The 10 mayors and chairpersons of the Otago and Southland mayoral forums met with iwi in Bluff and Invercargill for their annual two-day kōrero (discussion) during Waitangi Day and yesterday.
Following the meeting yesterday, Mr Cadogan said all 10 forum members had voted unanimously to do so.
"The mayors/chairs of the combined Otago Southland Mayoral Forum will remain committed to uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi in our roles as the region’s mayors and chairs," he said in a statement.
Mr Cadogan said he was "heartened" by the reaffirmation, which comes at a time of increased scrutiny of the Treaty, as Act New Zealand prepares to place its Treaty principles Bill before Parliament this autumn.
He said continuing to work together in partnership with all stakeholders would be critical to address looming issues such as projected multi-year, double-figure rates rises to pay for water infrastructure improvements.
"[Tuesday’s] Waitangi Day celebration was a beautiful day, then today was a day of intense discussions around issues facing local government at present, particularly Three Waters and the significant projected rates rises facing many southern councils.
"Following those discussions with our regional partners, I can possibly say for the first time in several months we may be able to see a way forward to mitigate some of the worst of the projected rates rises that have been signalled.
"Through regional collaboration, we need to work to find efficiencies, and we’ll be looking very closely at what we can do to work together to bring those into effect."
