Queenstown tourism operator Skyline Enterprises still has is sights on developing a gondola up and over the ice in Franz Josef Glacier. The company held a public meeting at Franz recently to keep momentum for the multimillion-dollar investment. However, the project remains hamstrung by current conservation legislation. Skyline Enterprises chairman Peter Treacy said last week they were watching developments in the Conservation Amendment Bill closely. The Bill, introduced to Parliament in May, is a major legislative reform of the Conservation Act 1987. If passed, Mr Treacy said it could enable the necessary framework to make an application, ‘‘but there is still a long way to go’’. ‘‘We’ve got to have the legislation and legal pathway to get things done.’’ The Bill is currently before the Parliamentary Environment Committee for review, albeit without controversial clauses allowing for the sale and exchange of conservation land that had sparked widespread outcry and a backdown from the government. One of the main aims is to enable economic growth, requiring the Department of Conservation to recognise and enable economic opportunities and development on conservation land where appropriate. It would also create a new statutory category of land to accommodate recreational and public amenities, replace multiple planning layers with a single National Conservation Policy Statement (NCPS) and standardised area plans, and standardise and speed up the process for commercial businesses to operate on public lands. Skyline first announced plans for the $70 million tourist gondola in 2016. However, it cannot proceed until Doc updates the Westland National Park management plan. That now has to wait for the West Coast Conservation Management Strategy (CMS) to be reviewed. Mr Treacy said they had been buoyed by the warm reception from the Franz Josef community recently, where there was ‘‘a lot of enthusiasm’’ for the project and the projected employment opportunities. The gondola is proposed to operate from a base terminal in the existing carpark area on the glacier valley floor, minimising the need for a new road and reducing the overall footprint of the project. Mid and top stations would be strategically placed to maximise the scenery. Mr Treacy said the gondola was still only at a conceptual design level, and still subject to further assessment and feasibility. ‘‘The costs are going up, but we still think it’s a project worth looking at. ‘‘It’s just an extraordinary site.’’
