Petition to save Hermitage jobs reaches 70 signatures
A petition has been started by a group calling itself ‘Residents and Friends of Aoraki/ Mt Cook Alpine Village’ against the 170 proposed redundancies at The Hermitage Hotel.
Posted online yesterday morning, the petition gained 70 signatures within the first hour.
‘‘The Hermitage has long been the hub of the village, and the news of the impending closure was extremely sad for the thousands of people with a connection to Aoraki Mount Cook, be they residents, employees, past employees, guests or visitors,’’ the petition says.
‘‘The Mount Cook Residents and Friends below, hereby wish to support all employees of the Hermitage Hotel and petition you to seek alternative ways of operating to ensure continuity of services and some level of employment for staff.’’
On Friday, Aoraki/Mt Cook Alpine Village Limited, which owns the Hermitage Hotel, proposed mothballing the company indefinitely and starting from scratch when it is able to reopen, cutting all but eight of its staff in the process.
The petition says the residents and friends of the village have faith that visitors will return to the area once restrictions are lifted, and urge the company to think about the ‘‘ripple effect’’ on the community such redundancies would have.
‘‘As a hub, the Hermitage Hotel attracts and drives demand for many other ancillary services and activities,’’ it says.
‘‘Any closure will also negatively affect the remaining community and put at risk key services such as courier, postal, shopping, fuel, education, historic and social opportunities.’’
It asks if there is any support the community can offer to explore alternative options to the closure.
Aoraki Mt Cook School Principal Sandra Rolls is one of the petition supporters.
‘‘Aoraki Mt Cook School is an integral part of the Aoraki Mount Cook community and we are proud of the role we play,’’ she told Stuff.
‘‘At present we are dedicated to and focused on supporting our wonderful children and their wha¯ nau.’’
Katrina Casey, the Ministry of Education’s deputy secretary for sector enablement and support, said that the ministry did not have information on where the children’s parents worked and was unable to comment on the impact job losses in the area would have.
‘‘Small rural schools have been a feature of education in New Zealand for generations, and these schools are essential for the rural communities that they serve.
‘‘Aoraki Mt Cook School is the only primary school in the area and supports an isolated rural catchment, and our records show there are currently 10 students.’’