On Crux Substack today - paid content

Here's the stories that have just been published for Crux paid subscribers in our weekly Friday Edition on Substack.

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  • The dramatic loss of an overseas tourist’s rental SUV in floods near Glenorchy has sparked accusations that vital Queenstown roads are not being managed safely and put a local couples’ $3 million investment at risk. 

  • We look at what’s going on at the 3,000 house Homestead Bay (just south of Jacks Point) project as BNZ pushes ahead with an $80 million bankruptcy bid involving a major property developer.
  • Podcast. Tamah Alley - the new Central Otago mayor brings openness, optimism and people skills to a difficult job. Could she be the model for all Kiwi mayors, and does she have what it takes to last the distance?

  • The QLDC has released some details to us under official information legislation of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that triggered a 15.5% pay rise for council CEO Mike Theelen.
  • The Otago Regional Council has replied to our request for clarification on why they took no enforcement action after 5 years of environmental breaches by the operators of Macraes mine.
  • Crux official information requests reveal the extent to which the Queenstown and Dunedin councils financially support “friendly” coverage from selected local media - in particular $1 million of ratepayer money to the publishers of the ODT and the Mountain Scene. We also detail how major Queenstown advertisers appeared to blackball Crux - contributing to our hibernation decision. (Free - on Crux).
  • In the meantime the publishers of the Herald, NZME, are closing another 14 community newspapers. (Free on Crux).
  • The cost of Xmas. The Queenstown Lakes District Council reveals their Christmas celebration budget to Crux. Will we have a $1.2 million tree?

  • Yes - but no. Is the Crown Range going to close for two weeks? 
  • Podcast. Peter Newport talks with award winning documentary maker Bryan Bruce about Crux, our hibernation decision and subsequent subscriber support. Plus NZ media funding - where to next, and is the extinction of NZ journalism a real possibility?

  • And finally - from the “what did they expect” files. Our mates at the QLDC recently posted video of some work being done on the $128 million CBD “road to nowhere” asking Facebook users if they were excited to see some asphalt being laid. We’ve collected some of the most choice reactions (none were positive.)

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