Govt commits $15.2m to Milford Sound upgrades

Otago Daily Times

2 days ago

Planes and cruise boats can keep coming to Milford Sound but the long-discussed plan to get visitors out of cars is still awaited.
In an announcement yesterday by Conservation Minister Tama Potaka and Tourism Minister Louise Upston, the government also committed $15.2 million to infrastructure upgrades and "enhancing conservation" at the tourist hot spot.
Tourism operators have complained bitterly for years about shabby facilities at Milford's Freshwater Basin and Deepwater Basin.
Rosco's Milford Kayaks boss Rosco Gaudin responded to the announcement by saying "maybe a toilet seat" could now be afforded at Deepwater Basin's dilapidated toilet block.
In a separate briefing yesterday to tourist operators, Mr Potaka indicated overdue decision-making about operators' expired and expiring permissions to run businesses out of Milford (known as consents) would be expedited by the Department of Conservation.
The announcements were welcomed by the tourism operators' body Destination Milford Sound (DMS), which has long called for concession decision-making.
DMS chairman Mark Quickfall, who owns helicopter companies and a cruise company, said the announcement about concessions provided greater certainty for operators, enabling them to "invest with confidence" and provide quality, safe and sustainable visitor experiences.
It was a "crucial step that would allow overdue improvements at Milford Sound to be executed, providing reassurance and a sense of progress".
Ministers told the tourism operators that more than half the investments - $8.2m - would come from the international visitor levy (IVL), which all international tourists pay on arrival in New Zealand.
Most of the IVL-obtained funds - $6.4m - would be spent on investments to "enhance visitor experiences and strengthen cultural and biodiversity storytelling".
The complaints about Milford infrastructure revolve around the visitor terminal at Freshwater Basin, where day-trippers arriving by car or tour bus access boat cruises of the Sound.
The single-lane Milford road, with its variable weather conditions, many bends and brows, and often travelled by international visitors with limited experience of New Zealand roads, is also a focus for concern. It is notorious for its deaths and serious injuries.
The operators were told in the briefing the remaining $1.8m would be spent on "infrastructure planning, revenue and access strategies and traffic and safety improvements" but little detail was provided.
The operators were also told a further $7m would be invested by Doc, which would include expenditure on a preplanned upgrade of a boat ramp at Deepwater Basin frequently used by boaties.
There would also be improvements to Cleddau River flood protection and facilities at the Divide and Lake Marian carparks, and the Little Tahiti landfill would be cleaned up.
Doc receives $4 from a levy charged to every day-trip cruise boat passenger. However, the bulk of the levy income goes to Milford Sound Tourism, the private company that operates the ferry terminal and is responsible for its upkeep.
Responding to questions from the ODT late yesterday, Mr Potaka's office said the concession-granting backlog was being worked through "at pace" and the IVL funding would include an upgrade of the Deepwater Basin toilet block within 18 months.
Improvements to the road would include signage and infrastructure. The government would work with stakeholders to identify the best "levers" to get people out of private vehicles. Options included raising parking fees and reducing parking space at Milford and "combining bus-boat-bus tour packages".
The government is also trying to reform conservation legislation to allow "special amenities areas" to enable businesses to develop infrastructure in demarcated parts of national parks.
Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell welcomed the announcements, saying they provided "a strong foundation" for planning.
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