Queenstown Lakes area least deprived in Otago

The Queenstown Lakes district could want for nothing, according to the latest Socioeconomic Deprivation Index.

The district is home to nine of Otago's 10 least socioeconomically deprived areas. The Wakatipu area - which was Otago's second-least deprived area in 2006 - has been replaced by a number of newly defined census areas which are all among the least deprived areas in the region.

One of the index's authors, Peter Crampton, said the population growth and wealth of the Queenstown area was one of the notable features of the data.

''It is an area where there has been population growth and it's [the area's low deprivation scores] indicative of the socioeconomic affluence of those areas,'' he said.

''It's not to say all of Queenstown is well off but it does indicate it has its fair share of wealth.''

Almost 8000 people in the Queenstown Lakes district live in areas with deprivation scores of 1, while fewer than 2000 people live in areas with a deprivation score of 6 or lower. Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden said the results were unsurprising given the district's population growth and economic development.

The council was well placed to manage growth and tackle the consequences.

''We are always conscious that some in our community are living on relatively low wages and are confronting issues of housing affordability, for example,'' she said.

''That is why the council is discussing entering into a housing accord with the Government.

''As a local authority representing the whole of a very diverse district, QLDC has to be responsive to the needs of each part of our community.''

 

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