April Speaker - Hon James Meager (4th April)

On Friday 4 April, we welcomed the Minister for the South Island Hon James Meager who gave an address on his portfolio and the work that needs to be done to highlight and promote the southern regions. He was invited by our Current Affairs Group which has a mandate to discuss and debate everything from politics to religion and everything in between. Importantly, the Minister stressed the population gap between north and south and at the same time the level of exports particularly agriculture (including horticulture and viticulture) that come from the south. His 20 minute address included some of the key issues including the poor state of some of the bridges particularly on SH1 and the amount of time it takes when detours are required. Part of his brief is to meet with local authorities and runanga to discuss their issues and what they perceive the solutions to be. His presentation is included in the link below.