No final decision will be made with respect to issuing further Queenstown Airport shares to Auckland International Airport Ltd, or entering into a shareholders' agreement, while proceedings are before the court, the Queenstown Lakes District Council has promised the High Court at Christchurch.
In a press release yesterday, QLDC chief executive Debra Lawson said the council lodged the formal undertaking with the High Court on Tuesday, after an extraordinary meeting of the full council in Queenstown on Monday.
On August 17, legal proceedings were issued against the council, the Queenstown Airport Corporation and Auckland International Airport by Air New Zealand and the Queenstown Community Strategic Asset Group Trustee Ltd regarding the alliance between QAC and AIAL.
The council has engaged lawyers Simpson Grierson to defend the proceedings.
Ms Lawson said the formal undertaking meant the council accepted there would be "no final decisions taken in relation to the second tranche" - which would involve up to a further 10% of shares being issued to Auckland Airport - or to enter into a "binding shareholders' agreement" while the proceedings were before the court.
The council was also "signalling its intention" to consult the community over any proposal to proceed with the second tranche.
Ms Lawson said "it continued to be a disappointment" the legal proceedings, and associated cost to the community, had been brought in the first place.
"We had entered into an agreement with the Office of the Auditor-general [OAG], which had committed to undertake an in-depth, independent investigation of these matters, an investigation that would have carried minimal cost to ratepayers.
"Within hours of confirmation by the OAG to all parties that it would undertake an investigation, council was given notice of legal proceedings.
"The OAG had no choice but to put its investigation on hold and the council must now defend these matters in court."
Accusations the council was "gagging its elected members", and the community was prevented from having a say at Monday's council meeting, were "unfortunate", Ms Lawson said.
