Deputy Prime Minister Bill English was in Queenstown last week and Queenstown Times reporter Olivia Caldwell sat down for 20 questions in 20 minutes with the Clutha-Southland MP.
QT Affordable housing in Queenstown: what can we do and what is the Government doing to help Queenstown's cause?
BE It's got a lot better since the boom stopped. There are a couple of ways we are trying to approach this; it's the big issue in Auckland as well.
One is to help streamline the planning process, so trying to work with local government to help to get decisions cleared.
The Government is also looking at its own housing stock. So we've got core housing here.
The Government's got $15 billion worth of houses and they are not well used to help people with affordable housing.
They're the wrong size; that's one of the issues I will be talking to the housing trust about.
QT Do these numerous developments help with affordable housing?
BE They are helping. One of the difficulties of Queenstown is getting enough housing to accommodate the growth because if the houses don't match the growth, the prices go up and it gets more expensive. There is a bit of an opportunity here with the property bust. Looking ahead, we need these longer-term solutions. It can be unfair to low-income families.
Sometimes what happens in trying to preserve the nature and character of an area for people who can afford it, they make it much more difficult for people who can't. That's a difficult balance.
QT Developments - how many is too many?
BE Well look, the people are going to keep coming. It's the challenge of this community of how they will handle that.
QT Have you read much on the Arrowtown boundary debate?
BE I try not to. The council here was under a lot of pressure for the last 10 years and I think they have handled it pretty well. They have created areas where housing can grow and it is a bit more affordable.
Because of the continued growth in population, it has put a lot of pressure on schools.
QT Where should the new school go?
BE There has been a lot of work done on it. The Ministry of Education have a lot of rules about property and it's not very flexible and when you've got this unpredictable growth here, you need to extend that flexibility.
QT What about Remarkables Park?
BE That's yet to be finalised; they're still got to finalise the site. I think most people believe it's a good idea to go out there. With money being tight, we might have to come up with some way of getting it done. People here have been pretty patient and they'll be looking for a decision.
The Ministry of Education has always been conservative about these things. Remarkables Primary filled up quickly and have had to rezone.
QT In hindsight, should it have been built there?
BE Well look, it's a beautiful school and it's there and kids are getting good education, so we're not too worried about hindsight. The question is, what do we do next?
QT Where should the CT scanner be?
BE I think the CT scanner is a bit of a distraction myself. I don't quite know why that became the main issue. The experts went all through that.
The more important issue is getting a good integrated health service here.
QT No preference of where it should be?
BE I'm not involved in that discussion and, personally, I think it's not the most important thing. The concept's a good idea where we should get some of the more specialised outpatient services in this area so they don't have to go to Invercargill or Dunedin and that's the sort of thing, an expensive one, to work on. Some of the practical services, around cancer treatment for instance, make a much bigger difference to people.
QT Had a chance to check out the Queenstown Trail?
BE I had a look towards the end of last year when they were still constructing. I certainly will have a crack at it.
It caters for such a wide group of people is what I like about it.
Queenstown's got this adventure feel about it and if you are an adventurous mountain biker, well, there is plenty of that, but there's a lot more sedate cyclists and it's big growing market. A lot of older people are getting into it, so I think it is a great addition to the province.
QT Kawarau bridge, how long will we wait?
BE It's going through all the preliminary process and the pressure around it is going to be the funding and what's putting pressure on the funding is the very large Waterview project in Auckland. So there has been a lot of focus on getting the Auckland roading network completed and when you've got one big project, it soaks up all the money and it means all the regional projects have to wait a bit longer.
QT How long do we have to wait?
BE Well, I don't know the answer to that, but what we do know is we are getting on with all the other work that needs to be done anyway. Even if we said the money is here today, it would still take quite a while to get through all the processes.
QT Is it not a big priority?
BE No, it is a priority, get the work done now.
At the same time, the Government need to look at what is happening with the national fund. Where the money comes from is the land trans-port fund, it's where your petrol tax goes to.
QT So there will be government help eventually?
BE Eventually, yeah.
QT What about the "bed tax" levies for Queenstown?
BE Look, it's been talked about on and off for years but never actually happened. This council is doing a good job getting its basic finances under control and that is a key issue. I was always concerned that the bed tax would give a council ... they wouldn't have to think about their debt and expenditure. But this council is and the talk of bed tax has dropped off. The fact they are doing a better job here than a lot of councils in getting to grips with things. They know that their income's down and the ratepayer's not ready to pay the great increases so they are getting reorganised and quite a lot of other councils are just starting to figure that out.
QT What about broadband? Queenstown doesn't seem to be on the government scheme priority list. Is that the case?
BE I'll have to have a look. What we are doing is going as far as possible so the Government's come up with the money and there's a plan for the roll-out. The highest priorities are the schools, then the businesses and then the suburbs. That's basically how it's going to work. We get a report every week to tell us about how that roll-out is going.
It's just a massive job. What we are finding is there is a lot of impatience in the schools in particular, but everyone supports the general concept, so if we can get businesses on ultrafast broadband, it's reliable and well priced, then it's going to help with business.
QT I think Queenstown was further down the list?
BE The plan is structured around initially getting the most schools on, so it's going to the big centres first, but it's coming, don't worry.
QT Milford Dart tunnel and monorail - do either of them have merits and is there a preference?
BE Yeah, look, these schemes, different variations of these schemes have been around for years. I'm not opposed to the principle. We are in a country where the more tourist products there is the better, and if people are willing and able to put up the money, meet the environmental concerns and get through the process, then good luck to them.
But in both cases it looks pretty difficult to me. Regardless of whether people support it or not, they've got to meet the environmental standards, they've got to make it work commercially because the government don't subsidise these things and there's a lot of technical challenges, of boring a tunnel and putting through a monorail, they will have to overcome. So I will believe it when I see it.
QT One final question: If you could sum up the Highlanders' coming season with a number, what would it be?
BE With a number? Well they're looking ... three or four, I think they'll finish three or four.
QT You still support them?
BE Yeah, it hasn't been easy, but I still do.
