Afleveringen
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The latest episode of the Crux podcast series proves that each of our Queenstown Lakes District councillors interviewed so far has a surprising and colourful background.
Melissa White is a single mum who combines commercial cake decorating with being a councillor, but her advocacy skills were developed in the cut and thrust of the London investment banking industry.
She told Crux managing editor Peter Newport investment banking is every bit as dramatic as portrayed by Wall Street movies and she once found herself, as a senior Human Resources manager, on the wrong end of a Friday sacking event complete with cardboard box, security guards and being marched out of the building.
Councillor White also reveals she was one of the very first people to get a roof over her head in Queenstown from being on the waiting list of the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust. She also confirms that even though the councillor role can be tough and thankless at times, she's keen to stand for election again next year and make full use of the skills she's learning during her first term.
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In the latest Crux podcast Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sharon Fifield makes a passionate plea for our much-maligned CBD as well as suggesting that a gondola connecting it to the the airport could be what we are all waiting for.
Her argument in favour of the CBD is that it's fine – even great – once we manage to get there and find a car park. The lakes, the mountains, and the memories most of us have of previous nights out in the town centre all go towards that the CBD deserves a second chance.
“Give it a go,” Ms Fifield says.
"Even if it's just once a month."
In addition, Crux managing Editor Peter Newport discusses Ms Fifield immigration settings, government relationships, housing, economic diversification and, yes, even CBD parking.
She reveals news that the current government is considering the possibility of immigration rules that are specific to regions like Queenstown Lakes.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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In the latest Crux podcast Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sharon Fifield makes a passionate plea for our much-maligned CBD as well as suggesting that a gondola connecting it to the the airport could be what we are all waiting for.
Her argument in favour of the CBD is that it's fine – even great – once we manage to get there and find a car park. The lakes, the mountains, and the memories most of us have of previous nights out in the town centre all go towards that the CBD deserves a second chance.
“Give it a go,” Ms Fifield says.
"Even if it's just once a month."
In addition, Crux managing Editor Peter Newport discusses Ms Fifield immigration settings, government relationships, housing, economic diversification and, yes, even CBD parking.
She reveals news that the current government is considering the possibility of immigration rules that are specific to regions like Queenstown Lakes.
Plus, Peter Newport and Kim Bowden discuss the week’s top stories – in particular the dramatic developments, and disappointments, around the Long Term Plan. It’s fair to say that the residents of Wānaka and the Upper Clutha are not happy.
But we end on a positive note with a visit to Cromwell College, where students are building a log cabin – and all for a good cause.
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All over the country ratepayers are staring at astronomical rate increases and at the same time losing patience with their local councils.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon spoke for many people this week when he told local councils to "rein in the fantasies" and "do the basics and do the basics brilliantly".
As council debt has risen, trust in our local councils has dropped in almost direct proportion. In the case of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, to the lowest trust and satisfaction level in New Zealand - 15 percent.
But down the road in Oamaru the Waitaki District Council (WDC) has already decided to take action. And not just action, but a complete and massive transformation.
The WDC was concerned when their own community satisfaction level dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent. They hired a new chief executive specifically to engineer radical change.
The change, agreed just a couple of weeks ago, will involve up to 10 percent of council staff losing their jobs.
Separation between council departments will be removed and there will be a wholesale move towards more efficient, digital systems to supply up to 40 different community services that the WDC is responsible for.
Ultimately the WDC wants a council that the staff, elected members and community can all be proud of.
Crux spent time this week with WDC mayor Gary Kircher and one of the most experienced councillors, former broadcaster Jim Hopkins.
Mayor Kircher explains how the plan emerged and how other councils around the country may be well advised to watch and learn, while Councillor Hopkins argues that the pain of cutting council staff will deliver the greatest benefit to the largest group of people - the community. He also argues that unless the current council rating system is changed local government in this country will eventually become totally unsustainable.
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All over the country ratepayers are staring at astronomical rate increases and at the same time losing patience with their local councils.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon spoke for many people this week when he told local councils to "rein in the fantasies" and "do the basics and do the basics brilliantly".
As council debt has risen, trust in our local councils has dropped in almost direct proportion. In the case of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, to the lowest trust and satisfaction level in New Zealand - 15 percent.
But down the road in Oamaru the Waitaki District Council (WDC) has already decided to take action. And not just action, but a complete and massive transformation.
The WDC was concerned when their own community satisfaction level dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent. They hired a new chief executive specifically to engineer radical change.
The change, agreed just a couple of weeks ago, will involve up to 10 percent of council staff losing their jobs.
Separation between council departments will be removed and there will be a wholesale move towards more efficient, digital systems to supply up to 40 different community services that the WDC is responsible for.
Ultimately the WDC wants a council that the staff, elected members and community can all be proud of.
Crux spent time this week with WDC mayor Gary Kircher and one of the most experienced councillors, former broadcaster Jim Hopkins.
Mayor Kircher explains how the plan emerged and how other councils around the country may be well advised to watch and learn, while Councillor Hopkins argues that the pain of cutting council staff will deliver the greatest benefit to the largest group of people - the community. He also argues that unless the current council rating system is changed local government in this country will eventually become totally unsustainable.
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All over the country ratepayers are staring at astronomical rate increases and at the same time losing patience with their local councils.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon spoke for many people this week when he told local councils to "rein in the fantasies" and "do the basics and do the basics brilliantly".
As council debt has risen, trust in our local councils has dropped in almost direct proportion. In the case of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, to the lowest trust and satisfaction level in New Zealand - 15 percent.
But down the road in Oamaru the Waitaki District Council (WDC) has already decided to take action. And not just action, but a complete and massive transformation.
The WDC was concerned when their own community satisfaction level dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent. They hired a new chief executive specifically to engineer radical change.
The change, agreed just a couple of weeks ago, will involve up to 10 percent of council staff losing their jobs.
Separation between council departments will be removed and there will be a wholesale move towards more efficient, digital systems to supply up to 40 different community services that the WDC is responsible for.
Ultimately the WDC wants a council that the staff, elected members and community can all be proud of.
Crux spent time this week with WDC mayor Gary Kircher and one of the most experienced councillors, former broadcaster Jim Hopkins.
Mayor Kircher explains how the plan emerged and how other councils around the country may be well advised to watch and learn, while Councillor Hopkins argues that the pain of cutting council staff will deliver the greatest benefit to the largest group of people - the community. He also argues that unless the current council rating system is changed local government in this country will eventually become totally unsustainable.
Also in this week's top stories Kim Bowden and Peter Newport discuss the ongoing $300 million tug of assets between Cromwell and Alexandra and an alarming increase in the issue of QLDC parking tickets, especially in just one or two local suburbs. Plus, is the CODC mayor losing his battle to convince Cromwellians to share their local community board's $300 million land wealth with their neighbours in Alexandra?
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Respected hotel and hospitality operator Mark Rose calls in the latest Crux podcast for a change in community leadership and for our local council to open their books in the face of planned $1 billion debt - a level he calls "a frightening number."
"If there's serious financial problems then we need to discover those now and get them fixed" Mark Rose told Crux Managing Editor Peter Newport.
Mr Rose started his career as an international chef and then moved on to luxury hotel management, making a success of the five star Rees hotel in Queenstown from the depths of the global financial crisis.
"The fabric of our community is at risk" Mr Rose told Crux, speaking of the community's inability to house and sustain key hospitality staff on $70,000 a year. "It's simply not enough to live on at the moment keeping in mind the cost and availability of local housing."
Mr Rose also speaks in detail about the need for younger, fresher community leaders and elected councillors. He notes in particular what he sees as the lack of leadership from the current council and decisions being made behind closed doors.
Referring to the council's $100 million spend on the luxury Lakeview apartment project, with little evident prospect for future profits, Mr Rose told Crux "if it's such a great deal, show us the books."
"Good leadership is about taking people along with you. I'm just not seeing that from the current council and it worries me greatly."
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Respected hotel and hospitality operator Mark Rose calls in the latest Crux podcast for a change in community leadership and for our local council to open their books in the face of planned $1 billion debt - a level he calls "a frightening number."
"If there's serious financial problems then we need to discover those now and get them fixed" Mark Rose told Crux Managing Editor Peter Newport.
Mr Rose started his career as an international chef and then moved on to luxury hotel management, making a success of the five star Rees hotel in Queenstown from the depths of the global financial crisis.
"The fabric of our community is at risk" Mr Rose told Crux, speaking of the community's inability to house and sustain key hospitality staff on $70,000 a year. "It's simply not enough to live on at the moment keeping in mind the cost and availability of local housing."
Mr Rose also speaks in detail about the need for younger, fresher community leaders and elected councillors. He notes in particular what he sees as the lack of leadership from the current council and decisions being made behind closed doors.
Referring to the council's $100 million spend on the luxury Lakeview apartment project, with little evident prospect for future profits, Mr Rose told Crux "if it's such a great deal, show us the books."
"Good leadership is about taking people along with you. I'm just not seeing that from the current council and it worries me greatly."
Also on today's podcast Kim Bowden and Peter Newport discuss two of the week's top stories. One is a complete surprise - the installation of a high-tech parking meter on a Wānaka boat ramp. That story has been read over 30,000 times on the Crux website, and we try to figure out why.
Plus there's the QLDC workshop on parking issues that suddenly went from being a public event to a public-excluded "informal conversation" or even a "touchstone" - whatever that is. Either way it was a first - the council did reveal to us that such a private event had never been held before, so it does appear to be a closed door replacement to the newly "open" public council workshops.
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Julie Scott does not complain about her job but it is without doubt the hardest mission in Queenstown - trying to beat our affordable housing crisis.
To make the task even harder she's just taken another hit. The Queenstown Lakes District Council has shelved a crucial plan to bring in development dollars to help fund homes for low to middle level earners.
Speaking to Crux as part of our podcast series it became clear that this latest obstacle is just a blip in a 20 year journey that's already produced more than $50 million of new affordable housing stock.
The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust has been a pioneer of new business models to produce affordable housing and the podcast features many of the innovative and sometimes surprising initiatives that have made the trust such a success.
There's a new sponsorship deal with Sotheby's that puts money from their business back into community housing, a long term debate with the QLDC over a very valuable piece of land and new construction techniques that reduce construction costs.
In all of these developments Ms Scott has been the quiet guiding hand. She talks about the changes seen in Queenstown over the last ten to twenty years and what she sees as the future for the district. She also describes the teachers, police and nurses - plus every other occupation - that's represented on the 1,300 waiting list and the heartbreak of seeing people leave the district when the stress of finding somewhere to live simply becomes too much.
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Julie Scott does not complain about her job but it is without doubt the hardest mission in Queenstown - trying to beat our affordable housing crisis.
To make the task even harder she's just taken another hit. The Queenstown Lakes District Council has shelved a crucial plan to bring in development dollars to help fund homes for low to middle level earners.
Speaking to Crux as part of our podcast series it became clear that this latest obstacle is just a blip in a 20 year journey that's already produced more than $50 million of new affordable housing stock.
The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust has been a pioneer of new business models to produce affordable housing and the podcast features many of the innovative and sometimes surprising initiatives that have made the trust such a success.
There's a new sponsorship deal with Sotheby's that puts money from their business back into community housing, a long term debate with the QLDC over a very valuable piece of land and new construction techniques that reduce construction costs.
In all of these developments Ms Scott has been the quiet guiding hand. She talks about the changes seen in Queenstown over the last ten to twenty years and what she sees as the future for the district. She also describes the teachers, police and nurses - plus every other occupation - that's represented on the 1,300 waiting list and the heartbreak of seeing people leave the district when the stress of finding somewhere to live simply becomes too much.
In our review of the week's top stories Kim Bowden and Peter Newport discuss ongoing uncertainties on the Wānaka health care scene and the unusual appearance of a digger on a barge at the outlet of Lake Wakatipu this week - just what were they trying to achieve?
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Wānaka Community Board chair Simon Telfer loves bikes and loves Wānaka but could his intelligent and moderate approach take him higher up the local political ladder?
He's tells Crux in our latest podcast that the QLDC mayoralty is not on his radar, but he does have a continuing appetite to help improve the community, including finding a way to manage growth without encouraging an elitist approach to who we classify as the ideal tourist.
He's also diplomatically concerned that the QLDC might not be taking Wānaka's views on board as much as they could - or should.
On the subject of social media trolls being a reason for people not to stand in the next local elections his reply is clear - "Don't read the comments."
But he is sure that a Wānaka mayor will happen.
"I think it's only a matter of time that one day, when the timing is right, that the mayor of the district will happen to be a resident of Wānaka."
Asked if he felt there was more work to do with the Wānaka Community Board Mr Telfer had quite a long list.
"There's no finish line, absolutely no finish line. But I think we've got a clear sense of purpose. We get priorities set at the start of each year. We hold true to those things.
"We try and get a balance between those major, significant, substantive pieces of work and the small stuff that just makes a difference on a day to day basis, whether it's something aesthetically pleasing coming to town or there's a realignment of a path.
"So that's what I love about this community role. We do look at long term structural big change projects, but we can also, you know, occasionally just go, that's great. We got that pathway done."
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Wānaka Community Board chair Simon Telfer loves bikes and loves Wānaka but could his intelligent and moderate approach take him higher up the local political ladder?
He's tells Crux in our latest podcast that the QLDC mayoralty is not on his radar, but he does have a continuing appetite to help improve the community, including finding a way to manage growth without encouraging an elitist approach to who we classify as the ideal tourist.
He's also diplomatically concerned that the QLDC might not be taking Wānaka's views on board as much as they could - or should.
On the subject of social media trolls being a reason for people not to stand in the next local elections his reply is clear - "Don't read the comments."
But he is sure that a Wānaka mayor will happen.
"I think it's only a matter of time that one day, when the timing is right, that the mayor of the district will happen to be a resident of Wānaka."
Asked if he felt there was more work to do with the Wānaka Community Board Mr Telfer had quite a long list.
"There's no finish line, absolutely no finish line. But I think we've got a clear sense of purpose. We get priorities set at the start of each year. We hold true to those things.
"We try and get a balance between those major, significant, substantive pieces of work and the small stuff that just makes a difference on a day to day basis, whether it's something aesthetically pleasing coming to town or there's a realignment of a path.
"So that's what I love about this community role. We do look at long term structural big change projects, but we can also, you know, occasionally just go, that's great. We got that pathway done."
Also in this weeks podcast, Kim Bowden and Peter Newport discuss the hidden process for reviewing the performance of QLDC CEO Mike Theelen, the dropping of a promising affordable housing plan and an attempt by our council to have another go at diversifying away from tourism and construction.
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Alexa Forbes is one of the best known personalities in the Southern Lakes district and she explains in the latest Crux podcast why she decided not to run for the Queenstown Lakes District Council mayoralty, her mixed career as a pub musician, PR practitioner, and advertising saleswoman, and why she's now an Otago Regional Councillor.
She's a fervent environmentalist who walks (or pedals) the talk, biking everywhere locally and often catching the bus to Dunedin regional council meetings. But is she too nice, too kind, too in tune with nature to make a difference in what, after all, is a tough pragmatic world? Ms Forbes makes a convincing argument as to why she can - and does.
The wide ranging podcast interview also touches on how Queenstown has changed over the years, how it's a tough town where not everybody stays or survives, and how Dunedin people still think we are a (rich) holiday town.
Ms Forbes argues convincingly that our community has no choice but to change - otherwise we'll destroy most of the the things that brought us here in the first place.
And with refreshing honesty she says that she'll never argue for lower council rates because key needs such as clean water just don't happen without someone paying for the work to be done.
We also discuss in detail the upcoming change in representation where the ORC plans to drop a Dunedin councillor in favour of a new Southern Lakes-Central Otago councillor at the next local elections.
Plus the state of the media, why economic development should not sit within the QLDC and how Destination Queenstown will struggle to produce its own Tourism Management Plan likening the task to "wolves being in charge of the henhouse."
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Alexa Forbes is one of the best known personalities in the Southern Lakes district and she explains in the latest Crux podcast why she decided not to run for the Queenstown Lakes District Council mayoralty, her mixed career as a pub musician, PR practitioner, and advertising saleswoman, and why she's now an Otago Regional Councillor.
She's a fervent environmentalist who walks (or pedals) the talk, biking everywhere locally and often catching the bus to Dunedin regional council meetings. But is she too nice, too kind, too in tune with nature to make a difference in what, after all, is a tough pragmatic world? Ms Forbes makes a convincing argument as to why she can - and does.
The wide ranging podcast interview also touches on how Queenstown has changed over the years, how it's a tough town where not everybody stays or survives, and how Dunedin people still think we are a (rich) holiday town.
Ms Forbes argues convincingly that our community has no choice but to change - otherwise we'll destroy most of the the things that brought us here in the first place.
And with refreshing honesty she says that she'll never argue for lower council rates because key needs such as clean water just don't happen without someone paying for the work to be done.
We also discuss in detail the upcoming change in representation where the ORC plans to drop a Dunedin councillor in favour of a new Southern Lakes-Central Otago councillor at the next local elections.
Plus the state of the media, why economic development should not sit within the QLDC and how Destination Queenstown will struggle to produce its own Tourism Management Plan likening the task to "wolves being in charge of the henhouse."
In our top stories this week Kim Bowden discusses an unusual meeting of the Otago Regional Council in Cromwell and a local farmer who is being told to shut down his domestic hydro scheme due to some very puzzling red tape.
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In the latest Crux podcast Deputy QLDC mayor Quentin Smith calls for elected members to be involved in more of the council's projects and ideas at an earlier stage.
He believes that most of the projects being funded by council have come from QLDC managers and not from councillors.
He wants to see a change where councillors not only get to originate and select QLDC projects but where they get consulted on those projects at a much earlier stage.Otherwise he says there's less room for councillor and community involvement in the decision making process.
Deputy mayor Smith also talks about the possibility of Wānaka eventually becoming as big, or bigger than Queenstown, and the delicate balance of power between the two towns in terms of council funding and representation.
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In the latest Crux podcast Deputy QLDC mayor Quentin Smith calls for elected members to be involved in more of the council's projects and ideas at an earlier stage.
He believes that most of the projects being funded by council have come from QLDC managers and not from councillors. He wants to see a change where councillors not only get to originate and select QLDC projects but where they get consulted on those projects at a much earlier stage.
Otherwise he says there's less room for councillor and community involvement in the decision making process.
Deputy mayor Smith also talks about the possibility of Wānaka eventually becoming as big, or bigger than Queenstown and the delicate balance of power between the two towns in terms of council funding and representation.
In the top stories of the week Lauren Pattemore details how an endangered crested grebe, the "bird of the century", has died as the direct result of plastic pollution in Lake Wānaka and her interview with Queenstown Chamber of Commerce Sharon Fifield on a tough few months for businesses where sales have dropped by up to 30%.
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Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Glen Sowry says that the airport should stay in community ownership and not be considered as part of any debt reduction by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
In Wellington and Auckland councils are using the sale of their airport shares to reduce the burden of local government debt.
But Mr Sowry has told Crux that the airport contributes between $300 and $400 per ratepayer in council dividends each year, money that otherwise would produce further QLDC rates increases.
He adds that the airport has its own ability to borrow independently to pay for the expansion of terminal facilities or extra safety features, so there’s no risk of the airport increasing QLDC's debt burden.
The QLDC has not announced any plans to sell the airport or shares in the airport but is relatively close to its debt limit and struggling to find alternative revenue. The current draft long term plan forecasts over a billion dollars of council debt by 2030.
Speaking in the latest Crux podcast episode Mr Sowry also reveals he is actively rationing flights into Queenstown in order to avoid congestion and the overloading of facilities and infrastructure.
He describes the system as “slot control”, where Queenstown Airport dictates landing slots to airlines, to avoid congestion, rather than giving airlines the freedom to select landing slots that simply suit their own schedules.
Mr Sowry says he has the leverage to do this as airline demand to fly into Queenstown exceeds supply.
Asked if there is a limit to Queenstown growth Mr Sowry says that until there is sufficient public transport and a reduction in road congestion growth needs to be managed.
“If we suddenly had sufficient infrastructure then our attitude to growth may be different.”
Speaking about the future of Wānaka Airport Mr Sowry says a community consultation process on that is to be managed by the QLDC, and then implemented by the QAC. He speculates, though, that the likely profile of Wānaka Airport would focus on the Air New Zealand ATR turbo prop fleet.
“I understand that Air New Zealand has no plans to introduce the type of small regional jets that are used widely in the United States, so the ATRs are perfect feeder aircraft to connect Wānaka with Wellington and Christchurch.”
Mr Sowry also explains in the Crux podcast how his style of open, transparent leadership has managed to improve the airport management culture in a relatively short period of time.
"One of the things early in my tenure that we did was spent an awful lot of time listening to people about what their thoughts and perspectives were on the airport, what we did well, and what frustrated them.
"A really common theme started to develop, and that was that people genuinely wanted to feel pride in their airport. I think understanding that we are 75 percent owned by QLDC, which in turn represents the ratepayers of the district, is a pretty important point to remember.
"We're here to serve the community, both the people that live here and the businesses that operate here. And there's a real balance around what the airport can and should be and, and equally, what it should not be.
"We're very clear that we are a gateway to our region. We're increasingly important for people who choose to live here. And post the structural change that occurred in Covid, we're important for people who live here and commute to other cities, or even countries, to work.
"One of my main jobs is to be a guardian or custodian, if you like, of of this asset, to make sure that it's fit for purpose and will meet the needs of the community and our economy into the future."
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Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Glen Sowry says that the airport should stay in community ownership and not be considered as part of any debt reduction by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
In Wellington and Auckland councils are using the sale of their airport shares to reduce the burden of local government debt.
But Mr Sowry has told Crux that the airport contributes between $300 and $400 per ratepayer in council dividends each year, money that otherwise would produce further QLDC rates increases.
He adds that the airport has its own ability to borrow independently to pay for the expansion of terminal facilities or extra safety features, so there’s no risk of the airport increasing QLDC's debt burden.
Speaking in the latest Crux podcast episode Mr Sowry also reveals he is actively rationing flights into Queenstown in order to avoid congestion and the overloading of facilities and infrastructure.
He describes the system as “slot control”, where Queenstown Airport dictates landing slots to airlines, to avoid congestion, rather than giving airlines the freedom to select landing slots that simply suit their own schedules.
Mr Sowry says he has the leverage to do this as airline demand to fly into Queenstown exceeds supply.
Asked if there is a limit to Queenstown growth Mr Sowry says that until there is sufficient public transport and a reduction in road congestion growth needs to be managed.
“If we suddenly had sufficient infrastructure then our attitude to growth may be different.”
Speaking about the future of Wānaka Airport Mr Sowry says a community consultation process on that is to be managed by the QLDC, and then implemented by the QAC. He speculates, though, that the likely profile of Wānaka Airport would focus on the Air New Zealand ATR turbo prop fleet.
“I understand that Air New Zealand has no plans to introduce the type of small regional jets that are used widely in the United States, so the ATRs are perfect feeder aircraft to connect Wānaka with Wellington and Christchurch.”
Mr Sowry also explains in the Crux podcast how his style of open, transparent leadership has managed to improve the airport management culture in a relatively short period of time.
"One of the things early in my tenure that we did was spent an awful lot of time listening to people about what their thoughts and perspectives were on the airport, what we did well, and what frustrated them.
"A really common theme started to develop, and that was that people genuinely wanted to feel pride in their airport. I think understanding that we are 75 percent owned by QLDC, which in turn represents the ratepayers of the district, is a pretty important point to remember.
"We're here to serve the community, both the people that live here and the businesses that operate here. And there's a real balance around what the airport can and should be and, and equally, what it should not be.
"We're very clear that we are a gateway to our region. We're increasingly important for people who choose to live here. And post the structural change that occurred in Covid, we're important for people who live here and commute to other cities, or even countries, to work.
"One of my main jobs is to be a guardian or custodian, if you like, of of this asset, to make sure that it's fit for purpose and will meet the needs of the community and our economy into the future."
This week's podcast also includes detail from Kim Bowden on the combined police and QLDC search warrant connected to the Skyline gondola, Lauren Pattemore's take on the ongoing dramas around parking in Arrowtown and a look at what makes the Bush Creek community ice rink project so special.
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QLDC councillor Niki Gladding has described a split between elected members and both the mayor and CEO, where the two sides don't meet or talk.
In the latest episode of the Crux podcast Councillor Gladding details how mayor Glyn Lewers has told elected members that they are "on their own" and effectively declared that he is not their leader.
"A turning point for councillors was when we realised what's been happening for the last year and a half. We realised it's up to us to figure out how we operate as a council without a leader."
Councillor Gladding also told Crux that the Queenstown Lakes District Council senior managers have engineered a culture where community consultation is a box ticking exercise that "does not comply with the letter or the intent of the Local Government Act."
She says that the managers - the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) - are obsessive "almost at any cost" about delivering projects that are linked to the CBD Masterplan that Arrowtown consultants Rationale produced.
"We've got a lot of lawyers and a lot of planners in our community. There's a lot of smart people out there who can see that something is not quite right about this. And of course, it's really starting to hit in terms of rates, we've obviously hit our debt limits now there's no money to do other things."
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QLDC councillor Niki Gladding has described a split between elected members and both the Queenstown mayor and CEO, where the two sides don't meet or talk.
In the latest episode of the Crux podcast Councillor Gladding details how mayor Glyn Lewers has told elected members that they are "on their own" and effectively declared that he is not their leader.
"A turning point for councillors was when we realised what's been happening for the last year and a half. We realised it's up to us to figure out how we operate as a council without a leader."
Councillor Gladding also told Crux that the Queenstown Lakes District Council senior managers have engineered a culture where community consultation is a box ticking exercise that "does not comply with the letter or the intent of the Local Government Act."
She says that the managers - the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) - are obsessive "almost at any cost" about delivering projects that are linked to the CBD Masterplan that Arrowtown consultants Rationale produced.
"We've got a lot of lawyers and a lot of planners in our community. There's a lot of smart people out there who can see that something is not quite right about this. And of course, it's really starting to hit in terms of rates, we've obviously hit our debt limits now there's no money to do other things."
Listen to the full interview with Niki Gladding here, along with our regular review of the week's top stories.
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