NZSKI, descendent of the Mount Cook Tourist Company, has been re-treading history in its recent move to charge for public use of the Remarkables Ski Field Access Road, which lies mostly on public conservation land.
Along with member clubs and associates, FMC opposes NZSki’s contemporary move as strongly as it opposed the MCTC’s actions nearly nine decades ago, and urges the ski industry leader to take a different line.
As a rare place of quiet freedom close to Queenstown’s expensive busyness, the Remarkables are cherished by locals — the nurses, shop assistants, and casual labourers who keep the region running — and by other New Zealanders, many of whom struggle to cover the cost of even a ‘‘budget’’ visit to the area. It’s unsurprising the toll proposal has gone down badly.
Let’s be upfront. Under the legal black letter of two near-defunct easement agreements — expiring in two years — NZSki has the right to charge a road-use fee.
But the days of no-8-wire local ski field establishment in which such charging rights were ski areas’ lifelines are long over for operators whose modern iterations are commercially focused. And there are principle and precedent to be considered.
Underlying the road, the land is nearly all public. The ski area, likewise, is on public land: a recreation reserve. Beyond it is the Remarkables Conservation Area, a swathe of public conservation land stretching east into Doolans Creek’s lower reaches, southeast to Nevis Rd, and southwest to Staircase Creek; . this iconic countryside is presently — surprisingly — in the Department of Conservation’s stewardship holding pen. But it is one of two main parts of the proposed Remarkables National Park.
The other primary component of the national park is the wild northern sections of Glenaray Station, whose tenure review is near-complete. The Remarkables National Park is getting close to fruition, and when it opens, the Remarkables Ski Field Access Road will be its main entry point.
Regardless of classification — stewardship or national park — however, public freedom of access and entry are basics of New Zealand’s conservation legislation, an expression of our values. Slapping a toll on the Remarkables Ski Field Access Road would be effective privatisation of a public treasure. That NZSki opted into the road’s high construction standard and now suggests the public, who had no say over that standard, help pay for it, is insult to injury.
In and of itself, in practice and philosophically, the proposed fee is injurious to the common good. It’s more so if one considers its national-scale precedent-setting potential. Other concessionaires in similar situations will be watching.
Additionally, it’s doubtful whether knock-on effects of a Remarkables road charge have been considered. They’d be inevitable and almost certainly costly. Increased camping inside the area, with the usual undesirable effects, for toll avoidance’s sake, is possible, as is displacement to other public conservation sites. There are doubtless many other potential perverse flow-ons.
NZSki has the opportunity, as a snowsports industry leader, to stand up for the public’s right to genuine freedom of access to their own backyard. The outdoor community would welcome it (we’d support initiatives to develop public transport options, too).
The proposed toll should be dumped. While the easement agreements allow for a ‘‘reasonable’’ fee, creation of an algorithm for reasonableness seems an absurd and impossible undertaking.
If out-of-season public use of the Remarkables Ski Field Access Road is creating actual hardship for NZSki, the company should formally seek International Visitor Levy funding.
The levy was set up, after all, to address tourism-related issues exactly like this.
A year after FMC was formed, its first president, Fred Vosseler, said, ‘‘We must guard closely the welfare of our National Parks and Reserves. These latter we should not regard as the property of our Ministers and our Government Departments, but that they belong to the people of today and tomorrow. We must fight for their protection if necessary.’’
Durable words.
NZSki, drop the fee concept. You have the chance to make a meaningful stand for community in the local and national tourism milieux. The road easements are about to be modernised anyway.
Imagine, anticipate, the incredible privilege — and responsibility — of operating on the doorstep of the Remarkables National Park.
■ Federated Mountain Clubs was formed in 1931 and advocates for the backcountry and outdoor recreation on behalf of 22,000 members in 90 clubs including the New Zealand Alpine Club and the Queenstown Climbing Club.
