A draft bylaw to triple the Stewart Island visitor levy has been met with opposition.
The policy, which was approved for consultation by Southland District councillors yesterday, means the levy could increase from $5 to $15.
The draft plan upset island residents, who suggested the increase was not needed by the community.
Stewart Island local Chris Sara said he had never been a fan of the levy, and the increase was a ''typical response'' from council.
''I don't like the concept of the so-called user pays-type approach.
''Everything has to be paid for, there's no question about that ... it just seems to be a typical response of councils just to put the cost of everything up.
''People ultimately only bring a certain amount of money on holiday, regardless of what's going on, so therefore if you take it off them as a levy, that's just money they won't spend on the island.''
Stewart Island resident and district councillor Bruce Ford said at the meeting the new policy had come as ''something of a surprise'' to the island's community.
The community didn't want to be ''too greedy'', and still did not understand what the money would be used for, he said.
''We don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot,'' he said.
The Stewart Island/Rakiura visitor levy was first adopted in 2012 and has since totalled $710,659 to support the tourist experience on the island, largely through infrastructure projects.
Other district councillors, however, stressed the policy was still in draft form and yet to go out for consultation.
Cr Paul Duffy said he was surprised there was not more understanding of the issues concerning replacement of jetties, but believed the fact the policy was still in its early stages had been ''overlooked''.
''It's all about dialogue and consultation which is exactly what we're setting out to do here.''
Cr John Douglas believed the ''threefold increase'' had ''caught people out'', but he too stressed the policy was only a consultative document.
''It will evoke a lot of consultation without a doubt, and we need to prove the expenditure that is lined up for Stewart Island and then match that with the income that we expect to receive.''
It was good the proposal had ''stirred a lot of debate'', he said.
''Out of that debate should come some robust figures on which we can make a robust decision,'' Cr Douglas said.
Southland Mayor Gary Tong said the main public concern was the price of the increase.
''It's certainly the angst that I'm feeling in the phone calls that I've had, and a couple of emails, is around the dollar figure, it's not around the proposal to look at the structure of the levy.''
His own concerns involved two elected members who had spoken to the media already.
''I'm just concerned that that's going to sway what we may or may not hear from people in regards to the [$10] increase,'' he said.
The consultation period will run from October 4 to November 9, and a hearing of submissions is expected on November 29.
Council's current policy required for any increase in the amount of levy or revenue collected would not start until October 1, 2020.
