Southland District Council

Encourage businesses and education providers to develop experience/qualification style employment opportunities for young people.

Increase engagement between local business, community and regional development agency, particularly in smaller towns.

Advocate for business and community-led initiatives to entice and meet the needs of workforces to the region, particularly in key sectors.

Hold the current government accountable to a gross domestic product (GDP) vs Southland ratepayer contribution vs a misappropriation of funds that penalise/tax small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Ensure tourism entities using Southland assets are proportionally taxed through levies user pays by volume, timeline review process and cost.

Allow private investment to problem solve and pay for council assets (like freedom camping areas) under a public/private partnership.

Strengthen the implementation of Mayor's Taskforce for Jobs working with key stakeholders in each of our communities for their bespoke needs.

Continue to ensure procurement focuses on local operators, and ensure that volunteers are able to work in their communities when needed.

Work with the tourism and agricultural sectors struggling to find staff, focusing on what council can do to create pathways to solutions.

Promote social enterprise, the development of technology and micro-manufacturing businesses.

Build networks for accessing local resources, so products and services offered within own region will be accessible to people in the south.

Create pathways for thousands of new small buildings to be created in Southland, to be owned by Southlanders.

Ensure a balanced and sensible approach to the infrastructure renewal, leveraging other funding sources to reduce the ratepayer burden.

Work to enable growth, and support diversification of our business economy so we move towards employment that offers year round work.