The South Island has a good economic story to tell: 22% of New Zealand’s economy is generated here, 33% of the country’s export goods, and 40% of international visitors make the South Island their destination of choice. How to grow that, and ensure that more of that wealth stayed in the South, was the challenge laid before the finance spokespeople of the main political parties yesterday as part of a panel discussion at the South Island election conference. National’s Nicola Willis promoted the investment boost tax credit announced in the 2025 Budget, which she said had been a boon for local firms. “We know that policy is already working for innovative South Island firms. I think United Machinists in Dunedin have used that tax credit to bring forward investment in very sophisticated equipment,’’ the finance minister said. “We will keep that tax credit and the billions of dollars it will take off your tax bills. That is not the position of Opposition parties at this election. In addition, we will continue to work with the South Island to build the infrastructure needed to support your growth.” Labour Finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds said a major issue for her party, and the South Island, was “flip-flop” decision-making on infrastructure projects. “For example, the ferries. The government cancelled that particular contract … the ferries would have arrived this year, and would have been customised on the water next year. “So that resilience across Cook Strait, which I understand is incredibly important for the South Island given how many goods cross it, that flip-flopping does not help.” Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong also wanted more certainty in infrastructure spending and proposed taking some of the decision-making power away from ministers and putting it in the hands of an independent body such as the infrastructure commission. “We need more ability to oversee, to fund, to plan and to deliver those infrastructure projects over time.” Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick called for consensus, or at the least agreement on the criteria necessary to determine what good infrastructure was. “God forbid we entered into those criteria. Also the need to decarbonise or reduce our climate-changing emissions, then I think we would be building a lot more of rail … I think that we should be depoliticising this stuff as much as is possible.’’ Act New Zealand leader David Seymour defended the role of political democracy in such decision making, arguing it had got projects such as Auckland’s rail system built. “Part of what the infrastructure commission said as part of that 30-year infrastructure plan was invest more in resilience. So what did we do in the Budget? We committed hundreds of millions of dollars to roading resilience projects, including in the South Island.” New Zealand First’s Mark Patterson — the only actual South Islander on the panel — said he agreed with Mr Seymour on the role of the democratic process, but that southern voices needed to have a fair say. “It’s a problem down here, because the folks who are in Auckland ensure that all their bypasses have been kicked down the road. We can’t even get the Mosgiel bypass on the list to even start being considered by NZTA. “So that’s why this gathering is so important. We’ve got to bring a combined voice to Wellington with these projects. Otherwise, we will continue to have our projects de-prioritised.”
