Massive issues for new mayor

• Published date: 02 June 2022
• Publication title: Mountain Scene

Outgoing mayor Jim Boult tells Mountain Scene one such issue will likely see pressure on the Queenstown Lakes District Council to ‘‘form a marriage of some sort’’ with the Central Otago District Council

‘‘I think it’ll be a while out, but I just see pressure coming on us to do that.’’

Regarding the Three Waters reform, which Boult says will come in, ‘‘like it or not’’, all the council’s present oversight of water will be removed, with responsibility going to a new South Island entity.

Queenstown’s council’s position on Three Waters hasn’t changed — ‘‘we oppose it because we don’t like it’’ — but Boult says, given it’s inevitable, it needs to ‘‘get on the bus and get the best result’’.

‘‘I’ve got a whole bunch of people writing to me at the present time wanting a referendum.

‘‘What’s the point?

‘‘Government won’t take any notice of that and they’ve got time to push it through in their current term, and they’re going to do it.’’

The third major issue he sees is the Resource Management Act reform, which will, essentially, move to a one-size-fits-all model — potential problems arise for the Queenstown-Lakes given ‘‘97% of the land in our area is outstanding natural landscape’’.

‘‘My worry there is that we will trade a bad dream for a nightmare.’’

As he counts down to the day he hands back the mayoral chains, Boult is frank about the demands of the job for whomever holds the office next, and the personal toll it takes.

‘‘When you become the mayor, you effectively give your life to the community for the period you are elected.

‘‘It is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

‘‘No matter where you’re at, whether it be at a private function, a public function, you are the mayor ... this is not something that somebody should take on lightly.’’

Central to the role, he says, is putting aside personal feelings, and taking a district-first approach on issues relating to housing, infrastructure, population growth, the economy, planning and the environment, to name just a few.

Occasionally, it means making decisions which, personally, don’t sit well.

The best example, for him, was the controversial decision to work on a masterplan for the future development on the northern side of Ladies Mile.

‘‘For 40 years I’ve driven down that piece of road — I used to like it when it was farmland on both sides, then it was developed on one side, then there was further development on that side, and now it’s...