Christopher Luxon speaks from the National caucus retreat in Hamilton. Video / NZ Herald
Editorial
THREE KEY FACTS
The creation of a Minister for the South Island aims to strengthen the region’s voice in government.
Rangitata MP James Meager, appointed to the role, pledges to promote growth and innovation.
The move is welcomed as a step towards recognising the South Island’s economic contributions and needs.
The creation of a Minister for the South Island is a long overdue move that should bring a stronger voice for Mainlanders in the Beehive.
The portfolio, handed to rookie Rangitata MP James Meager, a rising star in National’s ranks, came during PrimeMinister Christopher Luxon’s Cabinet reshuffle this week.
The role will likely mirror that of the Minister for Auckland, which was created by Prime Minister Helen Clark in 1999 and reinstated by Chris Hipkins in 2023.
With the South Island’s population growing at a rate quicker than the north, while being a farming, manufacturing and tourism powerhouse, Meager has pledged to proactively speak for the south.
Meager, a Timaru-born and raised 37-year-old of Ngai Tahu descent, says he wants to ensure the South Island helps drive post-pandemic economic growth.
“That’s a big part of what the PM [Christopher Luxon] wants me to do – help us focus on what we can do to promote growth in the South Island,” the first-term MP, who is also taking on the Youth, Hunting and Fishing, and Associate Transport Minister portfolios, told Newstalk ZB this week.
The appointment has been welcomed on the Mainland as a step in the right direction for bringing an all-of-government approach south of Cook Strait.
“Canterbury and South Island businesses are generally known as quiet achievers in the New Zealand economy,” says Business Canterbury chief executive Leeann Watson.
“But the statistics speak for themselves, and we are taking on the world with our unique mix of a highly diversified economy - including the primary industries, manufacturing, construction and professional services, and those emerging like aerospace, agritech and healthtech - as well as our lifestyle, environment and innovative culture.”
National MP for Rangitata James Meager aims to be a strong voice for the South Island in his new role. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She wasn’t alone in welcoming “a ministerial cheerleader” for a quarter (24% according to the latest Census data) of the country’s population.
Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown said southern councils have felt they haven’t been listened to for some time.
He says that Meager, who described himself in his maiden speech as “a walking contradiction ... part-Māori boy, raised in a state house by a single parent on the benefit, now a proud National Party MP in a deeply rural farming electorate”, has impressed.
“We have close relationships with other ministers but having our local MP closer to Cabinet might prove another port of call to help champion our cause,” Brown says.
Meager has clearly been scouted by his National Party seniors as a talent for the future.
For his fellow Mainlanders, they will be hoping he’s ready now to drive productivity, growth and innovation and power up the economy in the south.
