List MP Todd Stephenson and his team travelled in their fluorescent-pink Act bus and visited local businesses including Stabicraft, Fat Bastard Pies and Te Whare Taupua Community Arts Space.
"This is the very first day of our Real NZ tour.
"We have kicked this off in Invercargill my hometown.
"The point of the tour is to engage with all sorts of different businesses, whether it’s arts communities and find out what’s at the top of their minds," Mr Stephenson said.
The party aims to visit 30 different towns and communities in just two weeks and hopes that their visibility will encourage Kiwis to come out and tell them what challenges they are facing andhold them to account to deliverthe changes the Act Partycampaigned on.
"We are finding in Southland that despite the tough economic environment, there’s still quite a bit of optimism," Mr Stephenson said.
"Southland is a really great deliverer of economic activity."
Stephenson said his goal was to do a good job representing the South Island’s concerns and to return to Wellington to advise the government on what it can do to make it easier for Southland businesses to grow and thrive.
