19th Apr - 25th Apr
LOCALLY OWNED SINCE FOREVER
No 847
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
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13 IN 7 SI
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Can you imagine Voting is not until October but the candidate search for QLDC is very much on. We will definitely have a new Mayor in the Queenstown Lakes District with Jim Boult stepping down, and we will definitely have major changes at Councillor level too under the new Ward system introduced in 2021. If you tune out of Facebook and other conspiracy websites and take a look at reality for a moment, you will know Mayor Boult has advocated tirelessly for the betterment of the Queenstown Lakes over the past 6 years. Particularly at Central Government level and at a time of unprecedented disruption. So, it concerns me the first candidate who has put his name forward to replace Mayor Boult, Jon Mitchell, has launched his campaign with a press release littered with hints of corruption and conspiracy. Don’t get sucked in by clickbait Jon. I hope the election campaigns of everyone looking to win our votes this October quickly turn around, jump out of the gutter, and focus on the positive steps forward we can make for this district. The success of the Queenstown Lakes is based on building ourselves up not tearing each other apart. I know the inside workings of QLDC well as an ex-Councillor, and Local Government is far from perfect. In fact, the Local Government Act is a dog’s breakfast of bureaucracy and red tape. The amount of rate payer money that gets wasted going around in circles is mind boggling. Mainly the work of newly elected officials looking to change everything on an ideological whim. Sometimes I wonder how anything gets done. As with all businesses of 250+ employees, there are good ones and bad ones. However, one thing I can say with certainty, and the only saving grace of our political system, is that corruption cannot live within it. So, let’s shut up about that rubbish and get excited about the future. Because we need people leading our district forward into the future who know how to get things done. And to get things done in Local Government you need determination and patience followed by even more determination and even more patience. But always staying focused on the prize - improvement to the lives of your fellow ratepayers. That challenge of character and integrity will also see 7 Councillors contesting 2 new Wards in the Whakatipu after the 2021 representation review. Arrowtown-Kawarau and Queenstown-Whakatipu. Add in 4 Councillors over the hill and it will be a right royal ding dong around the council table as each Ward jockeys for position. That person at the head of the table had better come equipped with some seriously expert chairing skills. This district needs a positive personality leading us into the next 3 years and beyond. With a cohesive approach the little things that matter might actually get done. Shock horror. And with the right vision at the top, the big picture will be crystal clear. Can you imagine that. Scott Stevens - scott@qmg.co.nz
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Queenstown was treated to the four day Whakatipu Music Festival over Easter, celebrating Aotearoa’s leading musicians. Pictured is Hazuki Katsukawa, Stefenie Pickston, Sir Michael Hill and Shuan Liu. See more from the festival on page 8 – photo James Roberts.