A central Government partnership with Queenstown will help unlock around $300 million of projects in the township and create about 320 direct jobs, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced last week.

The Government will contribute $85 million to the Queenstown Town Centre ($35m) project and Stage One of the Queenstown Arterials ($50m).

“The projects we’re announcing support for today will help ensure the construction sector does not suffer the same negative consequences as the tourism sector,” said the PM.

The town centre streetscape project is a $57m project in total, with the Queenstown Lakes District Council contributing $22m. Construction on this project is expected to be under way within three months and take about a year to complete. This work will include street-scaping works, cycle and walkways, and is expected to create about 130 jobs.

These two projects will also unlock the ability to develop a new town centre Public Transport Hub costing $25m and creating about 100 further jobs,

“The council expects the construction phase of this project will take about 18 to 20 months and estimates about 190 jobs will be supported during Stage One,” added Ardern.

Meanwhile, Queenstown Mayor Jim Boult welcomed the much-needed investment as a lifeline for many locals, adding, “Until recently our district had the lowest unemployment rate in Aotearoa New Zealand and now we’re facing up to 8,000.”

“We know that in time domestic and international visitors will return to New Zealand, and Queenstown. Providers need to be here and ready to welcome them when they do come back,” he added.

– TIN Bureau

Queenstown offers temporary film permit fee relief

The newly established Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) Film Office will dedicate $10,000 toward permit fee relief for film production activity taking place on Council land as a COVID-19 recovery initiative.

Currently, fees for filming on QLDC land are typically $500/day for filming and $300/day for photography of a commercial nature.

This relief scheme will allow productions an initial two days’ fee-free filming on council land. The cost for fees will be reimbursed from the QLDC Economic Development budget dedicated to film support.

This initiative has been set up to help attract film production back to the district and to support the local film community, which – like many in the district – has been hit hard by the impacts of COVID-19.