This week, The Central App is introducing readers to the candidates standing for the Southland electorate. 

We asked each candidate to comment on some issues of concern to Central Otago residents and elsewhere: housing and the cost of renting; the cost of living; the future of tourism; Christchurch International Airport's plans to develop an international airport at Tarras; and one other issue they wished to address.

Today, we hear from Labour candidate Dr Simon McCallum.

Housing & cost of renting

“We must find new solutions for housing in Queenstown,” Simon says. 

“We need to work with councils to free up land, increase density, investigate the cost to the community of vacant occupancy, and build more houses. Labour has been working on all of these, and will be announcing more policies. I know the stress of not knowing where you can find a safe place to sleep. We must provide even more housing solutions in Southland.”

Cost of living

“Labour is focused on cost of living issues facing many in our region. Things are tough now but we are moving in the right direction, we’re easing costs on families through targeted investments that will avoid stoking inflation. We will remove GST from fruit and veg, increase the value of In-Work tax credit, introduce paid parental leave for fathers, and try to limit foreign banks and supermarkets profiteering from high inflation.” 

The future of tourism

“With the limits on Queenstown Airport we need to increase the yield from each tourist. We need tourists to stay for longer and earn more money per tourist. The carbon cost of flying in and out, and the limited capacity of Queenstown Airport means we need to find better ways to create high value experiences.

Christchurch International Airport's plans for Tarras

Simon said the development of Tarras has both benefits and costs. 

“The need to minimise our emissions is currently at odds with increasing air travel to New Zealand. If Air New Zealand is able to bring forward the development of electric aircraft then a new airport would not have the climate impact. 

“Until we can find low or no carbon solutions to air travel, we need to avoid increasing our greenhouse gas emissions, finding smart ways to earn more per traveller.

The impact of artificial intelligence

“The knowledge economy world wide is about to have a productivity shock. Artificial Intelligence [AI], like ChatGPT, is about to change how we learn, how we create art, how we write, and how we make decisions. Deep fakes, voice cloning, and the destruction of some industries will happen within a year.  

“In the United States, Hollywood writers and actors are striking about how AI will change those industries. As a society we need to be talking about how we have a just transition for the large number of workers who will need to change professions in the next three years. AI is changing society and we need solutions that focus on people not profits.”