Porirua's mayor is slamming those criticising his family for living in another town

Mike Tana's family lives in Rotorua while he lives in Porirua, where he governs.

Some councillors have publicly questioned why his children and wife haven't moved town, as he said they would when he won the mayoralty two years ago.

Mayor Tana says his family lived in Porirua for 17 years before they moved and his father has a medical condition which means they have to stay in Rotorua. .

He says he sees his family once a month and it's sad his personal life is being debated in such a public way.

Tana says the family's planning to move to Porirua by the start of next year.