A decision on the future of the Hunters Creek ski lane will be known in about six weeks, says tribunal chairman Malcolm Whitaker.

Malcolm, Raewyn Bennett and Andrew Von Dadelszen have heard two days of submissions on the future of the ski lanes this week.
Local iwi want the ski lanes removed citing safety issues and decades of bad behaviour by ‘boaties'.
'A lot of them were very similar from all the people that live in the area with the ski lanes,” says Malcolm.
The iwi submissions raised concerns about safety issues with skiers and increasing numbers of other water craft sharing the area, and social issues; fires on the beach, rubbish, and people using the island as a toilet.
'They made some good submissions,” says Malcolm.
'To a large degree they have put up with it for a long time, and in reality they never had a say about the ski lane being put in. It was just put there.”

Near the start of the ski lane.

The panel also heard some good submissions from water skiers, says Malcolm. The Hunters Creek ski lane has been in use for 30 years and is a popular one with generations of the boating public.
The Navigation Safety Bylaw Review sub committee is now adjourned until the Te Arawa Lakes Trust submissions on the Rotorua Lakes can be heard.
They will begin deliberations after that, and present recommendations to the regional council, probably in six weeks time.
'Safety is a big issue, like policing a road, we have to make it safe,” says Malcolm.
'We also have to take into consideration the effect on the people that live in the areas.”