A group of 10 high-profile "concerned locals" - including Queenstown Chamber of Commerce president Alistair Porter and former mayors Warren Cooper and John Davies - have formed the Queenstown Community Strategic Assets Group, aiming to review the "out-of-the-blue deal".
The group likened the deal to selling part of the family silver "on the sly [and] without family approval".
Group spokesman John Martin, a Queenstown businessman and developer, said "it may be that this deal needs to be undone, as I'd expect even AIAL would not want to be in a forced marriage, or trapped in a bad marriage."
QAC last Thursday announced it had created and sold 24.99% of new shareholding to AIAL for $27.7 million. AIAL is seeking to increase its interest in Queenstown Airport to as much as a 35% shareholding.
Mr Geddes yesterday said former QAC chairman John Davies, another member of the newly-formed group, asked to meet him on Monday.
Mr Davies arrived with several other members of the group and Rupert Wilson, a former managing partner of New Zealand law firm Chapman Tripp.
Mr Wilson was introduced to Mr Geddes as "a person who had recent interests in the district".
Mr Geddes said he and council chief executive Debra Lawson spent about 45 minutes with the group.
The transaction was split into two parts. The first, to create and sell additional shareholding to AIAL, had already taken place. The second, to create extra shares for AIAL's interest to reach up to 35%, would be a council-led consultative process, but must be spurred by a request from the QAC, Mr Geddes said.
The council was doing "preparatory work" to work out how the process would work.
In a statement yesterday, Ms Lawson assured the community it "will have a say".
"It is an important decision and we have an opportunity to have a fully informed and considered process, one which engages the community to gain a shared understanding," she said.
The council was required under the Local Government Act 2002 to undertake a special consultative process when there was the consideration of a transfer of ownership, or control of, a strategic asset to or from a local authority.
The strategic assets group said in a statement the council had undertaken to reflect on the situation, and had indicated "if the deal is wrong they will fix it".
Mr Geddes said if the transaction was found to be "illegal, or ultra vires, or contrary to the statutes that govern the council and QAC, I [am] quite sure that all of the parties would seek to abandon it - if it were an illegal deal".
Mr Geddes yesterday said he, two executive members of the council staff and the finance manager were briefed on the deal on July 2.
Mr Geddes said his initial reaction was similar to that of the councillors, who were briefed on July 7.
"I was surprised by the deal [and] I was surprised by the process that was used, but I accepted the reasons given by the airport corporation people and once I got over that surprise and thought it through, I came to realise that it was a very positive move.
"I don't know whether the decision was signed [at that point], but the deal ... I think was a very positive move for the airport corporation and the community.
"The selection of Auckland was extremely important for the future of this community and the future wellbeing of the airport.
"The opportunity for the community to obtain ongoing return on an asset that it would still own and control, not own all of but still own and control [was positive]," Mr Geddes said.
