Application by Club Med expected soon

Press, 6 August 1983, Page 13

Application by Club Med expected soon

Parliamentary reporter No definite proposal has been made by Club Med to use reserve land in Queenstown for a resort, says the Minister for the Environment, Dr Shearer. Responding to a question from Mr M. K. Moore (Lab., Papanui), Dr Shearer said discussions among departmental officials, local body representatives, and Club Med agents had been “purely exploratory.”

The Minister of Tourism, Mr Talbot, said that an application from Club Med to the Queenstown Borough Council for the leasing of some reserve land was expected soon. Club Med was expected to apply to lease between four and six hectares of reserve land on the Kelvin Heights peninsula.

A strip of land about 30 metres wide round the shore of the peninsula had the status of a road. This would allow public access to the lake shore, Mr Talbot said.

He expected most of the capital for the resort to come from New Zealand. Club Med preferred to manage the resort under contract, having only a small share in the company which owned and built the resort. Club Med had not requested Government finance. “The Government believes that investment in tourism projects is primarily the responsibility of the private sector,” Mr Talbot said. Dr Shearer said the Commission for the Environment would not become involved in the matter until a definite proposal was made.