I recently gave oral evidence to the justice select committee on the proposal to extend New Zealand’s parliamentary term to four years and what that means for the South Island.
Before and after presenting my evidence, I had the honour of speaking with former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer, a personal political hero of mine for over 30 years. His insight and intellectual generosity were deeply appreciated.
Equally impressive was the broad engagement from across New Zealand. I witnessed farmers, iwi, civil society leaders and, on more than one occasion, a University of Otago law student presenting as part of their degree. It was a master class in participatory democracy.
In theory, a four-year parliamentary term offers political stability and improved legislative planning. But without meaningful structural reform, it carries a real risk: the existing democratic deficit will be further entrenched for those of us who reside outside Auckland and Wellington. For the South Island, in particular, this risk is profound and urgent.
We have reached a moment in our national story where the complexities of the modern world — technological, demographic, economic, and geographic — have collided with an outdated constitutional architecture. The political settlement of 1876 and the abolition of New Zealand’s provinces may have served a purpose in its time, but it is increasingly unfit for the challenges of the present day.
In any comparable developed country, such centralisation would be viewed as both impractical and absurd. The South Island, alongside productive regions like Hawke’s Bay, underwrites the national economy. We generate a significant proportion of New Zealand’s hard currency through agriculture, raw materials, the aluminium smelted at Tiwai Point, and mass tourism.
Yet the voice of the South Island is routinely drowned out, inaudible beneath the incessant din from electorates north of Hamilton. These regions, loudest in volume, consume the fruits of our labour with little apparent regard for the balance sheet.
This is not some grievance exercise in provincialism. It is economic fact. The South Island receives only a fraction of what it contributes to the public purse.
While Auckland continues to absorb billions in infrastructure and subsidies, most recently millions in investment for passenger rail shared with Wellington, the South Island received precisely nothing for its own passenger rail plans.
The South Island contributes approximately 22% to national GDP — around $93 billion. On a proportional basis, from the 2025 Budget of $180.5b, that would entitle us to approximately $40b.
Yet no such funding arrives. The new Dunedin hospital, the cancelled ferries, the lack of proper passenger rail, or the appalling state of State Highway 1 south of Christchurch are not oversights. They are symptoms of structural neglect.
This is why I used the select committee review of the four-year term Bill to propose a South Island grand committee. Based on my political experience in Scotland, this body would be composed of all South Island MPs — electorate, Māori and list — to scrutinise legislation that has an impact on the South Island at committee stage.
The grand committee would provide ministerial accountability. A Cabinet-level minister for the South Island would report directly to it. Senior civil servants responsible for health, education, transport and police would be expected to appear and engage meaningfully. Stats NZ would have to provide disaggregated data for the South Island in official reporting.
Not a revolution. A long-overdue evolution.
If New Zealand is to be a truly democratic state, all regions (and not just the upper North Island) must be represented.
A South Island grand committee is a practical step towards that goal, but we must begin the national conversation on devolution and decentralisation to reform a state that has become too centralised for its own good.
From Scotland to Catalonia, from Quebec to the German Lander, even recently within the regions of Italy, devolution and regional empowerment is a fact.
Our country is vast, complex, and diverse. We can no longer be governed by a single chamber dominated by members of parliament from one part of the country. We need inclusive and accountable local decision making.
A fair share for the South Island, yes, but also a democracy working for all Kiwis regardless of who, or where, they are.
— Duncan Connors is a former University of Otago academic.
