In recognition of the importance of readers' contributions to the letters page, the newspaper each week selects a Letter of the Week, with a book prize courtesy of Penguin Random House.
This week's winner is Prof Juergen Gnoth, of the University of Otago's marketing department, for his views on the proposed additonal helicopter flights to Fiordland. Prof Gnoth receives a copy of The Course of Love, by Alain de Botton.
The winning letter (below) was published on Wednesday.
Your editorial (‘‘Tourism pressures, Doc's failures'', 11.7.16) overestimates Otago people's willingness to care. Doc's capabilities to look after the national estate have long been compromised by Otago people's silence and by politicians. The editorial underestimates the persistent effect of short-term political propaganda: when it comes to tourism, successive ministers of tourism have thrived on the growth of tourism and Otago people clapped in support. At the same time, these politicians violated New Zealanders more than the noise of helicopters in national parks rapes the value of ‘‘natural quiet'' (indeed rare across the world; and virginal by virtue). They were never sufficiently informed of what they bought into.
Otago people would actually welcome a debate over the irreverent use of their back country, were they to find their voice. True, Doc's history of failures to serve its mission has become painfully visible, like a grandmother dying of neglect; but it is due to a lack of understanding of what tourism creates and how it works. It is the successive line of ministers of tourism who have failed to address that New Zealand people need education on how tourism can invade their country, and how it changes the lifestyles it is attracted by. These ministers keep hiding behind numbers of short-term success, but lie about how tourism changes the values of what Otago people take for granted.
Doc is underfunded and confused, to our common peril. Helicopters have never belonged in national parks, other than for deer culling. Doc is grappling with the task of managing our heritage as well as tourism. Access to glaciers etc by helicopters is a violation of national parks' ethics. It cannot be allowed other than by informed and inclusive debate. Ngai Tahu needs to take a lead on this issue and not align themselves with the violators by silence.
Prof Juergen Gnoth
Department of marketing
University of Otago
