Editorial: When does an opinion become a biased one?

The Te Arawa partnership proposal was going to be a contentious issue and the last thing anyone needs is to go through months of consultation and a decision to be made, only for that to be thrown into doubt by legal action and appeals.

The saga around the Rotorua Lakes Council's Te Arawa Partnership proposal rumbles on.
It is an intriguing one that has caught the attention of quite a few Rotorua residents who may not have paid too much attention to local politics previously.

Yesterday, we reported that Geoff Williams, the council chief executive, had sought independent legal advice on whether public statements made by some councillors equated to bias.

Council is concerned that the eventual decision on the proposal could be open to legal challenge if it is shown councillors approached the process with a closed mind.
On the one hand, if Mr Williams has solid grounds to believe what has happened in recent months could be in breach of the Auditor-General's advice on bias, he is correct to get professional advice now.

This was always going to be a contentious issue and the last thing anyone needs is to go through months of consultation and a decision to be made, only for that to be thrown into doubt by legal action and appeals.

In the long run, that would mean wasted time, money and effort.

The council's strategy and partnerships manager Jean Paul Gaston says it is fine for councillors to state a view.

Quite frankly, it would be a bit strange if they didn't. We did not elect them to have no opinion or be coy about the issues that matter to the people.

However, they "should not be closed to any other views" and must keep an open mind in the decision-making process, Mr Gaston says.

But how realistic is this distinction? At what point does holding a view (acceptable) cross the line into not being open to other views (not acceptable)? And how do you prove that line has been crossed without getting inside people's heads?

By joining the Rotorua Pro-Democracy Society councillors Searancke, Kent, Bentley and McVicker have made their views crystal clear. Both as a society and individually they have been proactive in making those opinions known - commenting and writing letters to this paper and other media and holding public meetings.

But surely they are not the only councillors with a firm view on the proposal?
Councillor Trevor Maxwell believes the four have made up their minds already, but concedes others may also question his position - as a member of Te Arawa.
Others on the council have also spoken and acted in ways that make it fairly obvious they support the preferred option.

We now await with interest the result of the legal advice.

If the experts say councillors have demonstrated bias and may put the council at risk, how can that be overcome, given the horse has already bolted?
Other than barring the offending councillors from voting ... and if that happened, how many would be left at the voting table?