The Cook Islands deputy prime minister, Mark Brown, says the government has every intention of speaking more with the people of Rarotonga about how to purify the island's water.
By the end of the year Rarotonga's multi million dollar reticulation system is due to be commissioned, but there is debate about how, or whether, the water should be purified.
The government said it had yet to decide what purification treatment it would use but the community group, Te Vai Ora Maori, suspects it will be chlorine, to which it is adamantly opposed.
The group's spokesperson, Anna Rasmussen, said it wanted open and fair discussions so the people can discuss the options.
"All of the options, not just chlorine - UV, ozone, analyte, filtration, whatever. This is such an important issue for every single person on the island of Rarotonga because it affects all of us on a day to day basis," she said.
Don Wiseman asked Mr Brown if they are happy to talk more.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown Photo: Phillipa Webb / Cook Islands News
