Business is booming on Queenstown's waterways - especially from the point of view of Queenstown Lakes District Council staff, commissioners and lawyers.
Queenstown Water Taxis, trading as Thunder Jet, has applied to extend its existing consented routes to include taking passengers from the confluence of the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers to the upper extent of Tuckers Beach.
The proposal's only official opposition came from Kawarau Jet Services Holdings Ltd, or KJet, which is also applying to have its route extended, in its case to the Kawarau suspension bridge, next to the Kawarau Bungy Centre.
Thunder Jet also wants to increase passenger numbers to 34 per trip for two existing resource consents which at present allow for 19 and 23 passengers on the Kawarau River.
Yesterday, independent commissioners John Milligan and Leigh Overton undertook a site visit and heard opening submissions for Queenstown Water Taxis Ltd and evidence from company representative Neville Kelly, whose brother is KJet director Shaun Kelly.
The resource consent sought would provide for up to 34 trips on the Lower Shotover River from the confluence of the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers to Tuckers Beach. KJet opposes Thunder Jet's application and is expected to present its case today.
There is dispute about how many consents KJet holds and how many trips per day it is allowed to operate.
Representing Queenstown Water Taxis, Pru Steven yesterday said KJet could not ''command a position of monopoly on the river'' using its unimplemented consents ''To keep a competitor off the river in the face of this uncertainty only advances the commercial position of KJet.''
Neville Kelly told the commissioners he was a shareholder in Queenstown Water Taxis Ltd and he and wife Debbie bought Kawarau Jet in 1987 when it was a one-boat operation and Shaun Kelly became a shareholder in the company.
Neville Kelly and Debbie ''came out of the business in November 1999 when we sold our interest in Kawarau Jet''.
In 2008, ''we bought Queenstown Water Taxis and went through the consenting process to get Thunder Jet up and running''.
A prolonged legal battle with KJet ensued, although Thunder Jet's consents were later approved in 2011 by the Environment Court.
In addition, another jet boat company, Eco Jets, wants to establish, and a ferry across ''The Narrows'' from Park St to Kelvin Peninsula is proposed by Real Journeys.
