The twin big issues for submitters to Horizons Regional Council's annual plan are biodiversity and rate increases.
Fourteen submitters will be heard by the council today in the Wanganui District Council chamber, from 9am to 1pm. The hearing is open to the public.
The call to halt rate increases comes from the 2178 people who signed Graham Adams' Grey Power petition. He intends to talk about drought conditions and possible cuts to spending on biodiversity and council staff.
Former Wanganui District Council candidate Jango also wants rates reduced.
The biodiversity issue is about the $900,000 the council was intending to spend on the Kia Wharite and Tawata Mainland Island initiatives in the Ruapehu district, and on helping private landowners protect bush and wetland remnants. That funding has been cut by $280,000.