Queenstown's 2022 Mayoral Candidates: Their Thoughts On The Future Of Mountain Biking In Queenstown
With the mountain biking industry thriving in Queenstown, our biking community is seeking further support from QLDC to help with funding maintenance of local trails as well as supporting future trail development, infrastructure and events. We contacted all of the 2022 Mayoral Candidates to get their thoughts regarding some of the key challenges we face as a biking community.
The responses we received are below:
Neeta Shetty:
1. What is your plan to make Queenstown a bike destination?
This is what our young people have asked for. Queenstown as a bike destination is another feather on our glorious cap and sends out the right message of sustainability. I know many candidates both for councillors and community board members are keen on this idea, so as Mayor, I will encourage and support the idea to make it happen.
2. The club currently receives $30K annually from the council to help with trail maintenance.This year we asked for $140K which was declined. Nelson council supports their club with $390K and Rotorua council spending $500K to their trails trust. What would be your opinion on increasing funding to QMTBC?
I have spoken incessantly of how we need to support our community activities whether it is through schools, sports, business, innovation, cultural and/or social with grants, funding, scholarships, awards, business opportunities, work experiences. I see these investments as an asset of our community. This is what will make investors want to invest in our region. This is what attracts residents and young people to want to live in, work in and fall in love with our region. If you build it, they will come. We need to build the right infrastructure and projects so we attract community-minded people to share our space. I am all for opening funding to aspiring community projects that enhance our economic diversity.
3. Nelson Council has supported a world enduro event with $166K per annum for 3 years. Rotorua council funds the Crankworx event with $75K and a bike festival $50K. Can you advise your position on helping QMTBC run local and international events to attract visitors to the region?
I am in favour of the Queenstown Marathon and many such events that glorify the beauty of our region and add to our reputation of an incredible ski destination. As Mayor, I will encourage these events. I am surrounded by athletic and energetic students and these events would provide an opportunity for our young people. We recently won the high school cricket championship, but we don’t have a cricket club room. It is the first time we had an U13 all girls basketball team and they ranked second. We need to encourage and celebrate this achievement. To me, this is what community means where our young people have the stimulation and opportunities within our community.
4.The Gorge Road jump park area is currently in QLDC ownership and was nearly closed down to be used for a lay-down area for the town works. Do you support the park being transferred to Parks and Reserves to protect this community asset long term?
100%. I am the only candidate that comes as a community voice and this is exactly why I am standing. Development over community needs is unacceptable. My ethos is community-aligned. I want to see more community-led investments as it is my belief that the best investments are ones that benefit the community and these are successful. Take for example, Wanaka Wastebusters, the Event Centre or the Wanaka Recreational Centre. These are all very successful enterprises supported through community funding.
5.We have been invoiced $9,600 by QLDC for a resource consent for two new bike trails on Ben Lomond reserve - do you think this should be pro-bono work as we are providing an asset for the community?
This really concerns me. I am not in favour of bureaucracy. I used to be a committee member on many sporting committees. We were advised by QLDC that if we wanted funding from QLDC, we would need a ‘Feasibility Report’. A Feasibility Report costs $20,000. This seemed preposterous considering we were a not-for-profit club that was run by volunteer parents. This out-of-touch, corporate stand from Council is not something I condone. This is why I am standing to promote community paradigms. I stand as a voice that supports community initiatives particularly at grass root levels as I see the potential these clubs have for our young people. As Mayor, I will be approachable and support initiatives that enhance the social fabric of our community.
Olivia Wensley: 1. What is your plan to make Queenstown a bike destination? The entire Southern Lakes region is already known internationally as the one of the worlds best biking destinations for all styles of riding with an amazing network of grade 1 and 2 trails for all and lift accessed Grade 5 and beyond which attracts the world's best riders over our summer. Unlike the winter ski industry where it's easy to count the number of users and revenue flows through the ski fields, biking is distributed with tourism revenue harder to measure. The Benje Patterson report released recently showed that biking was around 40% of winter sports but expected to continue to grow without the climate concerns of winter sports. It's time to formally have a biking strategy and I'd suggest creating a paid role inside Destination Queenstown to focus on and grow the biking opportunity for Queenstown and plan to get the first international events of the year here (at the end of our summer) to further build our international profile. I'd like to see a biking infrastructure in Queenstown that might include an assembly and packing area at the airport, a bike cleaning area downtown coupled with an events strategy to get the biggest global events like World Cups and Crankworx into Queenstown each year. Local hotels and businesses can help by providing bike storage, assembly and washing facilities. Then together we need to win the big national and global events.
2. The club currently receives $30K annually from the council to help with trail maintenance.This year we asked for $140K which was declined. Nelson council supports their club with $390K and Rotorua council spending $500K to their trails trust. What would be your opinion on increasing funding to QMTBC? When I am Mayor I commit to implementing a bike strategy for the Southern Lakes area (it's not just Queenstown) and ensure that biking has at least the same focus as the ski industry has by the council. This may include more funding from council but also build the business case for local businesses that benefit from biking as a primary tourism strategy to contribute to ensuring we have world class biking infrastructure for all types of riding. Unlike the winter sports industry where lift passes are easy to measure and count, the benefits of biking are distributed throughout our community. I'm very open to ideas about how biking could be better funded in our district. 3. Nelson Council has supported a world enduro event with $166K per annum for 3 years.Rotorua council funds the Crankworx event with $75K and a bike festival $50K. Can you advise your position on helping QMTBC run local and international events to attract visitors to the region? It's clear that biking is a massive opportunity for the Southern Lakes area and the results we have achieved are largely thanks to volunteers in our community and a few commercial organisations, like the ski areas, and donors who understand its potential. I think it's important that the council have a dedicated biking liaison person who will be responsible for the councils biking strategy and events