Following the controversy over adding an "h" to Whanganui, a debate has begun over the name of a central Otago settlement.
The Geographic Board wants to put a macron over the first "a" in Hawea, indicating a long vowel sound.
However Queenstown Lakes District Council mayor Clive Geddes says the change would be expensive because signs would have to be altered and the council's computer keyboards would need to have a macron added.
Juno Hayes, the mayor of neighbouring Clutha, says the Geographic Board has too little to do, and should leave the issue alone.
The proposal follows a Department of Conservation decision to put a macron in the name of the Hawea Conservation Park.
