A High Price for Private Gain
Protect Ben Lomond Reserve: Say No to Fast-Tracked Mega-Development
Sign the petition HERE.
The fast-fast proposal to build a mega-development on Te-taumata-o-Hakitekura (Ben Lomond) and Bowen Peak threatens the ecological integrity and biodiversity of one of Queenstown’s most iconic natural reserves.
The development includes 270 chalets (likely used as visitor accommodation or second homes with only 5% allocated to Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust), a 1,500-person conference centre, a dual-rail funicular railway that will ship 1.1 million people to Ben Lomond Reserve annually, ski resort infrastructure, a restaurant at Ben Lomond Saddle, and an extensive development in One-Mile Recreation Reserve.
All of these practices will involve cutting into a landscape treasured for its native forest, endangered species habitat, cultural significance and human-powered enjoyment for locals and visitors alike
Environmental Impact: A High Price for Private Gain
Biodiversity at Risk
The slopes and saddle of Te-taumata-o-Hakitekura (Ben Lomond) and surrounding areas are home to native birds, geckos, lizards and skinks. Construction of these developments would likely disturb or destroy their habits, including ecosystems that could contain regionally significant wetlands.
Wetlands are crucial to healthy ecosystems; acting as natural filters to remove pollutants and excess nutrients from water runoff before it enters our rivers and lakes. Wetlands support life, reduce the impacts of flooding and drought through slowing the water flow from land in heavy rainfall and releasing water in periods of low rainfall, as well as providing carbon sequestration in certain circumstances. By reducing the impact of heavy rainfall events, wetlands can also help protect slopes from landslips and slides such as those seen down the front of Bob’s Peak from the new Skyline Gondola construction.
Wetlands are also an integral part of Te Mana o te Wai, a Māori framework for recognising the intrinsic value of Aotearoa’s freshwater and who’s health is vital to the social, cultural, economic and environmental wellbeing of communities. Over 90% of Aotearoa’s wetlands have already been lost. We can’t afford to lose more.
Climate Misalignment
Building a ski resort in an era of shrinking snow seasons and rising temperatures is short-sighted. Even the developers admit it will eventually become a lift-accessed mountain bike park, meaning the permanent ski infrastructure route they’re using as the pathway for development is effectively null and void.
We should be respectful of these places and recreate with the lightest impact on the land. Shipping 1.1 MILLION (yes, you read that right!) people annually to the saddle via a funicular doesn’t align with the realities of the ecological preservation we need to fight climate change, and is not a viable route for tourism that enhances and protects our wild places.
More visitors to the Saddle and Bowen Peak also mean more litter, more people walking/riding off trail, and more harm to fragile alpine ecosystems.
Erosion, Sedimentation, and Water Demand
Trails and 4WD roads for construction cause significant erosion and considerable ecological disruptions. Lift infrastructure and a saddle-top restaurant would demand massive impact to the land, not to mention volumes of water that would likely be drawn from already strained supplies. Construction waste and sediment runoff also pose additional risks to the surrounding environment.
Lift-accessed mountain bike trails on Bowen Peak once the ski resort eventually fails, would also have a higher rate of erosion than pedal-accessed trials; therefore, requiring more maintenance. If this falls to QMTBC to manage, it would put an additional pressure and strain on their already finite resources.
Wastewater Issues
It’s well-known that Tāhuna (Queenstown) has a wastewater problem. Most recently, there has been huge speculation around “treated” effluent releases and raw-sewage spills in the Kimi-ākau Shotover River. Regardless of the truth, we know that Queenstown’s wastewater system is at absolute capacity and is underprepared for developments already underway, all without a new mega-development from One-Mile to Fernhill, Ben Lomond Saddle and Bowen Peak.
Servicing 270 chalets and a 1,500 person conference centre in areas with no existing infrastructure risks significant environmental harm—especially to One Mile Creek and Lake Whakatipu. The council has a duty to preserve, restore, enhance and sustainably use freshwater for the benefit of present and future generations. No one wants another Cryptosporidium outbreak, thank you.
While Fernhill is connected to Queenstown’s wastewater system (although we presume the current system wouldn’t be able to hold the additional waste), the Ben Lomond Reserve and Bowen Peak areas are not. Ski fields demand a huge amount of water to facilitate their experience, not to mention the wastewater they generate. Where would this water come from and where would the wastewater go to? Even with plans for their own systems, they would put a huge amount of strain on Te Taiao (our natural world).
Transportation and Housing Myths
This development isn’t about community—it’s about commodifying our wild places. The funicular won't meaningfully serve Fernhill residents (with a top station far above most homes and let’s be realistic, it’s unlikely to be affordable), and the chalets won’t solve housing issues.
We agree that electrifying transport is a crucial step in the Just Transition that we must make to keep our emissions and climate warming below 2*C. However, it needs to be affordable and accessible for all. A $2 electric bus to Fernhill and around the rest of the Whakatipu Basin, utilising a larger fleet and more regular schedule, would do far more for commuters and locals that this development ever would.
We also believe electrifying transport is only one part of the solution. Other measures like promoting active transport through cycling and walking are also vital parts of the whole.
In regards to the planned retail and hospitality development at One-Mile with a 500-car carpark, we believe this would not disincentive personal transport use, instead undermining the potential benefits on the funicular network.
Ecological Pros
The only upside to Dr Guy Hingston (the Aussie surgeon behind the fast track)’s proposal is that there’s a potential to remove wilding pines, restore those areas to native forest, and manage pests. However, we believe there must be a better way to achieve those outcomes without bulldozing the landscape for tourism.
Yes, everything is nuanced, and compromise is often the only realistic path, but Tāhuna (Queenstown) is too special to spoil. If we are not careful, excessive ‘over tourism’ will lead to environmental degradation, cultural erosion, overcrowding, and even greater cost of living for locals.
We believe in protecting wild places, human-powered recreation, and smart, local infrastructure that benefits our community—not projects that destroy the maunga and it’s mana under the banner of tourism.