All I want for 2024 is a fair deal for Aotearoa's South Island public transport networks, especially for Christchurch, including a revived Southerner train from there to Dunedin and Invercargill.
Canterbury is NZ's second largest regional economy after Auckland. In 2021 it overtook the Wellington region.
Greater Christchurch is NZ's second largest city. It is larger than Wellington and it is growing faster.
Canterbury by far is the second largest residential housing construction market.
Canterbury makes the second largest regional contribution to the National land transport fund, yet it receives much less back per capita than NZ's other most populous regions - Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Wellington.
Christchurch is NZ's second gateway city with a range of international flights connecting NZ to the wider world, it has the US Antarctic supply base, and the Lyttleton port for freight exports and imports and cruise liners visits.
Canterbury has a balanced economy of rural exports, manufacturing, construction, and professional services. Whereas the similar sized but slower growing Wellington region has increasingly become dependent on capital city administration services.
Canterbury has half the population and half the economy of the South Island (much like Auckland has half the population and half the economy of the North Island).
Yet New Zealanders, including policy makers seemed to be unaware that this independent South Island centre of growth exists.
Instead of New Zealand investing in infrastructure to support Christchurch, Canterbury and the South Island, successive governments have let transport connections go into managed decline.
There doesn't seem to be any positive vision for the South Island and its major cities and regions.
Thanks Darren great write-up. Just a note that your footnote 6 on Nelson fares seems to be missing. I'd be quite interested in seeing that raw data. cheers
Outside of the upper North Island golden triangle Canterbury is the only region to increase its regional share of GDP this century.
https://medium.com/@brendon-harre/minister-wellington-is-not-the-2nd-largest-region-in-nz-c459ee8f4a1c
Canterbury is NZ's second largest regional economy after Auckland. In 2021 it overtook the Wellington region.
Greater Christchurch is NZ's second largest city. It is larger than Wellington and it is growing faster.
Canterbury by far is the second largest residential housing construction market.
Canterbury makes the second largest regional contribution to the National land transport fund, yet it receives much less back per capita than NZ's other most populous regions - Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Wellington.
Christchurch is NZ's second gateway city with a range of international flights connecting NZ to the wider world, it has the US Antarctic supply base, and the Lyttleton port for freight exports and imports and cruise liners visits.
Canterbury has a balanced economy of rural exports, manufacturing, construction, and professional services. Whereas the similar sized but slower growing Wellington region has increasingly become dependent on capital city administration services.
Canterbury has half the population and half the economy of the South Island (much like Auckland has half the population and half the economy of the North Island).
Yet New Zealanders, including policy makers seemed to be unaware that this independent South Island centre of growth exists.
Instead of New Zealand investing in infrastructure to support Christchurch, Canterbury and the South Island, successive governments have let transport connections go into managed decline.
There doesn't seem to be any positive vision for the South Island and its major cities and regions.
https://medium.com/land-buildings-identity-and-values/draft-christchurch-the-chicago-of-new-zealand-5cce5da1e637
Kia ora Darren, did you see that ORC had to pull the Dunedin frequency and fares biz case cos WK said they can't fund it? Soooo disappointed.
Thanks Darren great write-up. Just a note that your footnote 6 on Nelson fares seems to be missing. I'd be quite interested in seeing that raw data. cheers