The Queenstown Lakes District Council will be asked this month to approve community consultation on the controversial strategic alliance between the Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC) and Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIAL).
While the council had given an undertaking to the High Court it would not make any decisions on the issuing of further shares until the substantive hearing had been held in Christchurch, Mayor Vanessa van Uden said that did not preclude the council from conducting consultation.
"What will be going to the December council meeting is ... kicking off a community consultation process, which isn't necessarily about the second tranche [share sale]."
The community needed to be asked what it thought of the initial transaction "outside of the court case", she said.
"It will be open for a considerable period of time. We want to give the maximum amount of time for the community to have their say.
"We'll provide some detailed information and look at all sorts of different ways to consult.
"What we are very keen on is not going out with a `position paper'."
The alliance, publicly announced in July, saw QAC create and sell to AIAL a 24.99% shareholding, for $27.7 million.
Auckland seeks to increase its shareholding to between 30% and 35% and has until June 30, 2011 to do so.
The matter was taken to the High Court by Air New Zealand and the Queenstown Community Strategic Asset Group in August.
The parties lodged separate but related claims, seeking an injunction to stop any further decisions being made with respect to the second tranche of shares.
A judicial review - the matter has been set down for hearing in May.
In September, the council lodged a formal undertaking with the High Court no final decisions would be made with respect to the second tranche of shares while the proceedings were before the court.
However, with less than two months between the High Court hearing and the deadline for the second tranche option to be exercised, Ms van Uden said she was eager to start community consultation soon.
"We can do the second tranche consultation without making any decision.
"I would like to think we're operating something outside of the court process. This is about the community consultation; it's not about the court process."
