Housing promise for Queenstown
LABOUR leader Andrew Little says building 1000 houses and a ‘‘hall of residence’’ for seasonal workers on the existing Wakatipu High School site will be the party’s ‘‘first priority’’ in Queenstown if elected.
The high school will be decommissioned at its present site late this year and move to a new site near Remarkables Park for 2018.
A year ago, embattled CluthaSouthland MP Todd Barclay spoke to Housing Minister Nick Smith about speeding up the disposal of the governmentowned land in Gorge Rd.
If the Ministry of Education no longer requires the land for educational purposes, the determination of its future ownership or use is governed by the Public Works Act 1981, under which Ngai Tahu has first right of refusal.
At the time, Mr Barclay said if Ngai Tahu expressed interest in the land and considered helping provide more worker accommodation, he hoped the Government could engage with community stakeholders, the council and employers to look at new models for worker accommodation and affordable housing developments ‘‘as soon as possible’’.
The Otago Daily Times asked for an update on the disposal process from Housing Minister Amy Adams yesterday, but no response was received before deadline.
In Queenstown yesterday, Mr Little said the site represented a ‘‘huge opportunity’’ to create something ‘‘special’’ for the resort — specifically, hall of residencestyle seasonal workers’ accommodation, affordable homes, or both.
‘‘Queenstown’s vital seasonal workforce also needs accommodation in the town.
‘‘Instead of leaving these workers to sleep three to a room in substandard conditions, Labour will work with the council and employers to deliver decent accommodation, similar to a student hall of residence.’’
There was ‘‘no reason’’ planning for the future of the site could not be under way, in conjunction with the council, ministry, Ngai Tahu and other interested parties, Mr Little said.
‘‘Housing in Queenstown is at crisis point and we all need to work together to tackle the problem.
‘‘Queenstown sits at the heart of our tourism industry . . . We want to keep the development going . . . We want to ensure everybody is catered for.’’
While under National the housing issue was being addressed through the Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas Act, Labour would use its Affordable Housing Authority and KiwiBuild programme to ‘‘cut through red tape’’.
The authority would work with the private sector, partnering with private developers, councils and iwi to undertake greenfields and revitalisation projects, building affordable homes with KiwiBuild and the private market.
The KiwiBuild programme aimed to construct 100,000 high quality homes over 10 years and 1000 of them were planned for Queenstown.
The threebedroom homes in terraced housing would cost $500,000, while smaller houses would be cheaper.
‘‘That will put home ownership back in the reach of young couples and vital workers like police and teachers who are being priced out of Queenstown.’’
The homes would be sold only to firsthome buyers and to avoid buyers reaping windfall gains, a condition of sale would require them to hand back any capital gain if the houses were sold within five years.