Tensions at the Hawke's Bay Regional Council over the Ruataniwha Dam are spilling over, with the leaking of an internal staff complaint about how councillors are behaving.
The letter from council staff says the public perception of the council is that of an organisation that has a broken and dysfunctional leadership.
Sources have suggested to Radio New Zealand that the leak has been orchestrated as part of a smear campaign against four councillors who are questioning the dam.
They claim the leak was orchestrated by a senior council member and appears to amount to the very politicking that staff are complaining about.
Council chairman Fenton Wilson has blamed the four councillors for the staff complaint but is now refusing to comment, saying it is an internal matter.
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The site of the proposed dam. Photo: RNZ