Opinion

New data shows rents in Invercargill and Southland have increased dramatically under Labour. MBIE’s Tenancy Services Rental Bond Data for January 2023 shows that median Invercargill rents now sit at $365 a week, up $165, or 83 percent, from 2017 when Labour took office. Across Southland rents have g

There’s no doubt that the Government’s hugely unpopular Three Waters legislation will hit local ratepayers in the back pocket, but is the Government really listening to our concerns? Water services are currently provided by local councils, but under Three Waters will transfer to four new mega entiti

Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says she’s deeply concerned at the amount of violent crime that is happening in the city. “Violent crime is happening all too often in Invercargill and I’m worried that it could end with the loss of a life. “Most recently, the Collingwood Foodcentre in North Rd was tar

Southland farmers should be applauded for the great work they’re doing around environmental management. Too often the focus goes on the negative and farmers are given a bad rap, but I think they should be commended for the way that they have improved farming practices to meet new environmental rules

It’s not likely to be a very happy Christmas for Southern Institute of Technology staff and students, as uncertainty looms over the future of the organisation, jobs and courses. It’s appalling that staff and students are living in this information vacuum, but it’s even worse that Te Pūkenga manageme

Southland mental health services are struggling with staff shortages, as the need for specialist mental health support increases. Across the country there’re vacancies for 650 full-time mental health workers. In Southland alone, our hospital desperately needs a mental health clinical psychologist, a

Opinion and fun commentary. We are three large mayoral polls in now and from the start Nobby Clark has lead all three, with Toni Biddle and Marcus Lush trailing in the last two polls. From the start Sir Tim Shadbolt has not been in the running trailing in 5th place behind Darren Ludlow. Below I […]

3 Waters Reform: The next step towards ultimate Centralism. Opinion piece by Ian Pottinger. Localism vs Centralism: Localism involves the shifting of power and decision making back to citizens and their communities. The opposite of localism is centralism and NZ is currently the most centralised coun