Opinion

I am one of your City Councillors. Towards the end of April, I will be asked to vote on a rate increase for the 2020-21 year (commencing June 2020). It is my view that given the forthcoming financial impact of Covid-19, we should have a zero rate increase. Alongside that, Council is reviewing its ha

“The deep-south has been largely ignored in the Government’s spend up with Invercargill getting no money for roading improvements, MP for Invercargill Sarah Dowie says. “It’s hard to see how the Government’s transport plans won’t come at the expense of transport investment in the deep south when bil

There is public concern that ICC is undertaking water blasting of the museum’s pyramid roof. It needs to be cleaned, sealed and repainted as all future options involve the retention of the iconic pyramid roof. As a recently elected City Councillor, I am frustrated about several issues regarding the

A sense of fairness is one of the first inklings most of us have of justice; making sure the glasses of juice are perfectly filled to the same degree, that we get our turn on the slide. Here in the south of the South Island we are home to some of New Zealand’s finest industry, […]

With the announcement this week that Rio Tinto is carrying out a strategic review of the Tiwai smelter I have read a lot of misleading and in many cases downright untrue information on social media and news outlets as people and organisations push their own agendas. A few FACTS for consideration: NZ

We need it to have strong leadership and vision, it needs to be a well chaired, cohesive group of forward-thinking fresh people. It needs to have strong proven governance skills, which means knowing what its role is and the difference between governance and management. We need people who know and un

We all take chances every day, and no matter how careful we are, any of us can die at any time. You could be involved in a car crash, get knocked off your bike, fall on the footpath, slip getting out of the bath, or off a ladder. An aeroplane could fall out of the […]

Economic growth has declined under this Government and despite nearly two years in office Labour still has no plan for growth, writes MP for Invercargill Sarah Dowie. Finance Minister Grant Robertson scoffs at reports of plummeting business confidence. He looks at falling growth on a per person basi