Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chairman Alistair Porter says scrapping "misconceived" plans to sell a greater slice of Queenstown Airport shares to Auckland Airport will be good for the Queenstown community.
Auckland International Airport Ltd and Queenstown Airport Corporation confirmed in a joint statement yesterday Auckland airport would not proceed with an option to increase its stake in the resort's international airport from 24.99% to up to 35%.
Mr Porter was yet to see details of the agreement when contacted last night, but told the Otago Daily Times the announcement was a "positive step".
"It sounds like a positive step towards sorting out what was from the beginning a misconceived transaction, because that's basically what it was."
He hoped the move would help contain the council's mounting legal costs, as it prepared for High Court proceedings set down for May over the alliance between the two airport companies.
The Queenstown Community Strategic Asset Group and Air New Zealand Ltd both initiated separate legal action against the council, the airport corporation and Auckland airport last year, seeking a judicial review and an injunction to stop Queenstown Airport issuing any further shares to Auckland.
Last month it was reported the council's bill for legal fees and litigation costs had reached $320,000 by December 31 last year, and was expected to keep climbing.
"Hopefully, this will pave the way to finding a solution to the other related matters and council can put a stop to bleeding cash into defending a transaction that was never of [the current council's] making," Mr Porter said.
"The district has got a lot better things to spend its money on than defending High Court actions."
Former Queenstown mayor Warren Cooper, a member of the strategic asset group, also welcomed the announcement last night.
The deal had been "ill-fated from the start", and it was "absolutely essential" the community - through the QLDC - retained control of the airport.
"It's the most important strategic asset probably for tourism in the southern part of the South Island.
"It was an unnecessary deal ... in an ideal world it should have never started."
Mr Porter said he still wanted to know what the shareholders agreement signed by the parties allowed Auckland airport to do with its 24.99% stake, and doubted that part of the deal could be easily unravelled.
He also looked forward to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report into the strategic alliance being made public.
"After what's gone on I think the public's entitled to see that report," he said.
