Regional Development

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Not set out on their website.

• Develop a strategy for ensuring the sustainability of rural communities that includes:
• Developing essential infrastructure in rural towns such as potable water supply and wastewater treatment systems.
• Ensuring access to basic services such as rural roads, education, health, communication and justice. This may require a higher per person expenditure for these services in rural areas than in urban areas.
• Encouraging people to move to rural towns and areas to work, especially in activities that contribute to sustainable land use, and to establish businesses, especially those involved in adding value to primary products. This is predicated on appropriate infrastructure and services being in place to meet the needs of increased populations.
• Encouraging the development of sustainable processing plants for co-operative ventures run by local producers.
• Addressing security of tenure of rural land by reviewing the public works act to give people confidence in decision-making about land management, and ongoing involvement in their communities. (more here)

• Ensuring remote areas that will struggle to get access to fibre are given priority under the Rural Broadband Initiative for access via satellite, wireless or other means;
• Ensuring funding for local roads is not further undermined by an excessive focus on socalled Roads of National Significance;'
• Restoring funding for Adult Community Education and increasing funding over time;
• Requiring all school buses to have seatbelts, starting with those on open roads;
• Developing multi-disciplinary health teams to provide targeted healthcare for ruralKiwis;
• Extending the voluntary bonding scheme to encourage dentists into rural andprovincial practice;
• Commit an extra $16 million to the Sustainable Farming Fund;
• Double-staff all one-person police stations. (more here)

Not set out on their website.

Not set out on their website.

Not set out on their website.

• Increase the Financial Assistance Rate (FAR) that is paid by central government to local authorities for the construction and maintenance of local roads up to 80% of their total costs as a first step to reducing the rates burden faced by many rural communities. (more here)