The Friday Edition: Birds, tourism's hidden costs, Sewage hole, Alexa Forbes and that Trust Survey.

Our superstar economist Ralph Hanan details a disturbing data set that shows our local economy is still a bit of a dud compared to the rest of NZ and the rest of the world - and some key metrics actually improved during Covid due to the tourism shut down. It is time for some actual action rather than the empty “diversification” message that keeps echoing around the district - and nothing ever changes? Ralph’s work is solid gold - a must read.
QLDC’s role as a black hole for facts and information gets even more powerful - which we did not believe was possible.
Enjoy our feature on the Queenstown airport bird catchers - they are amazing and need more recognition!
QLDC is still planning to launch an actual community trust survey - costing $15,000.
Alexa Forbes explains her departure from the ORC and local politics.