It’s Tuesday, and a quiet news morning is dominated by money already promised: National has published the costings behind its election pledges, and one line in them settles how it would pay conservation out of the visitor levy. Five items. Here’s what’s moving.
National’s fiscal plan books $105 million to fix DOC’s share of the visitor levy, and promises no new taxes
National released its fiscal plan on Monday, with costings for every election commitment and a pledge of no new taxes if it is re-elected. Tucked into the “other spending commitments” table is a line headed “International visitor levy funding for DOC”: $15.4 million in the first year, $17.9 million in the second, $32.9 million in the third and $38.9 million in the fourth, a total of $105.1 million over four years. That is the Crown cost of the levy reset National announced in September, which fixes the levy’s contribution to the Department of Conservation at $100 million a year so that conservation funding stops rising and falling with visitor numbers.
The rest of that policy is unchanged by the fiscal plan. From 1 July 2027, $50 million a year would go to a new Tourism Priorities Fund, replacing about $90 million of discretionary central government tourism spending, and everything left over, forecast at $86 million in 2027/28 rising to $106 million by 2030/31, would go to councils by their share of international guest nights. On the forecasts given at the time, Auckland would get about $85.7 million over four years and Queenstown-Lakes about $76.7 million. The no-new-taxes line matters as much as the costing: it is the formal reason National gives for ruling out the bed-night levy that mayors in Auckland and Queenstown have asked for, which would have caught domestic travellers too. Councils hoping for a bed tax now know that under a National-led government, the levy paid at the border is the only tool on offer.
Stat of the day
$105.1m
The four-year Crown cost National puts on guaranteeing DOC $100 million a year from the international visitor levy: $15.4m, $17.9m, $32.9m and $38.9m. (National's Fiscal Plan)
Source: National’s Fiscal Plan (PDF), National release via Scoop, 1News (levy reset detail, September)
Hundreds of Bledisloe fans are stranded at Kingsland, and Eden Park says its rail link has not improved in a decade
About 15,000 people used the train to get to and from Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park, and after the game hundreds were left waiting at Kingsland Station. The Morningside level crossing was not closed as planned, which held up trains on the line through Kingsland, and with trains running in different directions from the two platforms many people could not tell which one to stand on. Auckland Transport has carried out a rapid review.
Deputy mayor Desley Simpson said the plan existed but was poorly carried out, and that the council, Auckland Transport and Eden Park needed to meet: “we need to make sure that it’s fixed”. Eden Park’s chief executive, Nick Sautner, went further, saying rail access to the ground has not improved in ten years despite the City Rail Link, and calling for platform upgrades, a footbridge over Sandringham Road and the Morningside crossing to be moved above or below ground. Simpson said a footbridge needs funding and will not happen quickly. For a city that sells itself on stadium events to visitors from out of town, the last train home is part of the product.
Source: RNZ
Lewis Pass goes to stop-go for two months, with no daytime access for heavy vehicles
NZTA began rebuilding a 6.3 kilometre stretch of State Highway 7 over Lewis Pass on Monday, between the St James Walkway car park and Maruia Hot Springs, and the work runs until Friday 11 December. The old chip seal has become unstable and is being replaced with asphalt. Between 7am and 6pm on weekdays, traffic will be stopped on demand in both directions with delays of up to 20 minutes, and vehicles in class 2 (medium rigid) and above cannot use the section at all during those hours. They are being sent via State Highway 1 through Nelson or State Highway 73 over Arthur’s Pass. The road stays open to everything overnight and at weekends.
Two full closures will also be needed to resurface the single-lane bridges, with timing dependent on weather and at least a week’s notice promised. SH7 is the main link between North Canterbury and the northern West Coast, so anyone running larger passenger vehicles or freight on a weekday crossing between now and early December will want to reroute, or run it after 6pm.
Source: NZTA Journey Planner traffic bulletin
Te Tapuwae o Rongokako marine reserve faces its 25-year review, with visitor experience in scope
DOC and Ngāti Konohi have opened public feedback on the review of Te Tapuwae o Rongokako, the 2,452 hectare marine reserve about 16 kilometres north of Gisborne. The reserve was set up in 1999 on a joint application, and Ngāti Konohi’s support was conditional on a “generational” review after 25 years. That review will look at how well the reserve is meeting its objectives across management, visitor experiences, education, research, the protection of marine life and the partnership with tangata whenua. The survey has been extended and now closes on 19 October.
The reserve is one of the easier marine reserves in the country to visit, with shore access off State Highway 35 at Pouawa and a reef platform that makes for shallow, sheltered snorkelling at low tide. Its chair, Mahora Edwards of Ngāti Konohi, said the review was a chance for today’s voices to shape its future. A reserve whose founding terms included a scheduled rethink is unusual, which makes this one worth watching beyond Tairāwhiti, and anyone who uses that coast commercially has a week left to have a say.
Source: Department of Conservation, DOC (reserve details)
Monday’s eGate fault hit Christchurch as well as Auckland, and was fixed by mid-morning
Yesterday’s briefing reported the eGate outage at Auckland Airport as it was happening. Later reporting confirmed that the fault, in the Customs system that manages passport control, also took eGates offline at Christchurch Airport, for both arrivals and departures. Customs said the problem was resolved mid-morning, though passengers should still expect longer processing times while the backlog cleared. Craig Chitty, Customs’ assistant comptroller of air operations, said extra officers had been deployed to help.
No cause beyond a “technical glitch” has been given. With two airports affected by one system, the useful question for the industry is less what failed on Monday than what the fallback looks like on a peak summer morning, when Christchurch will be handling Singapore Airlines’ summer schedule alongside Air New Zealand’s new long-haul routes.
Source: RNZ
Coming up
- 14 October: CAA consultation on the security levy cut closes at noon, and Stats NZ releases international travel figures for August
- 19 October: Te Tapuwae o Rongokako marine reserve review survey closes
- 22 October: Waitākere Ranges Local Board votes on the future of Piha Beach Campground, and Lyttelton’s 2026-27 cruise season opens
- 26 October: Air New Zealand’s first Auckland to Western Sydney service
- 28 October: Reserve Bank OCR decision, and Air New Zealand’s first Christchurch to Singapore service
- 1 November: Backcountry Hut Tickets move to DOC’s online booking system
- 4 November: Tourism Summit Aotearoa and the NZ Tourism Awards, Te Pae Christchurch, and Stats NZ’s September quarter labour market figures
- 7 November: General election
- 11 December: SH7 Lewis Pass rebuild due to finish
That's today's briefing. The Shoulder Season is back every weekday morning.