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Central Otago has a new mayor, and it is Vincent Ward councillor and community board chair Tamah Alley.
Mayor Alley took over from three-term mayor Tim Cadogan, who vacated the role in favour of a new job with national water regulator Taumata Arowai in Wellington.
The former police constable, mother of three, and Alexandra local was appointed mayor by fellow district councillors at a full meeting of the council in Alexandra on October 30th.
In her first long form interview she discusses age, gender and democracy and how she craves a strongly contested mayoral race next year in the local body elections. She also talks in detail about the relationship at the CODC between elected members and the executive leadership team. The contrast with the Queensotwn Lakes District Council could not be more dramatic.
Speaking after her election, Mayor Alley thanked the councillors for "trusting" her "to take the hot seat".
"We have our work cut out for us. This is a really tough time to be in local government, but that's also because it's a tough time to be in business in schools, in a job and in a family. We need to be passionate about making democracy work, and will carry on around this table despite the unusual circumstances of me sitting at this end.”
In this wide ranging discussion Peter Newport discusses with the new mayor her views on local body elections, Cromwell/Alexandra rivalry, the contentious issue of the Cromwell “land grab”, the future of local Government and what makes a good mayor.
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In a wide ranging Crux podcast Dunedin City councillor Jim O'Malley has identified "self confidence" as the missing ingredient for Dunedin to achieve its full potential. Councillor O'Malley also tells Crux that if Queenstown "really wants to destroy those valleys - keep going".
Councillor O'Malley is the influential chair of the DCC's infrastructure committee with a strong background in academia and the international pharmaceutical industry. He told Crux that his former employer, Pfizer, at one stage cut staff from 300,000 people to 100,000 people. "Two thirds of the staff got laid off."
"Large pharmaceutical companies are not immoral. They are amoral. To some extent amoral is more dangerous than immoral. Big organisations become less efficient and rely on bureaucracy to function. I worked on an important drug for five years that would have helped people all over the world, but it got cut at just one marketing meeting."
Crux asked if there were any lessons for local councils from big corporations.
"In order to exist as an entity, the big corporations have to be very bureaucratic. And so the challenge of a bureaucracy is that when you get down to the lowest level of management, have you cared for humanity? That's really what it is.
"In the case of the council, if you can let a unit perform properly and do its thing, they'll be happy in their job and they'll be doing their job well. Most council workers, I would argue, are at the council actually, because they have a sense of social ethics.
"The bureaucracy has to be enabling and cannot be in any way getting in the way. I've always watched the bureaucracy, and this is probably the role of the council, in my opinion."
Councillor O'Malley reckons that Dunedin is in the middle of a renaissance.
"We've been in a renaissance period for about four or five years. The Dunedin businesses that are emerging are high productivity businesses. They're bringing a decent amount of money into the city. We've been a medium growth city now for about six years. The sense of death and decay that was here in the 90s and the early 2000s is largely gone. And I would also say that the people who were perpetrating that myth are also gone, thank God.
"A lot of people will say in Dunedin, there are two personality types. There definitely are, in my opinion. There is (one) progressive. Let's make the city as best we can. The city can be amazing. And there's another group (two) saying don't spend a cent. The city's dying. I don't want to do anything. And that group dominated the 1990s and early 2000s and they almost killed the city in my opinion. We've been investing in ourselves continuously since then. And it's visible now."
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It's been hard to ignore. The 2024 Queenstown Writers Festival is bigger than ever and starts soon - October 31 to November 3.
This week we are in conversation with festival chair Tanya Surrey.
She's a lawyer and our interview reveals an undeniable bias towards the crime genre, but there's also a dazzling cornucopia of other writing - fiction, non-fiction, children's books, history - you name it and it's part of the 2024 Queenstown Writers Festival.
Ms Surrey not only describes some of her personal favourites but takes us on a walk through the rest of the programme (You can browse the programme here and - and buy tickets).
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It's been hard to ignore. The 2024 Queenstown Writers Festival is bigger than ever and starts soon - October 31 to November 3.
This week we are in conversation with festival chair Tanya Surrey.
She's a lawyer and our interview reveals an undeniable bias towards the crime genre, but there's also a dazzling cornucopia of other writing - fiction, non-fiction, children's books, history - you name it and it's part of the 2024 Queenstown Writers Festival.
Ms Surrey not only describes some of her personal favourites but takes us on a walk through the rest of the programme (You can browse the programme here and - and buy tickets).
Also this week, Kim Bowden discusses the surprising reemergence of a Ngāi Tahu hot pools project - up at the controversial Lakeview site. There's Queenstown Lakes District Council reserve land involved and we wonder if that is a point of some significance.
Plus, we look at a property developer who's trying to contribute money to funding Queenstown infrastructure and is finding the QLDC to be not particularly interested - go figure!
We also check out the Crux 2024 QLDC council satisfaction survey - currently sitting at four percent and still open. How low can they go?
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Speaking to Crux on the day of our Dunedin launch Mayor Jules Radich has confessed his disappointment over the council's decision not to sell Aurora and also shared his frustration with the Queenstown Lakes District and Central Otago Otago District mayors for not throwing their full weight behind the Dunedin hospital campaign.
Mayor Radich says eight out of ten regional mayors have fully supported the campaign for a new Dunedin hospital but Queenstown's Glyn Lewers and CODC's Tim Cadogan were instead "looking to see what they can get for their own district."
"A new Dunedin hospital, a tertiary hospital, is for the benefit of the entire lower south island. Certainly Central Otago and the Southern Lakes need some of their own secondary facilities, but Dunedin has to be the main centre for advanced, tertiary medical needs."
"The combination of the hospital, the university and the medical school produces access to all types of advanced medical skills for Dunedin and that's what you need - a full range of specialists and specialist support staff, not just doctors and nurses."
"We are only 10% into the 2024 Dunedin hospital battle so far - there's much more to come."
The mayor also said that he still supported the sale of Aurora to cut down council debt, adding that he was surprised at the level of emotion and the scale of opposition to the sale. "Debt levels will be higher as a result - we have to turn this ship around. Council debt is highly problematic."
The Crux Dunedin podcast also discusses the possibility of a unitary authority that could help share some of the Otago Regional Council's relative wealth across all of the region's local Government bodies.
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RealNZ's recently arrived CEO Dave Beeche has hit the ground running in terms of the challenges of balancing growth and conservation as well as the value of authenticity compared to too much packaging and hype. RealNZ runs many of our top tourism operations from the Earnslaw, Walter Peak station and Cardrona to Milord/Doubtful Sound cruises and the ferry to Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Mr Beeche talks with Crux managing editor Peter Newport about a pivotal moment in Europe this year where he saw the value of limiting visitor numbers and charging for access to popular tourism attractions. In this case it was a famous coastal walk on the Italian coast where he got engaged more than 20 years earlier.
Mr Beeche also reveals that he was a "mystery shopper" on various RealNZ trips before making a final decision to take on the CEO job - and that this did not all go quite according to plan.
The podcast interview touches on what the next five years may look like for tourism, how to improve the Queenstown CBD, the role of conservation within RealNZ and how he reckons (admittedly as a former Aucklander) that our local traffic is not that bad.
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RealNZ's recently arrived CEO Dave Beeche has hit the ground running in terms of the challenges of balancing growth and conservation as well as the value of authenticity compared to too much packaging and hype. RealNZ runs many of our top tourism operations from the Earnslaw, Walter Peak station and Cardrona to Milord/Doubtful Sound cruises and the ferry to Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Mr Beeche talks with Crux managing editor Peter Newport about a pivotal moment in Europe this year where he saw the value of limiting visitor numbers and charging for access to popular tourism attractions. In this case it was a famous coastal walk on the Italian coast where he got engaged more than 20 years earlier.
Mr Beeche also reveals that he was a "mystery shopper" on various RealNZ trips before making a final decision to take on the CEO job - and that this did not all go quite according to plan.
The podcast interview touches on what the next five years may look like for tourism, how to improve the Queenstown CBD, the role of conservation within RealNZ and how he reckons (admittedly as a former Aucklander) that our local traffic is not that bad.
Plus Kim Bowden discusses the top stories of the week - that Otago Regional Council rates increase that somehow was a lot more than the expected 16 percent, the local fast track projects that not everybody welcomes, and the Crux project that replaces the missing council performance questions in this year's QLDC Quality of Life Survey.
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This week's Crux podcast guest is the Central Otago District Council's deputy mayor, Neil Gillespie, who has ruled himself out of the current mayoral race saying he enjoys his job with Contact Energy, volunteering for the fire brigade, and he wants "to stay married".
Mayor Tim Cadogan announced his surprise resignation earlier this week meaning that councillors will have to agree an interim mayor later this month.
Councillor Gillespie tells Crux he does not believe it is important whether the new mayor, interim or permanent, comes from Cromwell or Alexandra.
"I'm not convinced that really matters...I've been involved in local government since 1998, so I've been around a long time. What I've learned is that I get one vote and so does the mayor."
While he concedes the mayor does get to lead a group of councillors, he thinks that is no guarantee they can sway any vote.
"For many years I chaired the Cromwell Community Board, that's a leadership role, and you just don't get your own way.
"You get a chance maybe to trumpet your views more than others, perhaps give things a nudge. But at the end of the day, you've got one vote. And if someone else is going to cancel your vote out, then it's up to the others. That's where the democracy part comes into it."
He stresses councillors should come to the table with a district-wide lens. He also says there's been some misunderstanding over proposed changes that appear to potentially take land and resources away from the Cromwell Community Board, adding that Cromwell endowment land will remain to the exclusive benefit of Cromwell.
"My role as a councillor is to look at the big picture for the district. So it doesn't matter that I've been elected from a ward, I don't actually represent the ward's issues. I've got to consider those issues, obviously. But I've got to then weigh it up against the what is the right thing for the district."
Crux asked Councillor Gillespie if the next mayor of the CODC would come from Cromwell.
"There's no reason why not. There is absolutely no reason why not. But we've got to find the person that's got the time and the inclination to to do that. And I don't think it's going to make a blind bit of difference as to where the mayor comes from to be perfectly honest, and it shouldn't make any difference."
Councillor Gillespie also says that the rather awkward term "districtisation" is being dropped by CODC in favour of the more easy to understand "district funding".
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This week's Crux podcast guest is the Central Otago District Council's deputy mayor, Neil Gillespie, who has ruled himself out of the current mayoral race saying he enjoys his job with Contact Energy, volunteering for the fire brigade, and he wants "to stay married".
Mayor Tim Cadogan announced his surprise resignation earlier this week meaning that councillors will have to agree an interim mayor later this month.
Councillor Gillespie tells Crux he does not believe it is important whether the new mayor, interim or permanent, comes from Cromwell or Alexandra.
"I'm not convinced that really matters...I've been involved in local government since 1998, so I've been around a long time. What I've learned is that I get one vote and so does the mayor."
While he concedes the mayor does get to lead a group of councillors, he thinks that is no guarantee they can sway any vote.
"For many years I chaired the Cromwell Community Board, that's a leadership role, and you just don't get your own way.
"You get a chance maybe to trumpet your views more than others, perhaps give things a nudge. But at the end of the day, you've got one vote. And if someone else is going to cancel your vote out, then it's up to the others. That's where the democracy part comes into it."
He stresses councillors should come to the table with a district-wide lens. He also says there's been some misunderstanding over proposed changes taking land and resources away from the Cromwell Community Board, adding that Cromwell endowment land will remain to the exclusive benefit of Cromwell.
"My role as a councillor is to look at the big picture for the district. So it doesn't matter that I've been elected from a ward, I don't actually represent the ward's issues. I've got to consider those issues, obviously. But I've got to then weigh it up against the what is the right thing for the district."
Crux asked Councillor Gillespie if the next mayor of the CODC would come from Cromwell.
"There's no reason why not. There is absolutely no reason why not. But we've got to find the person that's got the time and the inclination to to do that. And I don't think it's going to make a blind bit of difference as to where the mayor comes from to be perfectly honest, and it shouldn't make any difference."
Councillor Gillespie also says that the rather awkward term "districtisation" is being dropped by CODC in favour of the more easy to understand "district funding".
In this week's podcast Kim Bowden and Peter Newport also discuss the top stories of the week including Mayor Tim Cadogan's resignation, Air New Zealand's regional flight reductions, Otago University's move into the district, and a brand new cycle trail.
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On the Crux podcast this week Cromwell resident James Dicey gets stuck into the Central Otago District Council over what he sees as the Alexandra-based council being "the tail wagging the dog", where "technocrats and bureaucrats" are driving a process that ignores the wishes of Cromwell residents.
Mr Dicey, now an influential winemaker but also a qualified lawyer and accountant, tells Crux that he believes the value of Cromwell land being taken from local community board control by the CODC (the so-called 'districtisation') could well be worth up to half a billion dollars when developed.
He describes the history of tensions between Cromwell and Alexandra being the result of a forced marriage when local government reforms were put in place many years ago.
It's a fascinating history of two towns on divergent paths and Mr Dicey worries that it will be hard to use local elections to produce any real change in what he sees as a CODC agenda to take money and control away from the people of Cromwell.
"It's a gross misrepresentation. It's been blurred. It's been muddied. No one actually really quite knows or understand exactly what the implications are. They don't really understand what the potential risks are because it's been fudged all the way through - intentionally, in my view, to make it very difficult for people to understand exactly what they've given up or what the council has taken back from the community.
"We don't really actually know how it's going to be used and abused."
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On the Crux podcast this week Cromwell resident James Dicey gets stuck into the Central Otago District Council over what he sees as the Alexandra-based council being "the tail wagging the dog", where "technocrats and bureaucrats" are driving a process that ignores the wishes of Cromwell residents.
Mr Dicey, now an influential winemaker but also a qualified lawyer and accountant, tells Crux that he believes the value of Cromwell land being taken from local community board control by the CODC (the so-called 'districtisation') could well be worth up to half a billion dollars when developed.
He describes the history of tensions between Cromwell and Alexandra being the result of a forced marriage when local government reforms were put in place many years ago.
It's a fascinating history of two towns on divergent paths and Mr Dicey worries that it will be hard to use local elections to produce any real change in what he sees as a CODC agenda to take money and control away from the people of Cromwell.
"It's a gross misrepresentation. It's been blurred. It's been muddied. No one actually really quite knows or understand exactly what the implications are. They don't really understand what the potential risks are because it's been fudged all the way through - intentionally, in my view, to make it very difficult for people to understand exactly what they've given up or what the council has taken back from the community.
"We don't really actually know how it's going to be used and abused."
Also this week, Crux managing editor Peter Newport and Kim Bowden discuss the big story of the week - Queenstown Lakes District Council chief executive Mike Theelen getting a 15.5 percent pay rise, plus the consideration of a bed tax by the CODC.
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First term councillor Gavin Bartlett says he's determined to find a way for the Queenstown Lakes District Council to get vital new commuter cycle trails built, especially to connect Jack's Point and Frankton.
In the latest episode of the Crux podcast Councillor Bartlett also talks about his heritage that connects him with Bohemia, how early in his engineering career he built medical centres out of straw bales in Mongolia, the loneliness of being the only councillor to vote against more money for stage one of the 'road to nowhere', and why he's not on Facebook.
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First term councillor Gavin Bartlett says he's determined to find a way for the Queenstown Lakes District Council to get vital new commuter cycle trails built, especially to connect Jack's Point and Frankton.
In the latest episode of the Crux podcast Councillor Bartlett also talks about his heritage that connects him with Bohemia, how early in his engineering career he built medical centres out of straw bales in Mongolia, the loneliness of being the only councillor to vote against more money for stage one of the 'road to nowhere', and why he's not on Facebook.
Also in today's podcast Peter Newport and Kim Bowden discuss the Chief Ombudsman's move to investigate transparency at the QLDC and the quiet, almost anticlimactic signing off this week of the Long Term Plan.
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The latest episode of the Crux podcast series proves that each of our Queenstown Lakes District councillors interviewed so far has a surprising and colourful background.
Melissa White is a single mum who combines commercial cake decorating with being a councillor, but her advocacy skills were developed in the cut and thrust of the London investment banking industry.
She told Crux managing editor Peter Newport investment banking is every bit as dramatic as portrayed by Wall Street movies and she once found herself, as a senior Human Resources manager, on the wrong end of a Friday sacking event complete with cardboard box, security guards and being marched out of the building.
Councillor White also reveals she was one of the very first people to get a roof over her head in Queenstown from being on the waiting list of the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust. She also confirms that even though the councillor role can be tough and thankless at times, she's keen to stand for election again next year and make full use of the skills she's learning during her first term.
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In the latest Crux podcast Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sharon Fifield makes a passionate plea for our much-maligned CBD as well as suggesting that a gondola connecting it to the the airport could be what we are all waiting for.
Her argument in favour of the CBD is that it's fine – even great – once we manage to get there and find a car park. The lakes, the mountains, and the memories most of us have of previous nights out in the town centre all go towards that the CBD deserves a second chance.
“Give it a go,” Ms Fifield says.
"Even if it's just once a month."
In addition, Crux managing Editor Peter Newport discusses Ms Fifield immigration settings, government relationships, housing, economic diversification and, yes, even CBD parking.
She reveals news that the current government is considering the possibility of immigration rules that are specific to regions like Queenstown Lakes.
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In the latest Crux podcast Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sharon Fifield makes a passionate plea for our much-maligned CBD as well as suggesting that a gondola connecting it to the the airport could be what we are all waiting for.
Her argument in favour of the CBD is that it's fine – even great – once we manage to get there and find a car park. The lakes, the mountains, and the memories most of us have of previous nights out in the town centre all go towards that the CBD deserves a second chance.
“Give it a go,” Ms Fifield says.
"Even if it's just once a month."
In addition, Crux managing Editor Peter Newport discusses Ms Fifield immigration settings, government relationships, housing, economic diversification and, yes, even CBD parking.
She reveals news that the current government is considering the possibility of immigration rules that are specific to regions like Queenstown Lakes.
Plus, Peter Newport and Kim Bowden discuss the week’s top stories – in particular the dramatic developments, and disappointments, around the Long Term Plan. It’s fair to say that the residents of Wānaka and the Upper Clutha are not happy.
But we end on a positive note with a visit to Cromwell College, where students are building a log cabin – and all for a good cause.
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All over the country ratepayers are staring at astronomical rate increases and at the same time losing patience with their local councils.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon spoke for many people this week when he told local councils to "rein in the fantasies" and "do the basics and do the basics brilliantly".
As council debt has risen, trust in our local councils has dropped in almost direct proportion. In the case of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, to the lowest trust and satisfaction level in New Zealand - 15 percent.
But down the road in Oamaru the Waitaki District Council (WDC) has already decided to take action. And not just action, but a complete and massive transformation.
The WDC was concerned when their own community satisfaction level dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent. They hired a new chief executive specifically to engineer radical change.
The change, agreed just a couple of weeks ago, will involve up to 10 percent of council staff losing their jobs.
Separation between council departments will be removed and there will be a wholesale move towards more efficient, digital systems to supply up to 40 different community services that the WDC is responsible for.
Ultimately the WDC wants a council that the staff, elected members and community can all be proud of.
Crux spent time this week with WDC mayor Gary Kircher and one of the most experienced councillors, former broadcaster Jim Hopkins.
Mayor Kircher explains how the plan emerged and how other councils around the country may be well advised to watch and learn, while Councillor Hopkins argues that the pain of cutting council staff will deliver the greatest benefit to the largest group of people - the community. He also argues that unless the current council rating system is changed local government in this country will eventually become totally unsustainable.
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All over the country ratepayers are staring at astronomical rate increases and at the same time losing patience with their local councils.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon spoke for many people this week when he told local councils to "rein in the fantasies" and "do the basics and do the basics brilliantly".
As council debt has risen, trust in our local councils has dropped in almost direct proportion. In the case of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, to the lowest trust and satisfaction level in New Zealand - 15 percent.
But down the road in Oamaru the Waitaki District Council (WDC) has already decided to take action. And not just action, but a complete and massive transformation.
The WDC was concerned when their own community satisfaction level dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent. They hired a new chief executive specifically to engineer radical change.
The change, agreed just a couple of weeks ago, will involve up to 10 percent of council staff losing their jobs.
Separation between council departments will be removed and there will be a wholesale move towards more efficient, digital systems to supply up to 40 different community services that the WDC is responsible for.
Ultimately the WDC wants a council that the staff, elected members and community can all be proud of.
Crux spent time this week with WDC mayor Gary Kircher and one of the most experienced councillors, former broadcaster Jim Hopkins.
Mayor Kircher explains how the plan emerged and how other councils around the country may be well advised to watch and learn, while Councillor Hopkins argues that the pain of cutting council staff will deliver the greatest benefit to the largest group of people - the community. He also argues that unless the current council rating system is changed local government in this country will eventually become totally unsustainable.
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All over the country ratepayers are staring at astronomical rate increases and at the same time losing patience with their local councils.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon spoke for many people this week when he told local councils to "rein in the fantasies" and "do the basics and do the basics brilliantly".
As council debt has risen, trust in our local councils has dropped in almost direct proportion. In the case of the Queenstown Lakes District Council, to the lowest trust and satisfaction level in New Zealand - 15 percent.
But down the road in Oamaru the Waitaki District Council (WDC) has already decided to take action. And not just action, but a complete and massive transformation.
The WDC was concerned when their own community satisfaction level dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent. They hired a new chief executive specifically to engineer radical change.
The change, agreed just a couple of weeks ago, will involve up to 10 percent of council staff losing their jobs.
Separation between council departments will be removed and there will be a wholesale move towards more efficient, digital systems to supply up to 40 different community services that the WDC is responsible for.
Ultimately the WDC wants a council that the staff, elected members and community can all be proud of.
Crux spent time this week with WDC mayor Gary Kircher and one of the most experienced councillors, former broadcaster Jim Hopkins.
Mayor Kircher explains how the plan emerged and how other councils around the country may be well advised to watch and learn, while Councillor Hopkins argues that the pain of cutting council staff will deliver the greatest benefit to the largest group of people - the community. He also argues that unless the current council rating system is changed local government in this country will eventually become totally unsustainable.
Also in this week's top stories Kim Bowden and Peter Newport discuss the ongoing $300 million tug of assets between Cromwell and Alexandra and an alarming increase in the issue of QLDC parking tickets, especially in just one or two local suburbs. Plus, is the CODC mayor losing his battle to convince Cromwellians to share their local community board's $300 million land wealth with their neighbours in Alexandra?
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Respected hotel and hospitality operator Mark Rose calls in the latest Crux podcast for a change in community leadership and for our local council to open their books in the face of planned $1 billion debt - a level he calls "a frightening number."
"If there's serious financial problems then we need to discover those now and get them fixed" Mark Rose told Crux Managing Editor Peter Newport.
Mr Rose started his career as an international chef and then moved on to luxury hotel management, making a success of the five star Rees hotel in Queenstown from the depths of the global financial crisis.
"The fabric of our community is at risk" Mr Rose told Crux, speaking of the community's inability to house and sustain key hospitality staff on $70,000 a year. "It's simply not enough to live on at the moment keeping in mind the cost and availability of local housing."
Mr Rose also speaks in detail about the need for younger, fresher community leaders and elected councillors. He notes in particular what he sees as the lack of leadership from the current council and decisions being made behind closed doors.
Referring to the council's $100 million spend on the luxury Lakeview apartment project, with little evident prospect for future profits, Mr Rose told Crux "if it's such a great deal, show us the books."
"Good leadership is about taking people along with you. I'm just not seeing that from the current council and it worries me greatly."
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