Glenorchy residents have been fighting the proposal for a 11.6km tunnel linking Routeburn Rd in Mt Aspiring National Park to the Hollyford Rd in the Fiordland National Park. Christina McDonald talks to members of Stop the Tunnel about the hours they have spent.
Members of Glenorchy's Stop the Tunnel group have spent about 15 months fighting the proposed Dart Passage Tunnel following then-conservation minister Kate Wilkinson signalling in late 2011 her intent to grant a concession to Milford Dart Ltd.
The group says that is an estimated total, in which seven, eight-hour days equal a week.
Milford Dart Ltd has proposed an 11.6km, $150 million commercial bus tunnel which would link the Routeburn Rd in Mt Aspiring National Park to the Hollyford Rd in the Fiordland National Park.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith is to make the final decision on the proposal pending receiving a report from the Department of Conservation (Doc) and visiting the area.
Stop the Tunnel recently sent a letter to the Office of the Ombudsman about what the group perceives as Doc's disregard for proper process in considering the project's application.
Included in the letter were a list of eight steps describing how the group has lobbied the department to have the proposal declined.
Subsequently, Queenstown Times asked the group, which has 23 members - 15 described as being active - to add up the amount of time it has spent, including visits to Wellington, Dunedin and 50 return trips to Queenstown.
Additionally, time has been spent reading documents, preparing submissions, developing the petition, presenting the petition to Ms Wilkinson at Queenstown Airport, making a YouTube video, liaising with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and writing to the local government and environment select committee.
For the small community of Glenorchy, which had under 500 people at the time of the 2006 census and prides itself on being the last stop at the end of the lake, other impacts have included fundraising to stop the tunnel where money raised would usually have been
spent elsewhere. Stop the Tunnel member Trish Fraser said a fishing competition held last year raised $4000 which went towards the tunnel campaign and essentially it was ''$4000 the community has missed out on''.
She said time spent on the tunnel campaign was time which could be spent on local events.
Some businesses were also allegedly not expanding because of concerns about increased traffic.
Ms Fraser said Glenorchy was taking on Doc's responsibility by trying to stop a commercial bus tunnel being put in the area's national parks.
''We may get to stop the tunnel if we're lucky ... but there are another four projects that are lined up waiting to put in their application.''
''This could well be the beginning of what our future is.''
