Otago Regional Councillor Gerry Eckhoff yesterday said he had never received ''such a bollocking'' as he had recently over concerns with the council's wilding tree policy.
Speaking at the recent launch in Queenstown of a community programme for controlling the pest plants on slopes above the resort, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry urged the council to take action and said it had been ''dragging the chain'' over wilding trees.
If left uncontrolled, wilding trees were predicted to spread across 20% of the country within two decades, costing the economy more than $1.2 billion, she warned.
Cr Eckhoff (68) told a council meeting in Dunedin yesterday, in his eight years as a regional councillor, he had never heard a community organisation receive such a ''bollocking''.
At a June ORC meeting, he said it was ''regrettable'' the council had not earmarked funding to support community groups to remove wilding trees.
Cr Eckhoff said in an interview yesterday he knew he was not being personally criticised but was nevertheless highly embarrassed about the situation.
Wakatipu Wilding Conifer Control Group co-chairman Grant Hensman had also taken the ORC to task at the Queenstown meeting, for lack of action.
Cr Eckhoff knew the ORC was doing good work in helping control other noxious plants but this was being overlooked because of a lack of ORC action over wilding trees.
ORC chairman Stephen Woodhead said yesterday he was not ''embarrassed'' over the criticism.
ORC representatives were meeting local authorities and wilding control trusts over the issue, including to discuss what role they believed the ORC could play.
Some of the meetings, including with Queenstown Lakes District Council representatives, would take place next Monday.
The ORC would also consult Otago ratepayers before Christmas on what role they thought the council should play, and how this should be funded, Mr Woodhead said in an interview.
Cr Eckhoff said he had recently been considering if he should remain on the council, given he was unable to make more progress on the ''No 1'' environmental issue facing the South Island.
But members of the public had encouraged him to continue to fight for action, Cr Eckhoff said.
