Shaping Our Future Forum Launch

The first of four Lakes District community forums will get underway in Wanaka next month.

"Shaping our Future" is a partnership led initiative starting with the Queenstown Lakes District Council, Wanaka and Queenstown Chambers of Commerce, Lake Wanaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown. The work would build on the guiding policies and strategies from the 2020 engagement undertaken in 2002.

“The first pilot forums will run as two separate workshops on the subjects of Events and Economic Future. These will be repeated in both Wanaka and Queenstown and absolutely everyone is invited and encouraged to take part,” QLDC Mayor Vanessa van Uden said.

The form of the two hour sessions was being developed by a voluntary community steering group comprising:

Mayor van Uden, David Kennedy (Ngai Tahu Tourism), Sue Coutts (Wanaka Wastebusters) Alastair Porter (Queenstown Chamber of Commerce), John Aspinall (Farmer) and QLDC CEO Debra Lawson.

An open invitation to the community to attend the forums had been extended from today and would be widely promoted.

A website had also been developed www.shapingourfuture.org.nz which would become the repository for everything relating to the project and a place where the community could have a voice.

“In particular the website offers a venue by way of a blog for our ‘out-of-town’ ratepayers and those who cannot attend the forums,” steering group spokesman David Kennedy said.

The steering group anticipated that the pilot forums would cement a process for engaging with all members of the community about a number of key issues.

“We hope to roll out other forums such as tourism, health and social services, affordability, heritage and environmental protection,” Mr Kennedy said.

One of the primary goals of the project was to harness the knowledge and opinions of as many individuals and organisations as possible within the Lakes District.

“This is a community-led process, and while the Council is a partner, it will initially be very much in facilitation and listening mode,” Ms van Uden said.

The Economic Future forums would take place on Tuesday May 10 at the Lake Wanaka Centre from 4-6pm and on Thursday 12 May at the Queenstown Events Centre from 4-6pm.

The Event forums would take place the following week, on 17 May at Queenstown Events Centre and 19 May at Edgewater Resort, again from 4-6pm.