An independent commissioner and the Department of Conservation are supporting plans for a monorail in Fiordland.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith on Wednesday released official advice regarding the plan following a visit to the site where he met with developer Bob Robertson and inspected the proposed tourism route between Queenstown and Te Anau in the South Island.
Nick Smith. Photo: RNZ
The minister is yet to decide whether he will give the green light for the up to $250 million project, but indicated he will make that call before Christmas. If approved, the 42km monorail will pass through the Snowdon Conservation Area near Te Anau.
An independent commissioner's report, which heard from members of the public, says the monorail should go ahead but the information from the project's backers is incomplete.
Dr Smith told Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on Wednesday the developer wants to know the project has a good chance of success before spending the money needed to provide that detail and that is understandable.
"Yes, there are some exact details of which particular trees would need to be removed for the monorail and not requiring to do that level of detail unless there's a good prospect of this project being allowed to proceed."
Dr Smith says he needs to be confident the monorail won't harm the survival chances of a native bat and birds. He says he is particularly concerned that large beech trees, which are used as roosts for long-tailed bats, might have to be cut down.
The minister also wants to know what damage might be done if the project failed financially before it was completed.
Nick Smith says while the monorail is not inside a national park, the impact of the project is bigger than the proposed Milford Dart Tunnel. He declined that application, because it would have been built beneath Fiordland and Mt Aspiring national parks.
"I do take the view general stewardship land like the Snowden forest doesn't have that same tough, very protective covenant that (a) national park does. But I have to weigh that up against the fact that, in truth, this monorail has a higher level of impact."
Dr Smith says he released the commissioner's report and a report by a Department of Conservation officer because the public interest is so high.
