Controversial Dunedin city councillor Benedict Ong has been kicked out of a council meeting to discuss amalgamation plans and has been asked to leave two public events in the past week.

Ong has faced several code of conduct complaints and has been suspended from some council duties because of his behaviour.

He was asked to leave a student protest on 29 July and a health debate in Dunedin on 1 August.

At the start of Monday's council meeting, Ong placed a copy of William Golding's Lord of the Flies in front of him on the table in the council chambers.

He later questioned the value of council assets before a point of order was called by councillor Steve Walker who said he was being disrespectful to staff.

Ong said the council's commercial assets were "tremendously undervalued" and "not performing financially" and asked staff for an indication of the "valuation of our dowry" ahead of a "potential marriage" with another council.

General manager of city services Scott MacLean said the council was not at the point where it was starting to divvy up or value assets and it was far too early to say how they would be managed.

Ong then asked staff if it was clear that the Otago Regional Council would be dissolved through the government's "backstop" process if the city council did not submit a voluntary amalgamation proposal.

Mayor Sophie Barker said the government had not announced what the process would look like and staff said they could not provide a professional judgement on the unknown.

Walker said the aggressive questioning of staff was "completely unacceptable", while Ong continued to talk over him.

Barker upheld the point of order and said staff had answered Ong's question and were not in a position to give an opinion, before moving on to further questions.

A short time later, Ong made a comment about the financial performance of Dunedin and Queenstown airports, before Barker asked him if he had a specific question.

"We need a valuation for this potential marriage we are being asked to agree to," Ong said.

Walker called another point of order and said Ong was "continuously bringing this meeting under disorder".

Barker told Ong he had to stop interrupting or he would have to leave. After he continued to talk over her, she told him to leave and adjourned the meeting so Ong could be removed.

"I am not leaving unless you want me to be the main topic tomorrow in the news, I don't think you want that," Ong said.

The council later voted to work with Queenstown Lakes District Council (contingent on its agreement and participation) to develop and submit a Head Start proposal in support of a two unitary model, made up of the Inland Otago Unitary Authority and a Coastal Otago Unitary Authority, with regional council functions supported through a shared services arrangement.

Speaking after the meeting, Ong said he had been "wrongfully barred, blocked and banned" from his right to vote at council meetings.

He said he was simply asking questions on behalf of ratepayers and had been prevented from doing so.

Councillor asked to leave public events

Ong was asked to leave a University of Otago student protest and a health debate hosted by the Big Hairy Network in the past week, treatment he said was politically motivated.

Education Action Group 26 organised a protest and sit-in at the university's St David's complex to protest against tertiary education cuts.

Spokesperson Annabel Hankin said it was great to see a city councillor attend the event in support of the fees-free scheme and Ong was among others who put their hands up to speak in response to a question during the sit-in.

When he was not selected, he stood up and spoke loudly, before being told to settle down and not to interrupt others.

She described his behaviour as "a little bit disorderly and distracting from what we were there for", but that it was "pretty harmless" and easily dealt with.

"This was a protest of students and university staff and community and he doesn't get any more right to speak than anyone else," she said.

Ong said he asked to speak as a council representative because Dunedin was the only council to formally oppose the government's decision to scrap the final-year fees-free tertiary policy.

He also wanted to talk about how Dunedin subsidised the university and how he did not think the institution should be building a new campus in Queenstown, but instead spending money in the city.

Ong said he was denied the chance to speak, heckled and asked to leave, but remained until he had to go to another appointment.

The Big Hairy Network held the first of several pre-election debates in Dunedin on Wednesday night, with a focus on health.

Ong said he paid $20 to attend the debate and wanted to ask questions but was denied the chance to do so because the organisers did not like him.

Debate co-organiser Mike "Chewie" Bennett said Ong was among 200 audience members who were asked to submit questions at half-time, to be presented to the the Labour, Greens, ACT and NZ First candidates during the second half of the event.

Bennett said Ong got up and asked to speak, but was told he had missed his chance because he had not put forward a question earlier as instructed and was instructed to return to his seat.

When he again asked to speak, security were called and Ong was asked to leave. Bennett said he became involved to try to de-escalate the situation.

"I said he could return to his seat as long as he was no longer disruptive to the debate," he said.

"There were lots of mentions of the fact that he's a city councillor, he represents heaps of people and I'm just like, 'no, in this forum, you're just another voter, the fact that you're a city councillor doesn't give you extra push here'."

Bennett said Ong was booed by the audience when he stood up to speak during the candidates' final statements.

He said Ong then headed to the exit to leave, with a security guard herding him out.