Almost 1,500 people have shared intimate details of their lives for Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) 2022 Quality of Life survey.

Each year the council conducts the survey to measure the wellbeing of residents in the district across topics from health and the environment to transport and employment.

Queenstown Lakes mayor Glyn Lewers acknowledged the mixed picture the survey painted for last year.

“The headline statistic is that 77 percent of our residents rate their quality of life as good or better, up marginally from 76 percent the previous year,” he said. 

“But dig a little deeper and we also see our district’s most pressing challenges reflected in these results, particularly when it comes to housing and the lower ratings in life satisfaction reported by people who are generally younger, have less work security, and are renting.”

Sixty-nine percent of residents find their work fulfilling; and 69 percent rated their physical health as good or very good. 

On the other end, 16 percent are concerned they may not have a steady place to live; 17 percent have no disposable income; and 40 percent rated cost as a barrier to seeing a medical professional.

Just 22 percent said they were satisfied with the steps QLDC is taking to protect the environment.

When it came to the council and its elected members, residents did not dole out good scores.

Just 19 percent said they were satisfied with elected and members, and satisfaction with council performance was a single percentage point higher. 

This was despite council-run community facilities and services - including trails and cycleways, parks and reserves, and libraries - which had user satisfaction scores of 88 percent, 88 percent and 84 percent respectively.

Glyn said the disconnect between council’s performance and its service would be “explored further”. 

Overall the survey attracted 1,488 completed responses, up 16 percent on 2021, with a significantly higher proportion of 18–39-year-olds participating. 

Read the 2022 Quality of Life survey here.

PHOTO: Wānaka App