Federated Farmers are throwing their support in behind calls for a serious conversation about the future of local government in Southland.

"There’s never been a better time to have a conversation as a community about how we want our local government to look," says Federated Farmers Southland president Jason Herrick.

"The state of local government in New Zealand is completely dire, with failing infrastructure, out of control spending, excessive red tape, and double-digit rates rises.

"Unfortunately, Southland is no different. We’ve got a tapestry of regional, city and district councils who are all grappling with the same challenges, complexities, and cost pressures."

Southland’s population of 100,000 currently has four separate councils: Southland Regional Council, Southland District Council, Gore District Council, and Invercargill City Council.

"I don’t think the current arrangement is serving anyone’s interests. It’s time we do something about it to set Southland up for the future," Herrick says.

"Our community’s rapidly rising rates are feeding a bloated bureaucracy that simply has too many mayors, chairs, councillors, and staff.

"There has to be a better way for us to structure our local government in Southland that removes some of the cost, complexity and duplication that we’re currently seeing."

Herrick says Southland District Mayor Rob Scott has done the community a great service by sparking this conversation.

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