They were even magnanimous enough to invite me, despite my being from (South) Otago.

I have a special interest in regional development. I firmly believe that only when the great provinces of New Zealand are thriving can we truly achieve our aspirations to build a more prosperous country.

That’s why I’m deeply honoured to be associate minister for regional development alongside the minister, my NZ First colleague Shane Jones.

Auckland and Wellington are decent enough cities but they do not hold an internationally competitive advantage.

Regional New Zealand does. It’s where our world-class dairy, meat and horticultural products are grown, where the manufacturing value takes place, where our energy is generated, and where international visitors flock to our iconic tourism destinations. Regional New Zealand matters.

I’m proud of the things we are enabling with the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) and the investments we made in a previous Parliament with its predecessor, the Provincial Growth Fund. The stunning revitalisation of Invercargill’s city centre is an example of a landmark enabling investment.

Southland has received some $21 million to date from the RIF. This has gone towards co-funding critical flood protection infrastructure alongside Environment Southland, as well as enabling long overdue renewable energy to Stewart Island with the Southland District Council.

Investment has also been injected into Ocean Beach aquaculture projects that have the potential to turbocharge economic growth in Bluff, transforming the once derelict old freezing works into a modern aquaculture powerhouse. Jobs, growth and community revitalisation – that’s our vision.

During my time in politics I have always enjoyed my engagement with the Southland community. The local politics is fought tough, but when it matters everyone comes together for the greater good of Southland. You do the work internally and come together with a compelling plan for central government. In my experience, no province in New Zealand is as cohesive as Southland.

I have always been impressed by the work done by Great South as the regional economic development agency. It is the gold standard by which I measure other provinces.

The agency’s track record of bringing together business, iwi and local government, as well as identifying regional opportunities around a cohesive strategy, is second to none. It hasn’t hit a home run every time but that is expected. There is always risk and reward balance required.

An opportunity Great South has consistently been advocating for is aquaculture. With rising sea temperatures, companies are increasingly looking south. Unfortunately, efforts to date have been stymied somewhat by a heavily bureaucratic and restrictive resource management regime.

Changes to the Resource Management Act, including the fast-track legislation, and Minister Jones’ rolling over existing permits until 2050 mean these blockages to investment are being swept aside.

A report due out shortly will outline just how vast this opportunity is for Southland, both for oceanic and land-based aquaculture ventures. It’s a play to Southland’s strengths and competitive advantage.

It will bring investment, jobs and growth and further diversifies Southland’s economic base.

That optimism for the future of Southland was on full display at the Southland Party – possibly buoyed by the recent Kiwibank survey showing Southland joining Otago on top of New Zealand’s economic growth leaderboard.

This is no time for complacency; there’s still much more to do. It’s a time to seize the momentum and push on, because the success of Southland is of critical importance not just locally, but to all of New Zealand.

This opinion piece written by New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson was originally published in the Southland Times on 30 July 2025.

https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360772839/main-centres-are-decent-enough-regional-nz-world-class