Not again.
The loss of 16 ACC jobs in Dunedin as the short-term claims centre team is moved to Christchurch is the latest blow to the city and the region.
While it is only a relatively small proportion of the 427 ACC staff employed in Dunedin, it is the thin end of the wedge — a wedge that grows rapidly thicker if we look into the recent past.
In only a few years there has been a raft of public service/state-related cuts in the South: staff at New Zealand Post, the immigration service, Housing New Zealand, Dunedin’s Hillside Workshops, AgResearch/Invermay, smaller-centre courts and the Dunedin Hospital kitchen have all paid the price.
We have lost fire, ambulance and police control centres in the South.
Imagine if the impassioned campaigns to save neurosurgery and the Dunedin Courthouse had failed?
What is the outlook as the University of Otago goes through its review of humanities departments?
As the plans for the Dunedin Hospital redevelopment become clear?
For the province’s smaller hospitals?
It is an uphill battle for provincial New Zealand to compete against the new ethos of centralisation and the mantras of "economies of scale", "efficiencies" and "consistencies".
And the tyranny of distance means the South suffers more than most.
When it comes to counting the cost in job losses, the latest dozen or so jobs add to what now numbers many hundreds in a few short years.
Those "numbers" are of course people, who may or may not have found other work, who may have had families to support.
In addition to job losses, the loss of services can affect hundreds or thousands more.
And, significantly, it also affects how individuals, families, and private businesses, services and industries view their prospects in the regions.
It often feels like the South is swimming against the tide.
We have energetic, proud and forward-thinking people here trying to drive us forward.
Look at what Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan has done to combat urban drift and tackle youth unemployment in his district.
Consider the innovative Kaitangata housing package.
Recall the effort that went into securing Dunedin’s Unesco City of Literature and Gigatown titles.
Look at the developers who are saving Dunedin’s heritage buildings and the exciting business start-ups that are occupying them and attracting (importantly) young people to live in the city.
All these things put the South on the national and global map. It is heartbreaking to have that impetus curtailed by the message the Government sends through public sector job and service cuts.
Change is inevitable and must be accommodated, but the centralisation argument doesn’t always stack up.
There is a lot to be said for not putting our eggs in one basket (surely we haven’t forgotten the Canterbury earthquakes?).
And if centralisation really is the game-changer, why always Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch?
Regional centralisation of some services would take the pressure off the areas where growth is unsustainable and create a much-needed boost to provincial New Zealand.
Smaller, local offices offer the opportunity for more personalised service, for direct contact with the customer/client/"consumer".
This is particularly important for the elderly.
Of course, cynically, there are benefits for governments to have larger, homogeneous and intimidating public sector centres, where an army of gatekeepers can keep the public at bay, where in fact it is easy (dare we suggest desirable) to be less approachable, less accountable, less effective.
Yet regional New Zealand is the backbone of the country.
Agriculture is our mainstay and tourism is in the ascendant.
The cities, towns and smaller communities that sustain those industries need and deserve the message state investment in jobs and services makes.
NZ First leader Winston Peters has just made regional centralisation an election policy.
Labour is making the same noises.
The ideas have been previously canvassed, of course, and Local Government New Zealand is keen to see them become reality.
Whether the Government will be swayed will become clearer the closer we get to polling day.
