“What’s kept me here is the fact that it’s so small,” she said. "Finding a job is so hard. June forecasts from Infometrics predict the Queenstown economy will contract by a quarter in the next year and 8,000 jobs will be lost. Queenstown (Māori: Tāhuna) is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. If she can't find another job, she may have to return to China, she says. Photo / Mark Mitchell, General view of Lake Hayes near Queenstown. The Lakes District Council says Queenstown is the fastest growing district in NZ. In the past three months more than 7,000 people have applied for welfare assistance, 75-80% of them migrants. There's a perfect beach for every week of the year. The council is capping rate increases, but Williams is sceptical about other options suggested by locals. “The BOB, or the best of both worlds, is the most popular item and it’s a bit of steak and pork ribs,” Yabsley said. That's taken the town from one of the richest in New Zealand to one of the poorest, says Boult. “The median price for a three-bedroom house is $94,000 and when I first started in 2017 I think the median price was around $60,000 to $70,000, which just goes to show how much the market has changed in that time,” he said. The 29-year-old was gifted blankets and warm clothes from the Salvation Army, and food vouchers from the council. "We agree that something has to be done. In summer, Queenstown is packed with tourists and their number one destination is the West Coast Wilderness Railway. “The perception of Queenstown is affluence and money but for many that is a very thin veneer,” says Lieutenant Andrew Wilson of the Salvation Army, which has experienced a 600% rise in demand for welfare services since lockdown began on 25 March. All that has changed. With no work and the government’s wage subsidy not yet available, Passarin lived off rice and beans for two weeks before his landlord texted him, telling him to seek help from the council and the Salvation Army. Last year, that figure had soared to 1.8 million, with Air New Zealand, Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin all jostling for space on the expanded runway. Australians make up 39 per cent, or nearly 1.5 million, of visits - although they're exempt from the arrival levy. "There's nothing I can do," says Wang, who hails from China but has permanent residency in New Zealand. Now the town is trying to lure them there -- Boult even did a. Murray Olds is a presenter on Sydney's 2UE. The levy now has to be cleared by the central government. Lay has lived in Queenstown her whole life and enjoys the small, friendly community. Register with us and content you save will appear here so you can access them to read later. Escape to the country: Australia’s very own Queenstown, where it’s also cool and naturally beautiful. New York Times: He made Credit Suisse profitable again. The town of 40,000 attracts three million visitors a year, over 60% of them from overseas. Queenstown Lakes mayor Jim Boult estimates that around 7,000 people are currently unemployed, with migrant workers making up around half of those. ", 'We're just starting to creak a little at the seams and we need to future-proof the place'. Although most people visit in summer, Rebecca Lay, the railway’s social media officer, says winter provides an even better viewing experience. That great mood had evaporated when we arrived 50 minutes later, after an $84 cab ride. As a nation we could have and should have done more for them.”. Air New Zealand has unveiled its new prototype sleep pods. WINNERS AND LOSERS: Who came out on top in the Federal Budget, Your dog may love you, but doesn't love the sight of your face, Black hole space research wins trio of scientist the Nobel Prize for physics, Federal Budget detail reveals when WA border could reopen. Faced with a flood of sightseers each year, the residents of the poster-child town of New Zealand's tourism boom have overwhelmingly called for a tax on tourists. Many Queenstown locals are employed by tourism and accommodation operators in town or in surrounding areas, including the cruise boats in Strahan. ", Others in Queenstown face an additional issue -- they're not citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand, so they don't qualify for the unemployment benefit. Who lives there? In January 2019 compared with January 2018, overseas visitor arrivals were up 20,100 to 399,300. On the go and no time to finish that story right now? At these points, Queenstown becomes the second-largest centre in the South Island. But I got scared after weeks of rice,” says Passarin, who is now back at work on significantly reduced hours. Harcourts agent Rodney Triffit said the price of houses in the town had proved a real drawcard for people from the mainland wanting to ditch big mortgages. People will purposely plan a trip here to see things like the big waterfalls.”. 9 May, 2017 12:25pm . We's just arrived back in Queenstown after walking the Routeburn Track, deep in the heart of New Zealand's South Island. This in comparison is much greater than Queenstown’s population of just over 13,000 residents. It's a similar situation for Dong Wang, who runs a small dumpling cart on the lakeside. Passarin, from Brazil, has been in New Zealand for nearly two years and was employed as a kitchen hand pre-lockdown. Canadians Anna Wilhelmus and Kristy Caldwell were in Queenstown on Friday visiting. Locals say there’s no better place to watch a sunset than atop Mount Owen, which has an elevation of 1146 metres. He is the sole income earner for his family, but his earnings have fallen from around 200 New Zealand dollars ($130) per day to just $50. This town is swamped by Australian tourists - and they're ruining it, says Murray Olds.