Paywall removed. QLDC's Lakeview project faces $153 million loss

Analysis.

This investigation, funded by Crux paid subscribers, examines how a $2 billion Australian luxury property development in the centre of Queenstown started life as a “risk free investment” by the Queenstown Lakes District Council. In ten parts we will tell the story of how a large piece of ratepayer owned prime real estate, valued at $42 million in 2017, was turned into a black hole that so far has cost ratepayers over $100 million, increased rates and may not get built. Crux also acknowledges the role of Google’s Pinpoint investigative journalism tools and will publish, in the public interest, each part without a paywall three days after paid subscribers receive this content.

No matter how hard we have tried, it has not been possible to get a copy of the Development Agreement between the Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Australian developers of the Lakeview project.

The same old excuses get trotted out - commercial confidentiality, privacy etc etc.

But, as is often the case, QLDC Councillor Niki Gladding has been ahead of the game with some complex and carefully constructed Official Information requests.

Now, using Google’s Pinpoint investigative journalism tool, we’ve been able to upload hundreds of pages of the Development Agreement revealed under the Official Information Act, or at least major parts of it, into the AI section of Pinpoint - Gemini.

This has allowed us to ask the questions that the community has been waiting many years to get answers to.

What’s the secret deal between our council and the developers"?

This is how we framed the question to Pinpoint after uploading ten key documents connected with the Australian request for permission from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office to go ahead with the Queenstown Lakeview project.