It's not often that councillors Michael Laws and Rob Vinsen are on the same side of a debate, but that's what happened during a split vote on the subject of fracking during last week's meeting of the Wanganui District Council's Community and Environment Committee.
They discussed the subject of hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, after a petition was presented at the last meeting by members of Sustainable Whanganui.
At that meeting, the committee asked council officers to bring a report on fracking, including a review of available information, back to last night's meeting.
Councillor Jack Bullock asked whether any applications for fracking in the Wanganui district had been received.
Senior policy adviser Stuart Hylton said applications in the Manawatu-Wanganui region had been received by Horizons Regional Council, but none of those were in the Wanganui district.