Mayoral hopefuls Don Byers, Tim Hanna and incumbent Gary Tong came together for the first time at a meet-the-candidates debate in Te Anau last night.
Four candidates standing for council seats within the Mararoa Waimea ward, Brian Dillon, John Douglas, Ebel Kremer and Rob Scott, were also part of the event.
One of the hot topics was the council’s project to replace 850 bridges over the next decade, which was included in the longterm plan.
Candidates were asked by a member of the public if they considered borrowing money to spread the load as ‘‘this generation would pay for the next generation’’.
Mr Tong and Crs Dillon, Douglas and Kremer said this could be something to be considered, while Mr Scott highlighted the challenge to do that work without rates reaching an ‘‘unaffordable level’’.
Mr Hanna and Mr Byers both said the council should be cautious before borrowing money.
Housing, and the Southland Regional Development Strategy group’s aim of having 10,000 more people living in Southland by 2025, was another topic raised.
Mr Tong said the district was in a good position after the first 2018 census data showed Southland grew by 4.4% compared with 2013.
Te Anau’s residents also raised concerns about the future of the local airport. Cr Kremer said the council would need to seek external advice to make the airport generate some revenue for the region.
Candidates believed tourism was still the key to the Te Anau region solving a lot of its issues.
