The business case behind the controversial $150 million Milford Dart Tunnel proposal has "some major flaws and, therefore, a large risk of failure", the Southland District Council told a public hearing this week.
Council representatives backed their counterparts in Venture Southland in calling for a veto of Milford Dart Ltd's application, during the hearing in the Te Anau Club.
Both entities submitted to hearing chairman Paul Green that the application for concessions for the proposed 11.3km bus-only tunnel through the Humboldt and Ailsa Ranges, which would link the Routeburn and Hollyford roads, should be declined.
The proposal would cut the round-trip travel time between Queenstown and Milford Sound from nine hours to four hours and bypass Kingston and Te Anau.
Council senior policy analyst Wayne Heerdegen told the hearing Milford Dart Ltd's ability to undertake the activity was "questionable". The tunnel activity applied for could reasonably be undertaken outside the Mt Aspiring and Fiordland national parks with the use of existing infrastructure and utilities.
Mr Heerdegen said the proposed tunnel would put at risk the World Heritage status of Te Wahipounamu and the proposal did not align with World Heritage responsibilities.
There was "an absolute inconsistency of approach" in the consideration of the concession by the Department of Conservation and the level of information required by applicants for other projects, such as the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail and the Hump Ridge Track, the council submitted.
The application was incomplete, and included "significant breaches" of the Conservation Act, National Parks Act and Fiordland National Park Management Plan.
The application did not have appropriate measures to protect the environment long-term from risks, particularly leachate inside the tunnel and from spoil.
There were significant safety risks to users of the tunnel and a failure to provide information on what international standard the tunnel would be built to, and the legal status of the standard.
"In the event of an emergency, inadequate equipment is provided for and it will fall to local responders to put their lives and equipment at risk," the council's submission said.
Venture Southland enterprise and strategic projects group manager Steve Canny submitted the granted concession would probably have significant adverse effects on concessionaires operating in the Fiordland National Park, unless they bought, at great cost, new purpose-built coaches for the tunnel.
The application was inconsistent with national and Southland tourism strategies. Tunnel development was similar to mining and the project could undermine visitor satisfaction, Mr Canny said.
The hearing was expected to continue this week and into next week.
