Queenstown news and more...

    The last departed commercial tenant in Queenstown’s Sofitel Hotel complex is being chased for unpaid rent but says he’s broke. »»

A former mayor’s change of heart helped the survival of Destination Queenstown, which today marks its 25th anniversary as an incorporated society.  Stuart Maclean, co-founder of DQ – originally Queenstown Promotion Bureau – recalls late-’80s mayor John Davies initially pooh-poohed an idea to fund the marketing body via a compulsory levy on commercial ratepayers. Davies – nowadays a major tourism player »»

Inland Revenue claims it’s owed $134,000 from the original builder of a $10 million Queenstown super-home.  The amount, in outstanding GST and PAYE, is revealed in the liquidators’ first report for Slant Build Ltd. The report, by joint liquidator Rhys Cain of Price-waterhouse Coopers of Christchurch, says the amount owed to IRD includes a preferential claim of $76,517.  Cain told Mountain Scene last December that »»

   Access fee: Nigel McKenna Kawarau Falls Station receivers are reportedly paying bust developer Nigel McKenna’s Queenstown company Peninsula Road $5000 daily for construction access. »»

    Fewer luxury-liner passengers are making side trips from Milford Sound to Queenstown – but one cruise company bucks the trend.  During the October-April cruise season, about 1100 passengers will take two-day “overland tours” to Queens­town before rejoining their vessels in Dunedin. »»

  Pedal pay: Ziptrek Ecotours staff biking home are (from left) Nicky Busst, Peter Weir, Haley Robertson, Toby Lord, Maddoc Hill and managing director Trent Yeo A Queenstown adventure tourism company is paying staff extra to bike to work. »»

  Noise battle: Monty’s bar on Church Street is pushing for extended opening hours at its outdoor area – opposed by nearby five-star hotels The “Battle of Church Street” resumes on Tuesday with bars, restaurants, hotels, property owners – even musicians and an ex-mayor – watching anxiously. »»

Oscar-win­ning special effects designer Richard Taylor is helping an iconic Kiwi brand set up shop in Queenstown. Taylor, whose Wellington-based Weta Workshop is best known for its work on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, has been brought in by Cookie Time New Zealand. The company, which distributes its cookies through supermarkets and conve­nience stores, says its first retail outlet – revealed exclusively to Mountain »»

Space-age: An artist’s impression of the $10m super-home that Slant was building. A Queenstown building company overseeing a $10 million cantilevered super-home on Glenorchy Road has toppled over. Slant Build was chased into court-ordered liquidation two weeks ago by creditor United Scaffolding. »»

Large airlines will pay more to fly the skies of Queenstown from March. Airways Corporation has announced a 34 per cent hike in “approach service charges” at Queenstown Airport to pay off a $3 million state-of-the-art radar surveillance network installed this year at 17 sites around the Wakatipu, Airways commercial boss Bert Prvanov says. The technology makes aircraft more visible on air traffic controllers’ computer »»