Queenstown Times: What is the biggest issue facing St Joseph's School pupils and what do you want done to tackle it?
Phil Wilson: "Lack of playground space. Once the grassed area gets wet in the winter, it's more or less unusable.
"Build another Catholic school. The new school will take the pressure off numbers, I imagine.
"It's a very confined area for a school of 150-odd [pupils]."
QT: Will national standards improve a pupil's education at the school?
PW: "Not necessarily, but it is a good tool by which a pupil's progress can be measured.
"I think it will help show us if we're lacking in any areas, so we can concentrate on improving those areas."
QT: Is a Catholic education still relevant in today's society?
PW: "More than ever. In a world where lack of respect for our fellow man is seriously an issue, a Catholic/Christian education is more valuable than ever.
"I do think it makes a big difference from age 5 to have been taught with those Catholic and Christian values. Not to say children who are not are necessarily missing out."
QT: How would you describe the school's financial situation and what needs to be done to improve it?
PW: "Struggling. It does make it difficult to provide the extras you might like, the equipment, or activities.
"You can't, because the finances are enough to survive on, but only just.
"In the absence of government funding being increased, schools need community support with fundraising."
QT: What benefits will the proposed Speargrass Flat campus bring to St Joseph's pupils and the community?
PW: "Better access and more pupils from Arrowtown, Frankton and Lake Hayes Estate. It presents an opportunity for them to avail themselves of a Catholic education much closer to home.
"Children will be able to go to school by bike. The buses won't have to come into town and all the traffic."
QT: What is your response to concerns by appellants the campus would increase traffic and noise and detrimentally affect the amenity?
PW: "A school will have a minimal impact on the amenity. Less than a winery/restaurant, for example.
"We've got resorts like Millbrook and Jack's Pt [which] created more of a traffic impact and would never have happened if we took the view we won't put anything in the rural area."
QT: How can the community help St Joseph's School?
PW: "By supporting, fundraising and choosing to have their children educated there."
Phil Wilson
- Partner at AWS Legal
- Board member of the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce
- Lived in the resort for 30 years.
- The secretary of Wakatipu Rugby Club
- Served a term as a Queenstown Lakes district councillor in the early 1990s
- Retailed hardware and appliances in the 1980s.
