Everywhere I go in Nelson I am seeing the harsh reality of a struggling economy. I see it in job losses, companies going broke, shops closing, mortgagee sales, fewer homes being built and more people turning up at our food banks. It has been, to quote Charles Dickens, a “winter of despair”. We have a big job ahead in turning it around.
We hosted Regional Development Minister Shane Jones for a regional economic summit on Monday, one of a series around the country. It’s a good sign Nelson was first. We need to heed his message that our priority needs to be growing our earnings from the world. We are well placed with sectors such as aquaculture, with new marine space approved, and horticulture, with the completion of the Waimea Dam.
I am determined we get a fair share of the Government’s $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) after being shortchanged by the previous Government’s regional development funding. Some regions got more than 10 times the funding per capita as Nelson.
We have made a good start with Budget ‘24 providing $9 million from the RIF for improving our flood protection infrastructure. The greatest opportunities for Nelson will be in getting assistance to grow our Blue Economy. The new boat lifts at Port Nelson and Nelson Marina are important steps but the potential is much greater.
I also stressed the region’s top priorities of getting on with the redevelopment of Nelson Hospital, giving back local control of our polytechnic and getting on with the Hope Bypass now that Government has deemed it a Road of National Significance.
The immediate break our economy needs is for interest rates to start coming down. The Reserve Bank erred in keeping the Official Cash Rate at ridiculous lows for too long and risks again being too slow in now keeping them too high for too long. Interest rate relief cannot come soon enough for Nelson.
The economic recovery is going to be long and hard. Council must contribute by working with Government and ensuring Nelson is open for business and attractive for investment.
