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by Cath Gilmour, Protect Queenstown/We Love Whakatipu

Queenstown Lakes District councillors have agreed to Wānaka remaining a “boutique airport” – no jets, ever – with zero discussion or analysis of the multiple damaging downstream effects on Queenstown Airport and community.

That’s a problem. Under QAC’s 2018 Dual Airport Strategy, Wānaka Airport was to be developed to then-Queenstown Airport size to take the overflow from the 7.2 million passengers forecast to want to fly to Queenstown Lakes each year by 2040s.

QAC had then defined Queenstown Airport’s upper capacity as 5.1 million PAX/year, citing tourism’s loss of social licence and the runway’s constriction by lake and river.

Yet council seems to have no intention of considering impacts on the Whakatipu community of their Wānaka Airport decision, nor of investigating how to mitigate – or better, prevent – them.

Protect Queenstown asked council in March, and again at its most recent meeting, if they’d thought about what happens to our Whakatipu community if they kill the overflow option over the hill? They hadn’t.

So, at the most recent council meeting, we asked councillors to undertake an independent strategic review of future air transport in our district, and how they’d mitigate, control or prevent Wānaka’s inevitable impacts.

Instead, corporate services GM Meaghan Miller undertook to workshop some limited issues. That’s not the independent, rigorous and broad analysis and timely, meaningful community consultation we need. And have been asking for in multiple submissions and public forums since 2018, when 92% of respondents opposed QAC’s planned Air Noise Boundary expansion to allow more than 3.2 million passengers/year.

QAC has committed to not seeking this before 2032 – six years away. They refused to forecast growth beyond 2032 while selling the 2024 Master Plan but have since admitted its $460 million cost is predicated on ongoing growth.

What happens when QAC’s own upper limit of 5.1 million/year is reached – almost 2 million more than Whakatipu said a vehement NO to eight years ago? Must Queenstown continue to suck up this relentless pressure? Sounds like QAC and our councillors think so.

QAC just announced direct Air New Zealand and Jetstar flights from Brisbane, having more than 1 million international passengers in a financial year, and confirmed their parallel taxiway build by 2027, allowing them to cram in more planes. Around one every four minutes.

Overtourism is already hurting our community, infrastructure, environment. Stopping traffic and conversations. It is past time for councillors to hear and respect our Whakatipu community, not just Wānaka, QAC, airlines and tourism business.

Councillors have the mandate under the Local Government Act to set strategic objectives for QAC – including a cap on passenger numbers. Maybe that’s the protection our community and environment need?

Council needs to ask the questions, listen, analyse and act. Sooner, better.