The Waitaki District Council has been urged to join the Queenstown Lakes District Council-controlled Otago Wilding Tree Trust - but only if it does not have to pay for the privilege.
The Waitaki council's committee of the whole yesterday recommended the council join the trust on the proviso that no monetary contribution was required. Four councillors opposed the move.
The idea of using a trust to act as a regional body to tackle the issue of wilding pines came out of the Otago Mayoral Forum in May, and has been strongly backed by the Queenstown Lakes council.
The Waitaki council had already spent $11,000 clearing wildling pines at Quailburn Rd, near Omarama, and although some of that cost was offset by the sale of the timber, Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton said membership of the trust should be financially non-burdening, as the Queenstown council would cover the $10,000 costs for the first year of operation, and added that the trust could help provide a "collaborative" solution to wilding pine issues in Kurow and Quailburn Rd.
"Part of the strength of the trust is that it takes over from council into a volunteer area of activity."
There was concern that wilding pine was damaging the natural "tussock" landscape of New Zealand, and the trust provided a "template" for people to solve the problem, Mr Familton said.
Cr Jim Hopkins said the trust's aims were "commendable" but Cr Kevin Malcolm said he disagreed with the notion of a trust "100%".
"We don't even know where the problem is in our area."
If the Department of Conservation (Doc) and private landowners wanted wildling pines cut down "they should get off their butts and do it," he said.
Cr Helen Stead said it was "incredible" that there was no funding from Doc to tackle the issue, and Cr Peter Garvan said the whole topic of a trust was a "distraction" from the council's core business.
Cr Geoff Keeling said the council already had a biodiversity officer and added that becoming a member of the trust would simply create "another layer of "replicating bureaucracy".
