Community ✓ Consultation ✓ Careful Planning ✓
Our new Mayor needs two things:
→ The skills and experience to negotiate hard with Wellington to secure outcomes that deliver on major strategic objectives: infrastructure funding, roads, health and ratepayer liability for others' development mistakes.
→ And second, a Mayor who can iron out business back home - recruit a new CEO, right-size the council, reforge trust, embrace Community objectives, stop back room deals and pull back on endless rates increases.
With over two decades of senior government experience, I know what it takes to find solutions, navigate government agencies and get things done.
Key
Messages
With my Mascot, Neo
What Matters Most
Funding Infrastructure
I am going to secure a slice of GST for this region. Over $400m is paid by us to central government every year, just from tourism expenditure. I want $100m of that money returned to us to augment ratepayers' funding of the district's basic infrastructure. I will do this without disruption to private businesses that uphold our local economy.
My campaign to have a share of GST returned to the district is now reflected in planning by central government. See page 21 of the government's own "Regional Deals Strategic Framework" - it mentions returning GST to us. I am appalled that QLDC's response to the regional deals framework fails to acknowledge or pursue this historical opportunity.
Central government has tripled the visitor levy at the border. We need to secure some of that funding back here too.
The job ahead now requires a Mayor who is equipped with a comprehensive knowledge of Wellington - one who knows the traps and can apply skilled negotiation experience to nail opportunities and bring the money in.
I pledge to lead negotiations to seize these significant opportunities.
If I cannot achieve my main GST/IVL objectives, then I will proceed with Plan B - a local visitor levy. But the chances of getting it are far smaller given the government's stated policy of no new taxes and the requirement for new law.
Fixing Governance
Let's reforge a strongly led united council that carries forward the views of the wider community, via its elected representatives.
The relationship between the Mayor and the Chief Executive needs a reset. The office of the new Mayor must use its collaborative relationship with elected council members to deliver clear policy direction to the Chief Executive. This is the best strategy to drive action at the level of council management.
The transition to a new CE offers a superb opportunity to admire the positive achievements of the past and the challenges ahead of us
Too much authority has been slipping away from the elected council table and into the offices of council officials. I will rebalance roles and responsibilities between the elected body and the administration wing.
The council's culture of secrecy and spin must change. We can achieve significant improvements to decision making and policy application if access to information is open and honest.
QLDC's approach to large scale commercial contracts must move away from obscure and risky practices. I will end secrecy and back room deals. Integrity, honesty and fairness must be paramount in issuing commercial contracts. The office of the Mayor must not be used to leverage contracts to preferred suppliers. Open competition with new suppliers must underpin a new approach to contracts instead of relying on legacy partners and former council staffers. I will achieve that.
Reversing the Decline in Health
Wellington has seriously neglected our district's health needs. Despite clear articulation and repeated studies, Ministers and bureaucrats in Wellington are still behind the 8 ball on this. It isn't good enough.
Not only have health services gone backwards over the last years, but opportunities for public/private partnerships for new infrastructure are at serious risk if we do not move soon.
Excellent community work has been done, calling for government attention and support. As Mayor I offer my energy and drive to assist, and where needed - lead -,the lobbying effort to pressure Wellington to achieve practical on-the-ground results now to build health sector capacity in Wanaka and Queenstown..
As an interim step, I back the government's elective boost programme which provides access to medical facilities for people in our district, avoiding the need for risky and expensive transfers to Dunedin or Invercargill.
Transport & Parking
What a mess we find ourselves in! Traffic cones and traffic jams have become a feature of life in the basin. This damages our productivity.
It's way past time for the QLDC to have a bigger say in NZTA's roll out of road works and the design of roading "improvements". Our Mayor must lead a dialogue with Wellington to lift its game on our roads. Among my highest priorities are new bridges for Arthurs Point and the expanding southern corridor (off Boyd Road). We also need to discuss converting to one way traffic flows on Frankton Road.
Public transport services have improved, but more could be done on scheduling, route planning, shelters and school buses. I will lift our dialogue with the ORC to deliver more tailored solutions that serve our community.
The displacement of car parking in the Queenstown CBD creates challenges for both consumers and business owners. So too are time limits on street parking in both Wanaka and Queenstown.
Fresh thinking is needed to improve access to the heart of our commercial centers.
Managing Sewage
The disastrous failure of the Queenstown water treatment plant is a disgrace. It is hard to believe this has happened while we have an engineer in the office of the Mayor.
Significant issues remain around the management of waste water treatment in other areas of the district - Wanaka, Hawea, Kingston and Glenorchy. Much of the infrastructure is decades old and compliance issues have been around for years.
Instead of tackling these issues, the council has focused much of its attention on getting a license to pollute - a right denied by the Otago Regional Council.
Our highest priority right now must be the restoration of the district's capacity to manage waste water without negative impacts.
Capacity must be matched not only with existing demands but also fit for purpose for new real estate developments. The key objective is to bring new build developments into line with the district's capacity to process flushing and run off.
The decision to divest the QLDC of water management services should deliver deep reform to the QLDC's own staffing and resourcing requirements. I will be looking for savings and restructuring to ensure we right-size the council once water has been removed.
Controlling Rates
Over the last 3 years our district has seen an average 50% rise QLDC rates - the 4th highest increase in the country. My pledge is to restructure the council budget, strip out "nice to have" programmes and achieve savings to lower our rates.
We should not be spending over $60 million of ratepayer money on a new building. So I oppose a new building for council staff. There is no logic in doing this at a time when we are just about to down-size the council. Once the council has been restructured, we can look at this again, but with a view to spending far less money and opening up bids for lease arrangements to a full spectrum of providers.
One of the reasons we face such large rates increases is because of council liability for leaky buildings. In the last financial year alone over 4% of our rates increase was due to leaky building claims. I support new proposals from government to move away from "last man standing" liability . No more open cheque books for leaky buildings.
Better Neighbourhoods
In our district, house prices and rents are more likely to reflect the dynamics of the visitor accommodation market than elsewhere in New Zealand.
QLDC is issuing more building consents per capita than any other local body in NZ. Yet less than half those houses are required to accommodate our growing resident population. The rest are going into short term rentals, depriving residents from access to housing, driving up prices and undermining neighbourhood communities. .
It's an issue that we should be debating. Options exist to ease the pressure without compromising existing rights.
I am proposing a freeze on new visitor accommodation consents to improve access to affordable housing for people who live here. This policy will dampen price expectations that are fueled by speculation on investment returns. It will also safeguard neighbourhoods as communities for local people and it will help manage downwards the trend towards overtourism.
The policy allows existing consent holders to trade them, creating an asset that has value to new-comers wishing to enter the tourism rental market. It is designed to check over-development bring housing supply into line with resdiential demand. address without do not expand the can buy consents from access existing consents