Tourist revenue plan ‘game-changer’

Injecting tourist revenue back into Clutha-Southland would fortify the area against a massive tourism influx, the electorate’s NZ First candidate says.

At the NZ First ‘‘Campaign for the Regions’’ launch in Palmerston North on Sunday, party leader Winston Peters promised to ‘‘repopulate the provinces’’.

Peters announced the party would pump tax revenue into local councils from tourism and water royalties.

It meant all GST earned from tourists would be returned to the region where the money was spent.

NZ First Clutha-Southland candidate Mark Patterson said the policy was ‘‘a game changer’’ in terms of funding and regional development.

‘‘It’s significant money coming back to the regions,’’ he said.

Tourism Council figures say the GST component of a $2.49 billion international tourist spend in Clutha-Southland was $324 million annually.

The spend was obviously inflated by Queenstown, Patterson said.

That money would be returned local authorities. to

‘‘The beauty of it is, it takes the bureaucracy out of it. It comes back to the councils and it’s up to them to do what they want.’’

It would be a massive ‘‘shot in the arm’’ for the region and take pressure off ratepayers, he said.

‘‘It should make a big difference on rates. Rates have been growing at a much higher rate than incomes.’’

The electorate had a tiny ratepayer base trying to hold up the costs of tourism infrastructure, he said.

Tourism was expected to grow 50 per cent in the next six years, he said.

‘‘That figure shows the magnitude of the amount of infrastructure that will be needed for that influx.

‘‘It gives us a chance to get in front of the game.’’

But it was not just GST that would be returned to the regions.

NZ First also planned to return royalties from oil, gas, minerals and coal to the regions.

Patterson said the return of royalties was ‘‘a real strong play’’ to bring money back to Clutha-Southland.

‘‘We are so used to people in Auckland sucking up all that money.’’