Proposal to remove runway ‘illconceived’

QUEENSTOWN

QUEENSTOWN Lakes Mayor Jim Boult has blasted a proposal promoted by a governance group he is a member of to remove Milford Sound’s fixedwing runway, calling it ‘‘illconceived’’.

Milford Opportunities was floating opportunities to improve and lengthen the visitor experience in Milford before it produced a master plan — one such option was the removal of the runway within the next three to five years, with helicopter access to remain.

The governance group believed that would free up ‘‘very scarce flat space’’ for other uses, for example, a visitor hub and experience centre and tracks.

However, Mr Boult — one of seven members of the governance group, which includes independent chairman Keith Turner — said that was ‘‘shortterm thinking’’.

‘‘My view is that fixedwing operations in there fulfil a worthwhile need, that it won’t be too many years before electric aeroplanes for that sort of service will become freely available and we would lose the runway there to our future peril.

‘‘It was an idea that was mooted quite some time ago in the early days of [the] Milford Opportunities group’s work. I opposed it then and, to be honest, I thought it had gone away and I was surprised to see it back on the table as an option for the future,’’ he said.

Mr Boult said the group — which did not have the power to make any decisions, only recommendations to the Government — had been doing some good work.

‘‘But I think they are 100% down the wrong path with that idea.’’

He intended to reiterate his opposition at an upcoming meeting of the group.

Yesterday Mountain Scene reported six flightseeing companies — including four in Queenstown — would lose most of their business if the proposal went ahead.

Veteran resort aviator Jules Tapper said the idea had been ‘‘poorly thought out and poorly promulgated’’, while Air Milford chief executive Hank Sproull said it was ‘‘absolute bull .... ’’.

‘‘You can’t have a group formed like that and then start putting people out of business.

‘‘This is what the Department of Conservation tried to do 20 years ago and it failed.

‘‘It took us probably $200,000 in court battles to get our right to operate into Milford.

‘‘These boffins have no idea about what goes on at Milford and they’re just making outrageous bloody statements.’’

True South Flights chief pilot Gareth Allen estimated Milford flightseeing contributed between $30 million and $40 million per annum to the economy.

❛ These boffins have no idea about what goes on at Milford

Hank Sproull