Matthew Mckew

The Government should consider what is more expensive, lockdowns and pausing the transtasman bubble or escalating vaccinations, a Queenstown business owner says.

A call for taxi drivers in Queenstown to have early access to the Covid-19 vaccine has been heard, just a day after the Otago Daily Times reported it.

Sir Russell Coutts and a former Queenstown tourism identity are facing a battle with their neighbours, who include an English aristocrat, over plans to take water from two Wakatipu creeks.

Working visa extensions have been welcomed by Queenstown businesses, but are leaving many migrant workers out of pocket.

Specialist New Zealander and Australian workers will keep Queenstown’s ski fields open this year, as border restrictions continue to halt the flow of international skifield workers.

Thieves have made off with $5000 worth of hockey equipment, leaving Queenstown youngsters without the means to practise properly.

Adding a few cents to the cost of a cup of coffee is a price worth paying to ensure workers get the money they need to live, the Finance Minister says.

A new $43million research and innovation hub being built in Queenstown is already attracting interest from companies as far away as the United Kingdom.

A $43 million research and innovation hub is to be built in Queenstown, with half of the money coming from a government loan to support diversification in the area.

Bus drivers celebrated a "hollow victory" yesterday when the Otago Regional Council said it would backdate a pay rise meant to have come last July — but failed to say when.

An immigration shake-up has prompted fears Queenstown businesses may not be able to find New Zealanders willing to take up seasonal work previously done by foreigners.

Queenstown businesses have been warned the days of cheap foreign labour have gone but told the Government would look at some of their immigration gripes.