The Government's announcement of a range of incentives to attract immigrants to the provinces is welcome, although it remains to be seen whether the measures will make any significant difference in terms of regional development or have any impact on the Auckland housing crisis.
The immigration policy was outlined by Prime Minister John Key at the National Party conference in Auckland at the weekend, where Mr Key extolled the virtues of his party's reign, saying National had ''delivered'' on ''jobs, education and opportunities'' and was a Government ''focused, energised and full of ideas''.
However, there has long been the feeling, in Otago and elsewhere, that the Government's push towards centralisation and focus on Auckland and the Christchurch rebuild has come at a cost to regional New Zealand.
Critics also believe the Government has done little to prevent and tackle the current housing crisis in our biggest city and is struggling to find meaningful solutions.
The most recent Government measure to address the issue - Housing Minister Nick Smith's announcement of ''available'' Crown land to be freed up for development - was a spectacular and embarrassing failure when it was found the areas were largely unsuitable for housing and iwi also had first right of refusal on the land.
The weekend's headline-grabbing policy announcement was therefore an important one for a Government which needs to be seen to be doing more in these areas.
At face value, there are certainly some alluring aspects to the measures.
About 10,000 skilled migrants and their families currently get New Zealand residence each year, but almost half choose to live and work in Auckland.
The biggest incentive of the new policy would be a change in the immigration setting, whereby skilled migrants with a job offer outside Auckland would get an extra 30 points (up from 10) towards the 100 they require, and must commit to that region for 12 months (up from three months).
Migrants applying for the ''entrepreneur work visa'' - those who offer ''high-level business experience, capital and international connections'' - would get 40 extra points (up from 20) towards the 120 they require if they set up a business outside Auckland.
A new ''global impact visa'' would be considered, targeting technology entrepreneurs who want to set up a global business based in New Zealand.
And a ''pathway to residence'' for long-term migrants on temporary work visas in the South Island would be established.
This could affect about 600 lower-skilled workers - predominantly Southland farm workers from the Philippines - providing stability for those families who have become an important part of their communities and for the industries which rely on them to do jobs unable to be filled by New Zealanders.
The rhetoric of ''matching the needs of regions with available migrants and investors'' and ''improving the spread of workers, skills and investment across New Zealand'' from Mr Key and Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse respectively is certainly promising - and long overdue - but what of the reality?
The Government itself admits these are only ''small steps'' and the numbers of likely new migrants to be attracted are minimal.
Immigration New Zealand estimates up to only 200 people next year might be approved under the entrepreneur work visa, for example.
There are some obvious fish-hooks, too.
While extending the obligation on skilled workers to 12 months is a step, many would argue that is still not long enough to make an impact on a job, business or community and allows migrants to potentially manipulate the system, moving to Auckland as soon as their regional obligations are met, contributing further to that city's woes.
And there are areas, such as the West Coast, in which job creation and retention are the pressing issues.
While the measures seem a step in the right direction, there is much more to be done by the Government - in conjunction with other authorities - to create the environment in which regional businesses can be established and thrive - and in doing so provide jobs for New Zealanders and a lifeline for their communities.
