Skyline's Stormwater Management: Queenstown Council's Transparency Regarding Rainfall Events.
A scenario like this provides further evidence that Queenstown is a walking neoliberal experiment, where the State prioritizes and defends an aggressive economic system rather than working to establish stronger regulations for companies such as Skyline Enterprises, Airbnb, and a luxury development market that is leaving a significant number of local workers and families behind…
Transparency, accessibility, efficiency and simplicity has democratic indicators.
In our previous blog post, we analyze the importance of evaluating law enforcement and resource allocation as crucial indicators of a healthy democratic system. However, another vital pillar of any democratic nation lies in its capacity to ensure transparency, accessibility, efficiency, and simplicity in disseminating and comprehending public information.
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESSIBILITY refer to how openly public institutions share information about decision-making, accountability, and legal matters. This information should be easily accessible through various channels and formats to accommodate all citizens, including those with disabilities or language barriers.
EFFICIENCY in government means achieving desired outcomes while minimizing resource waste, including time and money. Effective dissemination of information involves using multiple communication methods to reach a broad audience, with a focus on timeliness and a proactive approach to building trust.
SIMPLICITY in communication ensures that public information is presented clearly and understandably, regardless of one's education or expertise. It bridges the gap between government and citizens, empowering people to stay informed and engage in the democratic process, even when dealing with complex topics.
Now, let's see how these principles apply to a small-town emergency scenario, such as the recent rainfall in Queenstown. Lets take a look at how things are being managed by Skyline Enterprises, and Queenstown Lakes District Council.
Obtaining public information can be approached from two perspectives: that of a journalist and that of a community member.
Media’s approach.
To date, since the rainfall incident, there have been a few medias trying to access information about it. Crux, a well-established local media outlet, has attempted to obtain answers from the Council (QLDC), but they have only come back with evasive answers.
Crux's questions to the Council revolve around the responsibility for the land above the cemetery affected by the storm and the issues related to it, including leases, resource consent, safety, and flooding. They also inquire about any compliance actions being taken and the associated penalties.
These are some of their questions:
If it is QLDC owns the land above the Cemetery what are the lease and resource consent issues around this land (involving Skyline or other parties) and issues such as safety and timber/flooding etc?
Why was the land above the cemetery cleared of trees when it appears the new gondola did not require this area of land to be cleared - the new gondola is exactly where the old gondola was.
Is QLDC mounting any compliance action (with penalties - and what are those penalties?) in regard to this flooding event and the subsequent damage to the cemetery and other areas - plus the clear risk to public safety that was evident?
Newsroom's efforts to get some information on the matter have not been successful either as demonstrated in their report.
Citizen approach.
What about a regular citizen? Since we are not a formal media entity, the only way the Council can engage with us is as a member of the community. Here are some of the questions we sent to QLDC.
Who owns the land where the slip above the Cemetery happened?
How can I find more information about Skyline storm-water management?
In 2017 Skyline asked for more time to solve their storm-water management. What are the follow-ups for that?
Is Skyline going to face any consequences for having loose logs at the hill?
Is there any protocol being placed to explain to the families affected by the storm which type of help are they going to get?
After several email exchanges, we finally were on the phone with the Council’s Senior Communications Advisor. He politely explained that information on Skyline's storm-water management cannot be shared due to potential insurance-related repercussions. Our questions were forwarded to a different department, and we are currently awaiting their response. We were also advised to recur to other institutions as Ombudsman.
From here, we can pose several important questions:
Is the QLDC being transparent and accessible regarding Skyline's stormwater management policies?
Are they efficient in their communication with those affected by the situation and with the media?
Is the limited available information presented in a simple and easily understandable manner?
Have there been any press conferences or public meetings to provide further information on the protocols in place?
Queenstown, a neoliberal experiment.
We firmly believe that advocating for a more transparent, accessible, efficient, and simple means of communication is vital to the proper functioning of democracy. It's also crucial to remember that while it may be tempting to solely target the Council, we must not lose sight of the responsibility of large companies like Skyline Enterprises, who have seen significant profit growth without proper risk assessment and effective management in precarious situations, such as the recent rainfall in Queenstown. We should also maintain a constant awareness of the direction in which national institutions, such as the Environment Court, are heading, and whether they are ruling in favor of and supporting the growth of large corporations, rather than prioritizing the well-being of the land and its citizens. We wonder, what do they have to say in this case?
A scenario like this provides further evidence that Queenstown is a walking neoliberal experiment, where the State prioritizes and defends an aggressive economic system rather than working to establish stronger regulations for companies such as Skyline Enterprises, Airbnb, and a luxury development market that is leaving a significant number of local workers and families behind.
