Building the Future:

The South Island is now a powerhouse of the New Zealand economy – producing the food, fibre, energy, technology and visitor experiences the country needs and the world flocks to buy. In total, the South Island’s economy is worth almost $100 billion a year, or around 22 per cent of the New Zealand economy, and its ports carry around a third of New Zealand’s goods exports.

A re-elected National Government will:

• Build the transport and regional connections the South Island needs to move people, goods and visitors reliably.
• Grow Southern exports across agriculture, tourism, and mining and resources.
• Secure the energy new industrial investment needs, with substantial new demand matched by new generation, storage and network capacity.
• Strengthen the frontline health, education, and law and order services growing communities rely on.

Infrastructure: Connecting the South

The South Island needs infrastructure that keeps communities connected and supports future growth. Distance means a failed road or bridge can isolate a town, and a single vulnerable corridor can put freight, tourism and emergency access at risk. National is investing in the transport and regional connections that remove weak points in the network and make better use of the assets already being built.

National will:

• Invest $50 million in the shared road and rail connections for the Rolleston intermodal freight hub.
• Ensure that congestion reducing Gondola solutions in Queenstown can access existing public transport funding in the NLTF.
• Commit $25m to four-lane the remaining portion past Hansen Road down to the Five Mile roundabout in Queenstown.
• Use the next Government Policy Statement to improve the network’s most critical links, including South Island state highway bridge replacements.

Exports: growing what the South sells to the world

The South Island’s prosperity is built on selling to the world. Its ports carry around a third of New Zealand’s goods exports, and its farms, vineyards, mines and visitor businesses earn the income that pays for the services New Zealanders rely on. National is backing each of the South Island’s major export sectors.

Agriculture

National will:

• Complete and implement the replacement of the RMA, giving farmers and growers certainty to invest.
• Implement new Crown pastoral land settings so high-country farmers can invest and diversify with confidence.

Tourism

Tourism is New Zealand’s second-largest export earner, and the South Island is at the heart of it. International visitors spent $18.1 billion in the year to March 2025, up $1.2 billion or 7 per cent on the year before, and the sector now supports around one in nine New Zealand jobs.

National will:

• Provide standardised planning provisions through standardised zoning to enable growth in our small-towns.
• Introduce access charging for international visitors at Aoraki / Mt Cook and Milford Sounds, prioritising reinvestment in local conservation and tourism infrastructure.
• Implement new conservation concession timeframes and publish regional performance.

Mining and Resources

National will:

• Develop a new Government Policy Statement on Mining and Extraction under the Fast Track Approvals Act.
• Develop a National Standard for gravel extraction from rivers, supporting aggregate supply and flood management.
• Develop a National Standard for on-farm quarries, cutting consenting costs for farmers.

Energy: Powering Southern Growth

The South Island has strong renewable resources and some of New Zealand’s best opportunities for new industrial investment. It also faces long connection lead times, constrained local networks and communities vulnerable to outages. National is unlocking new generation and making sure substantial new demand is matched by new supply.

National will:

• Complete and implement the replacement of the RMA, with more enabling rules for wind, solar and hydro development.
• Require new data centre projects to be accompanied by new, firmed generation, protecting households and businesses from higher power prices.

Frontline Services

Growth is only worth having if it comes with the services growing communities rely on. National has shown that responsible economic management and better public services go hand in hand – and is investing in the hospitals, schools and Police the South Island needs.

Health & Education

National will:

• Finish fitting out Tower Three at Christchurch Hospital, delivering 96 additional beds for patients.
• Deliver the remaining funded teaching spaces, nearly 100 more classrooms across the South Island.
• Complete the redevelopment programme underway across 14 South Island schools.

Law and Order

National will:

• Deliver a new Police station for Greymouth through Budget 2026.
• Complete Phase 1 of the Christchurch Men’s Prison redevelopment, operational by mid-2030.

Read the full plan in detail HERE