HCA Chairperson Report - May
16th May 2021
Cherilyn Walthew, HCA Chairperson
Another busy month and the leaves are falling, and Winter is clearly on its way!
This month we were given the opportunity to speak to our submissions for the Spatial Plan and the Ten-Year Plan.
First up on the 4th of May (May the 4th be with you ), John Taylor and myself went to the Hearing for the Spatial Plan where we had been allotted five minutes to speak. When inquiring as to whether the HCA could have longer, we were informed that because of the high level of interest and the number of submitters who wished to speak, 5 minutes was the limit.
As the Spatial Plan has been touted as the most important guiding document for development over the next 30 years..... our verbal submission used this restriction of time to be heard, as a starting point. It is inconceivable that such an important document would allow submitters only 5 minutes on the myriad of detail that is needed for drafting an effective “guiding document” to be used over the next 30 years.
We then tackled the nature and efficacy of the consultation program which by QLDC’s own reports, indicate a woeful level of “engagement” from the Public. This was demonstrated by the quality of the consultation documents which were brightly multi-coloured documents when it is widely known in Communications Departments to cause issues for people with degenerative or, genetic eye disorders. Many of the documents had pages numbering in the hundreds which made it impossible to print without using at least an entire set of ink cartridges and, online files were provided in a format that did not enable users to do searches on information for cross referencing purposes.
In addition to the consultation documents, workshops run by QLDC were exclusive and non-explanatory regarding the identification of “Key Stakeholders” in the Community. If we add this to the lack of time to enable groups, such as the HCA, to consult with their members effectively (the general public), we have the perfect recipe for a lack of public engagement.
Accompanying me to the Hearing was my mate Herr Paught. He’s the International “Elephant in the Room” of Mystery. Our point was that it is impossible to plan accordingly for our district unless we can establish what and how we want our district to look, specifically in relation to tourism.
If we have an airport on our doorstep such as Wanaka or Tarras, what will that do to our town and how do we plan so that it has the least amount of impact on our residents regarding internal movement around the district? Are we talking roads or, trams, trains, buses? Have we planned where that infrastructure will need to go and, do we have plans to acquire the associated land? How will this work if we have thousands of people landing here vs landing in Ch-Ch, Dunedin or Invercargill. Where do those transport links need to go and as a result of that, where will the housing and services go? These are all relevant questions regarding the Spatial Planning of our district yet, these are the conversations we appear to be steered away from. Why?
From previous conversations, we know that Hāwea is opposed to the development of Wanaka Airport however, we have yet to establish our position on Tarras and this is something we will need to do, going forward.
On top of all of these issues, there is nothing in the Ten-Year Plan that would back up the Climate Action Plan aspirations that QLDC have outlined on their website. In summing up, the HCA has recommended to the Independent Commissioners that QLDC is sent back to the drawing board to consult and conclude this matter with the Public before they can adopt a specific Spatial Plan that is in line with the aspirations of our communities.
Moving on, we appeared in front of the Council a week later to submit on the Ten-Year Plan (TYP). The Elephant wasn’t with me however, the clear issue with the TYP is that it does not address the Climate Action Plan with anything but lip-service.
We have supported all projects relating to three-waters with the view that this has to be a good thing for all communities to ensure we do not despoil our environment and can provide clean, safe drinking supplies. As in Hāwea, we can only hope that the communities continue to hold the Council to task for the efficiency of effectiveness of those solutions.
We applaud the additional funds to provide a temporary measure for the Hāwea Sewage system which has not been compliant since 2012, whilst a permanent solution is found. What we do not support is the new arterial road planned for Queenstown. This seems out of line with Community aspirations for the climate and should be redundant if the public and active transport initiatives in the Whakatipu. Whilst Stage 1 is partially underpinned by Government money (it’s still ours), Stage 2 is funded by the ratepayer and Stage 3 isn’t even featured in this TYP. That’s over 10 years of funding for a road which may be obsolete before it’s even finished. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said we had 10 years in 2018 to make serious changes. The QLDC website even quotes this and talks about ending the talk and taking “ACTION”.
With much of our money going into this road project and nothing planned in the next 10 years to reduce traffic on the roads in the Upper Clutha/Mata-au, we feel that QLDC are falling short of even their own limited expectations. As we understand it, this project will require the demolishing of the current Town Hall in Queenstown and, the recreational grounds behind. It is unclear if they would then be looking for a replacement.
I do not imagine it will come as any shock to most people that this view was not well received. The public meeting on the 8th of May was well attended and a second outing for our new Zoom technology. We are also delighted with the expansion of the Communications Team which will help streamline our comms in the coming months with a focus on both online and traditional methods of communication. This is to try and ensure we reach everyone and not just certain demographics.
Outcomes from the meeting include establishing our Community’s position on the Tarras Airport and generating some responses from the Public around the undergrounding of the Power Poles along Capell Ave and Lakeview Terrace.
Lastly we have the inaugural Playground Sub-Committee meeting planned for this afternoon with the hope of moving this rapidly forward! A full report will be given at the Executive meeting on the 18th!
Cherilyn Walthew
Chairperson
chairperson@haweadistrict.co.nz
PO Box 53, Lake Hāwea 9345
