Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has today published the final version of its annual report 2023-2024. This follows adoption of the draft report at the Full Council meeting of 12 December and confirmation of a clean audit by auditors, Deloitte Ltd.

Whilst the report is a requirement of the Local Government Act 2002, QLDC Chief Executive Mike Theelen said it also provides an opportunity to highlight what the Council has achieved in the most recent financial year on behalf of residents and ratepayers.

“The financial summary contained in the annual report is an important measure of Council’s performance and accountability, but perhaps a more engaging picture emerges from the things we delivered for our community,” he said.

In particular, Mr Theelen highlighted an operating surplus of $82.2M for the year, compared to a budgeted surplus of $53.M and an actual deficit of $53.8M for the previous year.

“This is largely due to an increase in vested assets revenue (mainly assets contributed to Council by developers as part of their development work). For the current year vested assets amounted to $99.9M, compared to the budget of $20.8M and an actual figure of $40.0M the previous year. This non-cash income reflects the continued high levels of development activity in the district. “

Other factors contributing to the favourable operating revenue variance include Development Contributions of $6.8M above budget at $27.5M, and Queenstown Airport Corporation dividend at $3.7M above budget.

Some highlights key performance indicators in the Annual Report

· Capital expenditure was $173.8M (85% of the adjusted budget of $203.5M) including Project Shotover Wastewater plant upgrade and the new Cardrona Water Supply Scheme.

· Net debt was $628.9M ($1.0M less than forecast in the Annual Plan 2023-2024) and is within Council’s borrowing limits although higher interest costs have resulted due to the large leaky building settlement.

· 94.67% of resource consent applications processed within statutory timeframes with 1,052 applications formally received in the year.

· Visitors to the three main libraries (Queenstown, Frankton and Wānaka) increased by 41.6% with a total of 582,797 check outs in the year.

· An average 795 tonnes of waste per month was diverted from Victoria Flats Landfill.

· 96.37% of official information requests responded to within 20 working days.

· 91.9% of building consent applications processed within statutory timeframes with 1,391 applications received in the year.

· 98.5% of solid waste requests for service completed on time with a total of 4,589 requests received.

· 30,172 (per capita) visits to the gym and pool facilities, an increase of 8% on the previous year.

Notable infrastructure projects completed or substantially advanced in the year include the Beacon Point new reservoir ($5.6M), Arthurs Point to Queenstown CBD shared pathway ($5.1M), Wānaka’s Project Pure Wastewater Plant upgrade ($4.6M), Glenorchy reservoir upgrade ($2.4M), and Paetara Aspiring Central ($2.0M).

“These projects and more were delivered at a time of significant change to the legislative environment in which all local authorities operate. The change of government following 2023’s general election saw a significant shift in direction which shaped all councils’ work programme in the first half of 2024.”

“And the year was not without its challenges – notably in September 2023 with both extremely heavy rainfall causing slips and flooding across the district, most notably in central Queenstown, and the Cryptosporidium outbreak. Both of these events resulted in unplanned additional cost through response and remediation activity. Whilst Council was able to reprioritise to meet these challenges at the time, they have both resulted in additional cost to the community. For example, the latter Cryptosporidium outbreak required a response that included a $5.6M investment in UV water treatment throughout the district.”

“My thanks to everyone who contributed to Council’s work programme in 2023-2024, our elected representatives for the contribution they continue to make representing our community, and to all those who took time to engage with our consultations and processes that provided essential feedback,” said Mr Theelen.

The QLDC Annual Report 2023-2024 can be read via the Council's website with hard copies available at Council offices in Queenstown and Wānaka and QLDC libraries around the district.

FURTHER INFORMATION | Kā pāroko tāpiri

· Under the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA 2002) Section 98 (3), local authorities must adopt their Annual Report within four months of the end of the financial year. On 14 December 2023 a Ministerial letter provided councils with the option to defer the adoption of their Long Term Plans by up to three months. This was to enable completion of additional detailed work to ensure that planned water investment met required quality standards and were well-integrated into the overall plan. It also enabled Councils to defer the adoption of their Annual Reports for 2023-2024 by up to two months, to account for the knock-on impact of working on Long Term Plans later into the calendar year.

· Prior to its adoption at the Full Council meeting of 12 December, the draft Annual Report was considered at the meeting of the Audit, Finance & Risk Committee on 5 December 2024.

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