The deal and the art

The great business sage Donald J Trump, in his classic The Art Of The Deal, wrote: ‘I always go into a deal anticipating the worst. If you plan for the worst — if you can live with the worst — the good will always take care of itself."

While not precisely in those words, the quote may sum up the sentiment of residents of Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes as they absorb the news that they are one of just three regions chosen by the government to negotiate a "regional deal".

Envisaged as a 10-year-partnership between local and central government, the deals are intended to boost economic growth, create new housing, better manage local assets, and upgrade deficient infrastructure.

All noble goals but the devil — as always — will be in the detail.

The tools to be used to deliver them could include new funding and financing tools, changes to zoning, planning and land purchase regulations, greater use of existing government development funds, the government incentivising businesses — especially high-tech businesses — to set up in the region — and councils offering targeted rates and contributions to development schemes.

If you believe in going for growth, as the government is keen to trumpet that it is, then this is music to one’s ears.

There is certainly no denying that these regions need some sort of financing or kick-start to address their woes. The shortage of affordable housing in Queenstown and Wanaka, inadequate sewerage systems, roads which struggle to handle peak-time traffic... there is a long list of things which residents will hope will be on the to-do list created by any regional deal.

But that comes with the risk of having to live with "the worst". There are many reasons why people choose to live in the Lakes district or Central Otago, not the least of which are the abundant natural beauty and the chance to get away from the urban rat race.

Those days are starting to fade as the "rats" race towards the regions.

Queenstown is building out in every direction it can, a sprawling retail park is radiating out from the foothills of Mt Iron, and housing is replacing vineyards in Cromwell.

If cookie-cutter housing, big-box retail and traffic congestion continue to be the hallmarks of development in this stunning part of the country, and can be tolerated, the question then becomes what is the good which ensues? And if it is taking care of itself, to whom does the benefit then ensue?

To use another Donald-ism, sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make. Does Queenstown need development marching up to and beyond the Gibbston Valley?

Does Lake Hawea need to grow in size to rival Wanaka? Does every square inch of the land surrounding Pisa Moorings need to be developed? You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

Some careful thinking needs to be done before the deal bursts into reality. Growth is not universally good, and the ability to think big — and to secure the funding and planning permission to think big — needs to be tempered with considerations of sensible urban planning and environmental protections.

Those things may have been lacking in the past — some of the issues Central and Lakes face now can certainly be ascribed to that. Going for growth now cannot simply be an exercise in history repeating itself.

But if a regional deal turns out to be a genuine partnership between local and regional government to create a carefully thought out plan to better everyone’s lives, they may well have much to commend them.