Latest news with #Wollongong-based
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
NZONE scoping Kingston drop zone
Queenstown skydiving operator NZONE could move south to Kingston. Its parent company, Australian adventure tourism operator Experience Co, has been talking to the township's community for nearly a year about shifting from its Jack's Point airstrip to one on Kingston Station. Its current site, where it has operated since 1990, sits on land owned by Australia-based RCL Group. The Hanley's Farm developer is seeking consent for a 2800-home Homestead Bay subdivision, under fast-track legislation, that would eventually rub out the airstrip. Experience Co boss John O'Sullivan says it has a lease and resource consent to operate at Jack's Point until mid-2031, and intends to stay until then "at a minimum". He reckons with massive developments like Homestead Bay, "planning's one thing and delivery is another". Kingston's just one of "a number" of potential sites it's looking at in the Whakatipu Basin, O'Sullivan says. He's not divulging the others "out of respect for those communities we're talking to, and because of competitive pressures". The Wollongong-based company bought NZONE in 2015, before purchasing Skydive Wānaka the following year. It also operated from a drop zone near Glenorchy — for which it still has a lease and resource consent — until a Covid-induced shutdown in 2020. He says it's engaging closely with Kingston's residents because it's "critical to have a social licence" wherever it operates. Tandem skydiving has a low impact on communities, with aircraft take-offs and landings, and parachute drops, able to be done on a "small footprint", he says. "We're good for the communities in which we operate. "We have a positive economic impact, we create jobs, and we bring visitors to the region that otherwise might not have been there. "That supports other tourism operators in those communities." Kingston Community Association chairwoman Kimberley Marshall says Experience Co's skydiving operations boss, Ken Stone, made a presentation at its annual meeting last July. NZONE's since carried out twosimulated parachute flights, while an actual parachute drop's inthe works. A residents' survey after the second flight prompted 40 responses and generated a series of questions — most have focused on the aircraft's engine noise and flight path, as well as the volume of customers' shouts and screams as they parachuted down. Stone's answers have been informative, she says. "Everything we've requested, they've been happy to do and provided us with information. "Not everyone's going to be happy about it, but I think the general sense is people are OK with it."
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Albo tipped to lose another minister
Anthony Albanese is expected to lose another minister, with Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones expected to retire at this year's federal election. He is expected to stand down as Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister when the Prime Minister announces the date for the election, Sky News reported on Thursday. A federal election must be held on or by May 17 this year. Speculation is growing that the election could be held in April, especially if the Reserve Bank cuts the official cash rate at its February meeting following better-than-expected inflation data on Wednesday. Mr Albanese has already lost cabinet ministers Bill Shorten, Linda Burney and Brendan O'Connor who have all announced their retirements. Mr Shorten has already left parliament. Mr Albanese faces an uphill battle to win a second term, as Australians struggling under cost of living pressures turn away from the PM. The most recent Newspoll released on Monday showed a majority of Australians are expecting the Coalition to win the election. The survey, conducted by The Australian, also found the Coalition was again leading the incumbent Labor by a margin of 51-49 on a two-party preferred. Asked what party would win if an election was held in the next 12 months, only 47 per cent of respondents said Labor would govern on its own or with minor party support. By contrast, 53 per cent of people involved in the poll said the Liberal-Nationals coalition would be the likely winners, though most said they would also need support. The seat of Whitlam, held by Mr Jones, is relatively safe with a margin of about 8 per cent Mr Jones, 59, was first elected to federal parliament at the 2010 election for the Wollongong-based seat of Throsby. Following a redistribution in 2016, he has been the MP for Whitlam. The seat is a relatively safe seat. He has been on Mr Albanese's front bench since Labor won the 2022 election. His responsibilities have included government policy for superannuation, scams and charities. Mr Jones is expected to formally announce his retirement on Thursday morning. More to come
