Shaping Queenstown: Incoming mayor says ‘creative solutions’ needed

Monday, 20 October 2025

Incoming Queenstown mayor John Glover says his district lacks the funding tools for growth to pay its way and “creative solutions” are needed.

Glover, a newcomer to council, was elected earlier this month to lead the Queenstown Lakes District Council, beating incumbent Glyn Lewers by 1355 votes.

He enters the council as the district is strained by high population growth and high visitor numbers, congested roads and inadequate wastewater facilities, and a second year of double-digit rates rises, with a 13.5% increase for 2025/26.

Glover said Queenstown was in an “in-between stage”.

“Queenstown’s a bit like a teenager. It's not a cute baby any more, but it's not a mature, grown-up person. So it's out of balance, it's a bit smelly, it doesn't tidy its floor, and grunts a little bit,” he said.

Glover was among attendees at The Post and Infrastructure NZ’s forum in Queenstown last week, called Shaping Queenstown: The 2025 Tourism and Infrastructure Summit.

Discussion at the forum centred on Queenstown’s growing pains, the pressure of tourism numbers now exceeding pre-pandemic levels, and how these pressures might be better managed through funding tools such as a bed tax.

Though Tourism Minister Louise Upston again dismissed the idea of a bed tax at the event, she said nothing was “off the table” as all funding going into the tourism sector was looked at.

Upston acknowledged the “very live conversations” about roading, wastewater, housing, and parking in Queenstown, while talking of the Government’s plan to increase tourism numbers across the country.

Glover said he understood the Government’s plan to increase the demand side of tourism, and he sensed “a bit of recognition” of the issues from Government.

“We've been very, very clear as a district about what our needs are, and so, if people are listening, they should be thinking with creative solutions.”

He said there needed to be a realistic assessment of what 30 to 40 years of growth would look like for Queenstown, and then secure the corridors for transport routes, and plan the locations for schools and healthcare facilities needed ‒ important aspects of growth that were not the district council’s remit.

Similarly the costs of growth needed “fresh eyes” as he believed this was understated. He said growth was not “paying its way”, and Queenstown lacked the needed tools for this.

Glover said Queenstown’s sister city, Aspen in Colorado, US, had a local sales tax that had been used for social, affordable and worker housing.

“Politically, obviously, we’re coming up to an election year, and taxes probably aren’t going to be a feature of that.

“But those are the types of things that would make a difference.”

On the regional deal to be negotiated between the Government and the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago councils, he said some “really early encouraging signs” were needed from the negotiations.

Asked what signs he was looking for, he said, “We’ll find out when we hear one”.