Joseph Mooney - MP for Southland
Winter is an exciting time for Queenstown and it is great to see the ski fields getting set for another busy season.
Snow is exciting for locals and the folks who come here drawn by it, bringing a lot of energy to our region. There’s also exciting news on the east side of the Wakatipu basin with Cardrona opening the new Soho basin, making Cadrona the biggest ski field in the country. It was a real privilege to be at the opening on the weekend, and the weather gods delivered some fresh new snow to make it just that little bit more special.
This has opened 150 hectares of new terrain on the mountain and is another string to our bow as Australasia’s snow sports capital.
Our Aussie cousins love Queenstown Lakes for good reason, and it’s great to see that Air New Zealand will be adding more seats on trans-Tasman routes over the coming summer. This will help our local economy, as well as strengthen the importance Queenstown has developed as a connection point for people across our wider region to Australia and beyond.
Another great sign of investment in our region has been in education, with the Education Minister visiting recently to announce that students of Te Kura Whakatipu o Kawarau will benefit from new, safe, warm and dry classrooms. The investment will support a twelve-teaching space expansion at the school. This is something I have been working on for a while with the great team at the school, and it was very exciting to have the government deliver on this, and wonderful to have the Education Minister make a special appearance in person to announce it.
This is great news for students, parents and educators, as it means more students have access to a better fit for purpose learning environment, and ensure that the school is equipped to meet the needs of the fast growing community in the southern corridor.
The investment is in addition to the purchase of a site at Ladies Mile in Queenstown last year, which will accommodate a new primary school in the area. Funding for the construction of the new primary school at Ladies Mile will be considered in future. Securing the land at this time means that we will be able to hit ‘go’ on construction when capacity is needed.
Another important announcement is a boost in funding for GPs. Last week our National-led Government confirmed the largest funding boost for general practice in our country’s history - $175 million this year alone. It’s part of a $1.37 billion focused on delivering timely, quality care closer to home.
The package includes a 13.89% funding increase for GP clinics to help them see more patients and ease wait times. It also provides targeted support to keep care affordable for low-income families and under-14s.
Queenstown has a wonderful close-knit community and it was a real privilege to open (on behalf of Arts Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith) the inspiring Creative Culture Hui recently put on by the Three Lakes Cultural Trust. This four-day event had a fantastic schedule of workshops and activities that illustrated Queenstown’s growing status as a centre of vibrant artistic and cultural activity. Queenstown Lakes is the second most creative place in New Zealand, and events like this help highlight the opportunities to accelerate this.
A great reminder of the incredible interconnected opportunities available in our region from the mountains to the arts, as well as the passion and hard work put in by so many to make it all possible. Hoping you have a great start to winter.
