Minister Bishop, I cannot say I was overly surprised when one of your partners in your coalition government, and soon to be deputy prime minister David Seymour, injected himself into the legal process under way over a proposal to put a McDonald’s restaurant beneath Mt Iron, the iconic gateway into the tourist resort of Wānaka.
His social media post picturing him proudly digging into a McDonald’s burger and chips under the banner, "I promise you Wānaka, this will be good for you", left many of us questioning where the line lies between being a politician representing the people of this country and acting as a spokesman for a multinational fast-food, overseas conglomerate, eager to position itself at the gateway of a town renowned for its stunning landscapes.
However, I was surprised to see you step into this debate in Parliament after independent commissioners, entrusted with determining whether the golden arches were appropriate for entrance to Wānaka, reached their decision.
Your response to their ruling, which declined the application, came across as a not-so-subtle dig at the people of Wānaka.
"I am in favour of growth except, except, except. That’s been the story for 30 years ... I’m in favour of growth as long as we don’t build any McDonald’s in Wānaka, which is the latest thing today."
From the tone of your statement, I can only assume that it has been some time since you last visited Wānaka to witness the stunning growth of this major tourist destination — growth driven by the locals, without the presence of a McDonald’s.
So, minister, as someone who has called Wānaka my second home for well over those 30 years you referenced in Parliament, I extend an invitation.
Come and visit me in Wānaka and I will introduce you to the very people who have been driving its economic growth for decades.
If you’re up for it, we could walk to the top of Mt Iron where I could recount the changes I have witnessed since first coming here, more than 50 years ago, as a student at the University of Otago, and working in the holidays at the Tourist Hotel Corporation as a barman.
From Mt Iron you will see the extensive commercial zones, developed by local business owners — areas where McDonald’s could have set up shop had its corporate executives not assumed they could bulldoze their way into securing a prime position at the town’s entrance.
From that vantage point you will also be able to look down at the site where the golden arches might have stood, had it not been for the determined locals who have long been the backbone of Wānaka’s economic engine saying "not on our watch".
You will also take in the stunning vistas that have made Wānaka the world-renowned tourist destination it is today — the very vistas that the locals have always been committed to protecting, while carefully managing economic growth, a principle that has only recently become the mantra of your coalition government.
And that’s where I have a question for you.
Under your economic growth strategy, how does an overseas, fast-food chain, offering low-value jobs and questionable nutritional benefits, become the cornerstone of that policy?
A McDonald’s in Wānaka? Really?? That’s your benchmark for economic growth?
Where does that leave the many outstanding, locally owned cafes and restaurants that have struggled through the impacts of Covid and are only now beginning to see their sacrifices pay off?
Tourism is a key pillar of your economic growth strategy. I would have assumed that a crucial part of that approach would be to fully support the local business people who have, for years, played a central role in shaping this unique destination — where tourists can come to experience local culinary delights as they take in uninterrupted views of the lake and its surrounding mountains.
If you stretch your visit to take in the weekend, I will take you to some of these establishments. I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed — and you certainly won’t be looking for a McDonald’s.
What concerns me most, minister, is that you are in charge of a fast-track approval process. Based on your comments in Parliament, it seems you would have happily used that process to grant consent for McDonald’s to establish itself smack in front of Mt Iron, the gateway to Wānaka — securing itself a premium position, to the detriment of the very locals who have been here for years driving the region’s economic success.
Let me know when you can make it.
— Sir Ian Taylor is founder and managing director of Dunedin company Animation Research.
