When contacted, Mr Cooper said the council should wait until asked to approve the second stage of shareholding, to avoid "haemorrhaging ratepayers' funds".
"How can you consult on a fait accompli?" he asked.
The Otago Daily Times reported this week the council had already spent $183,000 in litigation costs over the alliance.
Councillors today will discuss what form the community consultation will take.
Mayor Vanessa van Uden, in defending the decision to hold public consultation now, said the council needed to find out the public's view before it could make a decision.
But she said community consultation on the 24.99% new shareholding sold to Auckland airport for $27.7 million, announced on July 8, "would have been a good idea" had it been done at that time.
The QLDC cannot begin consultation over the second tranche of shares - which would boost Auckland's interest to between 30% and 35% - until asked by the Queenstown Airport Corporation.
The QLDC says one of the reasons it has been unable to consult the community until now was because of High Court action taken by the Queenstown Community Strategic Asset Group and Air New Zealand.
Two key documents sealed by the court had been released to PricewaterhouseCoopers, which had been engaged by the council to prepare an independent commercial review of the deal. The report would form a key part of the consultation with the community, Ms van Uden said.
"I would hope by [today] we would be able to tell people when it may be finished."
Ms van Uden was not able to provide a cost on the PWC report, nor an estimated cost on what the community consultation regarding the first stage of the deal was likely to be, provided the council agreed to the consultation.
• Queenstown Airport welcomed its first Jetstar International flight yesterday with the arrival of JQ219 at 2.30pm carrying 144 passengers - including six babies - from Melbourne.
The 177-seater aircraft was christened with a traditional fire engine water cannon spray after arriving 15 minutes late.
Today will mark the arrival of the inaugural Jetstar service from the Gold Coast.
Jetstar Australia/NZ chief executive David Hall said the new services were "already proving to be extremely popular for Australians seeking direct, hassle-free, low-fare flights to New Zealand's spectacular South Island".
