Fiordland tourism operators unhappy with Government funding decisions

Friday, 11 September 2020

As the gateway to Milford, the Fiordland economy is largely dependent on international travellers.

Some South Island businesses have banded together to seek legal advice over Government tourism funding decisions they say has created an uneven playing field.

The group, mostly from Fiordland, are asking for clarity on Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme allocation decisions, or for the application process to be reopened.

Kiwi Country chief executive Noel Walker, from Te Anau, said he thought “a terrible mistake was made” when a modest application for one of its businesses was declined.

He wrote to ministers and MBIE about his concerns, but to date, he’s only received responses to say they have received his emails.

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Auckland solicitor Andy Glenie has been enlisted by “a couple of dozen” tourism operators from across the South Island to write to MBIE, requesting a review into the decision-making process.

The group would now give MBIE “a reasonable amount of time” to respond, before deciding whether they would take legal action, he said.

MBIE did not answer Stuff’s questions about whether it would review the decision-making process.

When asked for clarity on how decisions were made, a spokesperson said: “The assessment criteria was the same for all applicants in the round. Applications were assessed, peer reviewed and moderated according to the criteria laid out on the MBIE website.”

The Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme (STAPP) – a mixture of grants (up to $500,000) and loans – was announced in early-June giving businesses 14 days to apply.

Kiwi Country chief executive Noel Walker says a modest application for maintaining public bathrooms in Te Anau was declined.

The application form asked them to prove that the business is of strategic significance, and that they had exhausted all other avenues of financial support.

Stuff reported in August that a number of Fiordland tourism operators didn’t apply because they didn’t think they were eligible.

Fiordland Jet co-owner Chris Adams was one of them. He’s also one of the businesses who have joined the collective seeking legal advice.

After learning his competitors received funding, he feels he’s being penalised for being honest.

“We are not asking for handouts,” he stresses, “We just want an even playing field.”

Those that have received funding were now able to cherry-pick which seasons they’ll open and could afford expensive adverts and running specials, he said.

“If no-one got a hand out, it would have stayed a level playing field. We’re talking about taxpayers’ money that’s been dished out unfairly.”

Walker agreed. While he could live with applications for maintenance of public toilets in Te Anau and Geraldine being declined, he’s frustrated that an application for Westland Greenstone wasn’t accepted.

Fiordland Jet office manager Adrienne Moffat is reflective on the immediate future of Fiordland tourism. The businesses’ co-owner Chris Adams says he can’t compete with businesses who got $0.5 million in funding.

The Hokitika Pounamu factory has been operating for 60 years and welcomes about 100,000 visitors a year for tours.

Its staff are highly trained and the two nearby jade manufacturing businesses had already closed due to the effects of Covid-19, so Walker believed he had a strong case for funding as a strategic tourism asset.

“We desperately sought assistance to keep our business open and keep our staff employed,” he said.

Findex Te Anau partner Haylee Preston coordinated the group’s contact with Andy Glenie after her clients asked what could be done about the situation.

“Tourism was the lifeblood of the community and as soon as the taps turned off, it became very hard for mom-and-pop businesses to survive,” she said.

Preston hopes MBIE will make more funding available and reopen STAPP applications.

According to the MBIE website, 305 New Zealand businesses applied for STAPP funding. Of those, 160 were considered ineligible, and overall, 130 businesses received support. This includes urgent investments outside the application round, for AJ Hackett, Discover Waitomo, and Whale Watch Kaikōura.

Eligible applications were given a score based on the criteria, and those that scored high enough were presented to Tourism Recovery Ministers.

“Ministers also opted to fund all Māori Tourism businesses, based on advice from New Zealand Maori Tourism,” the MBIE spokesperson said.