Context
The first full meeting for the newly elected Council. The QAC statement of intent had not been agreed upon by the previous council and remains a point of contention.
QLDC full council meeting
November 7, 2019
Good afternoon, I am John Hilhorst representing FlighPlan2050
I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate each of you on your successful election.
I appreciate and respect your commitment and willingness to serve our community, and the effort this will take.
Let me acknowledge this now and thank you for it.
I think your term over these next three years will be one of the most significant in the history of our district. The “push pause” on the airport expansion gives a unique opportunity for us to collectively consider our big-picture strategy of who we are and what we wish to become.
As we embark on this, I’m sure that you are keenly aware of your responsibility as a council, which is to promote the well-being of our communities, in the present and for the future.
This well-being is applied with equal importance to each of our economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being.
We are in a pivotal position in today’s world. We face the immense challenges of global climate change, over-tourism, and growing inequalities.
These are manifest in our district. We rely on fossil-fuelled aircraft, locals feel too much pressure from tourism, and our industry is the lowest paid sector of the New Zealand economy even while our district has the highest house prices.
This is also a time when the great thinkers of economics have begun to challenge the mantra of growth, and have conceded that the trickle-down theory doesn’t work and that what’s good for big business is not necessarily good for communities.
The well-being of our communities, now and in the future, will require a change of direction.
What you do with our airport is the single biggest opportunity we will ever have for systemic change.
I ask that you bring your widest strategic mind to this task.
Thank you