Latest issue

by Jeff Hylton

The signs are up on all the busy corners with some new faces for all to see. 

I do applaud the majority of those who are, or hope, to be councillors or the Mayor, but not all of course, as some morph very quickly into un-contactable, unavailable and not interested in anything but their own agendas. So be very careful who you consider, as some are quietly pushing for things that you may not want.

They usually promise the following:

1. Affordable housing (this is a myth, not to be confused with worker accommodation or trust housing). Any cheaper homes are snapped up and rented till they burst or sold for a quick buck.

2. Traffic solving solutions (never going to happen unless subdivisions and multi-storied apartments are stopped in their tracks). This can be achieved by the council insisting on all infrastructure being paid for by the proposed development totally and NOT BY THE RATEPAYER. So when new resource consents are issued, impose eye-watering up-front infrastructure costs to slow or stop mindless growth. The end result of the status quo is not pretty.

3. Rate reductions. I can’t see that happening (as I’ve said before, QLDC is not a good business model as it uses ratepayers as a bottomless bank. No other business would survive). The rating system sucks. Some houses have 20 people in one house and pay rates on a low (relatively) property value, others have two or three peeps and pay five times as much because of high property values.

4. A gondola to town (for who)? Does that mean all hire car companies will close shop? Does that mean we can park near the loading points? Has this really been thought through? I smell a rate increase or an alternative agenda

Promises, promises…

However it’s not too late folks. Imagine having faith in the future of Queenstown that retained green space and farmland around it. The alternative is ugly. It’s worth fighting against those wanting a township at the base of Coronet Peak for example.

A gondola? Sure, this has been talked about for decades. No more houses!! We need to vote in those who vehemently OPPOSE things like that. Find out who wants these pockets of cancer and don’t vote them in.

We have a million plus visitors a year, they don’t benefit everyone who lives here, they can be a curse to daily life. Let’s make them contribute to our infrastructure pain. Vote for someone who strongly wants a VISITORS TAX that will make a difference, and not just to the CEO’s pay-packet.

To summarise, if you live here, work and play, be wary of the promises and find out what the person you’re about to vote for is really wanting to achieve.