Last night the Clutha Southland National Party selected Hamish Walker, a 32 year old business advisor from Dunedin, as the replacement for disgraced MP Todd Barclay. But if National think that will put to rest the questions swirling around their electorate operations in the Deep South they’re dreaming, writes Peter Newport. It’s a long drive … Read more
If the government won’t do something about housing, then Queenstown mayor Jim Boult will – or at least, that’s the plan. Peter Newport finds out how he proposes to fix the town’s affordable housing crisis – now officially worse than Auckland’s – and why he’s calling on Wellington to loosen its iron grip on local … Read more
Martin Matthews has resigned as auditor general on the back of a report into his actions – and inaction – during the three years that Joanne Harrison was committing fraud at the MOT. But if the report was so damning, why can’t the public read it, asks Peter Newport, in an opinion piece following his … Read more
The ever-deepening storm centred on the Joanne Harrison fraud case just became a hurricane. Yesterday’s State Services Commission investigation report is likely to trigger a new chain of events that could extend well beyond embattled Auditor General Martin Matthews, writes Peter Newport The State Services Commission investigation, published yesterday, makes one thing very clear: Joanne … Read more
Each winter, cold houses in New Zealand cause the death of almost 1600 people, and hundreds of thousands more have their health and wellbeing severely curtailed. It’s a national emergency, but the government agency tasked with addressing it has had its budget slashed to the bone. Cold comfort for freezing New Zealanders, writes Peter Newport. … Read more
Dunedin can sometimes seem like the neglected afterthought of New Zealand’s main centres, unappreciated by all except those who choose to live there. Peter Newport reports on what’s coming next for Dunedin after Cadbury shuts its doors. Some words are so powerful that people should need a licence to use them. I’m going to use … Read more
Newsroom today broke the story of the payments and coverup that followed allegations of clandestine recording by Todd Barclay. But the MP for Clutha-Southland remains something of a mystery on the national stage. Peter Newport, a former RNZ reporter based in Queenstown, has interviewed him on multiple occasions and shares his impressions. Over the past two years I’ve … Read more
The battle for New Zealand mobile network supremacy got a whole lot more interesting today, as Spark launched some cutting edge technology – in Queenstown. Peter Newport reports. With a flick of a switch, Queenstown today became home to the fastest mobile data speeds in the country. The new 4.5 G mobile data technology, available … Read more
The fast-growing Southern Lakes district – Queenstown, Wanaka and surrounds – currently faces enormous challenges. But the bigger problem? The body in charge is three hours’ drive away and seems reluctant to spend the money needed to fix them. Peter Newport explains how an upcoming by-election could become a referendum on the future of Otago. … Read more
Auditor General Martin Matthews has come under extra pressure to resign today as the State Services Commission launches a full, independent investigation into the treatment of whistle-blowers who tried to warn Matthews about fraudster Joanne Harrison. Peter Newport reports. 5pm update: It has just been announced that Matthews is to step down while “his suitability … Read more
The story of government fraudster Joanne Harrison is one of almost unbelievable greed. But in many ways as shocking, writes Peter Newport, is how her boss, Martin Matthews, ignored the whistle-blowers – and allowed Harrison to exact her revenge. Update 1pm, 3 August 2017: Martin Matthews has resigned his position as Auditor General following the publication of … Read more
It’s survival of the fittest in the NZ tourism industry, where some regions struggle for visitors while our biggest hotspots can hardly cope – all while our government resolutely rejects a tourist tax to help fix the places worst affected by the visitor onslaught. Little wonder New Zealanders increasingly feel that tourism is getting out … Read more
Queenstown has some special systems and facilities to cope with billionaires, movie stars and VIP’s. But here’s our guide to Queenstown for the VVIPs – like CIA director James Comey, FBI director Mike Pompeo, and other Five Eyes bigwigs expected in Queenstown this weekend. Queenstown is a lovely, unspoilt mountain resort in the South Island … Read more
So you’re a one-percenter looking to escape the oncoming global apocalypse by hiding out in a luxury NZ bolthole. Who you gonna call? Peter Newport meets the fixers behind the super-rich influx and looks at how the newcomers are settling in. There’s been a lot of international media attention on the attractions of New Zealand … Read more
Behind the affluent image of luxurious resorts and million dollar homes there is another, far darker side to life in Queenstown. Peter Newport investigates the shocking state of the town’s rental market and what it means for those caught up in it. Queenstown is now no place to live. Every ad for every rental property … Read more
Residents of rural towns are facing astronomical bills to support basic infrastructure. In Glenorchy, a mecca for film and tourism, they’re mad as hell and not going to take it any more, writes Peter Newport. User pays. Sounds fair doesn’t it? You use – you pay. But for many small towns around New Zealand being … Read more
Driving in Queenstown has become a kind of Russian roulette. Platitudes about ‘education’ won’t cut it: we need a tourist licence requirement, and urgently, argues Peter Newport. The ability of Governments to ignore reality is fairly well established but the deaths and chaos around Queenstown being caused by overseas drivers has to stop. I was … Read more
A small storm in Queenstown over some sewerage pipes on a new bridge points to how little we know about the vastly expensive infrastructure we pay for, writes Peter Newport. We are all guilty of not knowing the actual cost of things. The tax on petrol. What a plumber should charge to fix a dripping … Read more
This year thousands of people priced out of Auckland – or just looking to escape the big city rat race – will pack up and move to regions like the Queenstown Lakes District, where Peter Newport calls home. But if they’re hoping to be welcomed with open arms, he says, they may just be in … Read more
It’s a place with low wages, stratospheric property prices and housing stock that’s often near-uninhabitable. Sound familiar? But this isn’t Auckland – it’s Queenstown, where the worst aspects of our growing economic inequality are writ large, as Peter Newport explains. It’s possible you can tell almost everything about a town or city by its job … Read more