members of the public and the Rotorua Pro Democracy Society - some of whom wore blue badges with the letter "D" emblazoned on them - attending.
Some also held up banners, one of which stated "No free ride onto council".
Mayor Steve Chadwick said it was great to see such interest being shown in council business.
