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Speaker 1: Now I am so pleased to see that. New Zealand

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Speaker 1: Business Herald journalist Kate McNamara continues to ride about the

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Speaker 1: woes in the rue pay Who district. Why because the

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Speaker 1: ruapey Who region has been hit hard with indecision around

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Speaker 1: two ski fields. The sudden closure of the chateau two

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Speaker 1: years ago, followed by the loss of over two hundred

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Speaker 1: jobs when Windstone's pump, pulp and timber mills shut down

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Speaker 1: late last year, the region has taken a beating through

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Speaker 1: no fault of their own. Yesterday, McNamara focused on the

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Speaker 1: issues surrounding the majestic Chateau Tongurero Hotel, which has been

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Speaker 1: sitting in a derelict state for two years. It's a

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Speaker 1: sad sight at the base of RuPay Who. I don't

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Speaker 1: know if you've seen it recently. A desolate chateau, the

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Speaker 1: golf course over growing, an empty building surrounding it. The

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Speaker 1: area feels quietly paused in time, with no sense of

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Speaker 1: if and when it may spring back to life. Fokobaba

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Speaker 1: Holdings Limited, the company and the process of buying the

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Speaker 1: Fockapuba ski field, is keen to discuss the future of

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Speaker 1: the chateau with government officials. They're interested in taking on

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Speaker 1: historic shadow, reviving it, providing employment, an increase in tourism,

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Speaker 1: offering some economic stability for the region. The problem is

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Speaker 1: no one is really interested in talking to them. As

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Speaker 1: we've learnt with the ski fields, this is a complicated

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Speaker 1: region that requires sensitive conversations between government, the Department of

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Speaker 1: Conversation EWI, and other stakeholders. It was a struggle to

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Speaker 1: find the consensus over the ski fields, with some preferring

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Speaker 1: the continuation of a not for profit organization such as

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Speaker 1: the previous operator Ral, others preferring to hand things over

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Speaker 1: to private operators. Along the way, a lot of government

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Speaker 1: money was put into keeping the ski fields afloat until

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Speaker 1: it got to the point where the fields were too

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Speaker 1: expensive to fail, as was the prospect of closing them down,

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Speaker 1: removing all destructures from the mountain and returning it to

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Speaker 1: its natural state. Getting the chateau up and running again

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Speaker 1: is going to cost millions of dollars, but on the

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Speaker 1: right term, such as a thirty year lease in a

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Speaker 1: peppercorn rent, WHL will be willing to make the investment.

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Speaker 1: They've also done the research into the earthquake strengthening Lohich

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Speaker 1: needs to be done and believe it is not as

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Speaker 1: extensive as previously suggested. Look, this might not be the

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Speaker 1: deal which makes everyone happy, but frankly I don't see

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Speaker 1: anyone else queuing up to give it a go. Leaving

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Speaker 1: the chateau empty and decaying for years, possibly decades, at

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Speaker 1: the cost of around one hundred and fifty to two

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Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars a month for maintenance when a possible

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Speaker 1: solution sits on the table is simply depressing. The government

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Speaker 1: needs to deal with the least termination agreement and pay

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Speaker 1: the previous operators, reopen expressions of interest and have some conversations.

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Speaker 1: Talking is almost always a good place to start, so

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Speaker 1: please take the call Luapa, who is an incredible part

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Speaker 1: of our country and one that deserves to be thriving.

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Speaker 1: For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live

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Speaker 1: to News Talks it be from five am weekdays, or

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Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.