Conservation Minister Maggie Barry accused the regional council of ''dragging the chain'' on the issue.
Speaking at Queenstown on Thursday, at the launch of a community programme for controlling wilding trees, she said the regional council needed to ''step up to the plate'' and take action.
However, council chairman Stephen Woodhead yesterday rejected Ms Barry's comments.
The council had plans in place to consult key stakeholders and the wider community in November and wanted ''an informed debate'' about whether it should be involved in wilding control, he said.
It would ask whether people thought the council should be involved and to what extent and what level of funding would be acceptable.
''We want to talk about the big picture, '' he said.
''If we get a positive response from the public, that they do want us involved, then we'd look at a more specific consultation on that and including something in our long-term plan.''
The council was aware of the spread of wilding trees in the region and praised the work of community groups in control work, Mr Woodhead said.
It was the right time now to consult the public on the issue.
There was a national wilding conifer management strategy, the National Policy Direction for Pest Management had been launched and the Otago Regional Pest Plan was due for review.
''We look forward to the Government providing funding in support of its own obligations to deal with legacy plants on Crown land, on the conservation estate and on other Crown land,'' Mr Woodhead said.
The Central Otago Wilding Conifer Control Group has received a grant of $157,500 through the Community Conservation Partnerships Fund to control the spread of wilding trees from the Naseby forest.
The group's five-year control plan throughout the district will cost $2.3 million.
The first two years focus on Naseby, Danseys Pass and the Kakanui Range on the northern side of the Pigroot, as wildings there could potentially spread on to extensive areas of mountain lands, where control would be difficult and expensive, the group's strategy said.
The Wakatipu Wilding Conifer Control Group also received $10,000 for a community initiative to control wildings on the slopes of Ben Lomond.
