"It invites a whole range of parties to come here on a temporary basis and set up operations like liquor licensing, take the benefit for the duration of the Cup and leave nothing behind," Mr Geddes said.
The Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill is before Parliament and, if adopted, could speed up liquor licensing and resource consents processes for operators affiliated to the Rugby World Cup.
"It shows a lack of trust in the community to get things done ... we just see it as an unnecessary complication," Mr Geddes said at his final council meeting yesterday.
"We're quite confident that Queenstown, and other communities around the country, are capable of putting on functions and events without needing to have the decision-making powers currently conferred on to the community transferred to the Rugby World Cup."
The proposed Bill posed a "significant challenge" for the district, giving outside operators unfair advantages over businesses "operating in the district on a year-round basis", he said.
The legislation could mean an outside operator could potentially get resource consent for a Rugby World Cup "fan zone" at Earnslaw Park - an idea the council and Destination Queenstown scrapped in August, citing financial concerns.
The mayor was backed by Cr John Mann, who said the legislation was "almost a handbrake" for the country's hospitality industry, which was "well advanced" in planning for the World Cup.
The legislation proposes establishing a temporary, Rugby World Cup-specific consenting authority empowered with all the rights, powers and privileges of a statutory body or person.
Mr Geddes said legislation was not needed to encourage communities to become part of the Rugby World Cup.
Russell Gray, chief executive of Good Group Ltd, which owns nearly 30 bars, restaurants and liquor outlets in the Lakes District, employing 240 staff, said he agreed with Mr Geddes.
"We're here all year putting in the hard yards and taking the good seasons with the shoulder season, investing in our premises and employing a lot of staff who each, in turn, spend their discretionary income in Queenstown.
"So, we certainly don't want to see outsiders leveraging the World Cup opportunity at our expense and want to make sure that we're all asked to operate on a level playing field."
Outside operators should not get "preferential treatment", especially given Queenstown business' investment in "lengthy and costly" resource consent and liquor licensing compliance.
