Queenstown Lakes Community Action

07/10/2026

This morning, QLDC councillors will decide whether the long-term discharge consent for the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant should go through the normal ORC hearing process or be referred directly to the Environment Court.

When the Council report says direct referral allows for full public participation, we think its important to consider how accessible that participation is in practice

Today we’ve written to QLDC councillors about our experience, the barriers we came cross, and why we think those barriers need to be considered alongside the time and money direct referral may save.

Who gets to be in the room?
Read our post and the full letter to councillors here:

Our experience of the Environment Court process and why QLDC’s decision on direct referral matters for public participation.

06/06/2026

As councillors work through the Long Term Plan, much of the discussion has focused on what projects, facilities, and services the council would like to deliver over the coming years.

Several councillors campaigned on promises to improve affordability and exercise greater fiscal restraint, acknowledging that difficult decisions would be required to bring rates growth under control. From the community's perspective, however, there has been little visible evidence of those difficult conversations taking place.

But what if we started with a different question?

What level of rates increase is actually affordable for the community?

In our latest article, we explore an alternative approach to budgeting. Rather than starting with a list of projects and then calculating the rates increases needed to fund them, councillors could start by setting an affordability target (for example 5%, 10%, or 15%) and then ask staff to identify what projects, services, or spending would need to be delayed, reduced, or removed to achieve it.

This is how most households manage their budgets. They start with what they can afford and then prioritise accordingly.

We've also written to councillors asking them to consider this approach as part of the Long Term Plan process. We believe it would provide greater transparency about the trade-offs involved and help ensure affordability remains at the centre of decision-making.

If affordability is genuinely a priority, councillors need to be shown the choices, not just the projects.

Read the article here: https://qtownlakescommunityaction.substack.com/p/stop-asking-what-we-want-start-asking

What do you think? Should council start with what it wants to do, or with what the community can afford to pay?

The real question isn't what projects are worthwhile. It's which ones are worth the rates increases required to fund them.

03/06/2026

Many councillors were elected on promises to challenge spending, scrutinise budgets, and bring rates under control.

The upcoming Long Term Plan is their opportunity to do exactly that.

With huge council debt and rates placing increasing pressure on households, now is the time to ask a simple question of every project and every dollar of spending: Is it essential?

Our latest article argues that the community has been clear. Until debt and rates are under control, council should focus on essentials and be prepared to make some difficult choices.

The Long Term Plan Is the Time to Be Ruthless

23/04/2026

Right now, the future of the Shotover River is being decided in the Environment Court.

And here’s the reality:

Without independent freshwater ecologists, the only science the Court will hear is from experts engaged by the councils.

That’s not a level playing field.

We’re a small, volunteer-led community group. We don’t have the resources of a council but we are a party in this case, and we have the opportunity to make sure independent ecological evidence is put before the Court.

That’s what this fundraiser is for.

Every dollar goes toward bringing independent freshwater science and legal support into the courtroom so decisions about our river are based on more than one side of the story.

If you’ve been following what’s happening with the Shotover, this is a real way to be part of it.

Help us today by donating here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-fund-independent-freshwater-science

21/04/2026

We need your help! The Shotover/Kimi-ākau River deserves a fair hearing. Right now, its future is being decided in the Environment Court.

We’re participating in the case but need to fund the experts who make our voice count.

We’re raising money for independent freshwater ecology expertise and legal support.

👉 https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-fund-independent-freshwater-science

If you’ve ever stood by this river, walked it, swum in it, this is the moment to help protect it.

Please donate and share. You can scan the QR code on the poster or go to the link above. If you prefer to donate directly, our bank account details are:

Account Name: Queenstown Lakes Community Action
Account Number: 0673-0188001-000

You can read more about this on our substack page: https://qtownlakescommunityaction.substack.com/p/a-fair-hearing-for-the-shotover-river

You can read our submission to the Court here:https://www.orc.govt.nz/media/c14folzg/nicolette-macfarlane-for-queenstown-lakes-community-action-submission-1.pdf

Help our community-group fund freshwater & legal experts that will influence the Shotover/Kimi-ākau River's future.