News

Business South has submitted to the Clutha District Council Draft Annual Plan 2026/27, advocating on the issues that matter most to businesses in the district from rate affordability and infrastructure investment to economic development and private sector-led growth. Below is a summary of our key positions. 

The Clutha District's proposed average rates increase of 20.58% in 2026/27, building on 16.67% in 2025/26, represents a cumulative increase of approximately 40% across two years. Business South urges Council to balance necessary cost recovery with measures that protect business confidence and support economic growth. 

Rates and Financial Sustainability 

Rising infrastructure costs make some level of rates increase unavoidable, but the cumulative impost on businesses is significant. A commercial property in the district with a capital value of $3.95 million, for example, faces total rates of $9,055 in 2026/27, up from $7,360 in 2025/26 with water, sewerage and stormwater charges alone reaching $4,773. Business South calls on Council to: 

• Continue its line-by-line review of operational expenditure before final adoption. 

• Clearly distinguish unavoidable cost-of-service increases from discretionary spending. 

• Communicate openly with the business community on trade-offs and solutions. 

Water Infrastructure and Southern Waters CCO 

Business South supports investment in fit-for-purpose water infrastructure as essential to the district's rural economy. On the Southern Waters CCO transition, we urge Council to ensure the process is transparent, advocate for fair rural water pricing, and ensure that availability charging and assistance capping changes are not compounded by CCO transition costs beyond 1 July 2027. 

Economic Development and Growing the Ratepayer Base 

Business South strongly endorses the Mayor's focus on growing the ratepayer base as the structural solution to the district's financial sustainability challenge. We see a natural role working alongside Clutha Development connecting the district to our wider business networks, promoting Clutha as a place to start or relocate a business, facilitating investor connections, and ensuring the district's voice is heard in our central government advocacy on immigration, infrastructure funding, and regulatory reform. 

We also highlight Business South's development of Invest Otago, a regional capital investment fund designed to attract large-scale investment into Otago projects. We encourage Council to consider how the Clutha District's pipeline might align with this fund as an alternative to rates and debt funding. 

Clutha Development and the Long Term Plan 

Through our engagement with Clutha Development, we raise the following forward-looking observations ahead of the LTP process: 

• Sustainable funding for Destination Management including the case for returning this activity under the UAGC to provide certainty for Clutha Development's operations. 

• The Living and Working in Clutha Strategy review is an opportunity to set an ambitious direction, with the business community having a meaningful voice in shaping priorities. 

• Finding the right balance between core service delivery and long-term economic and community development investment these are not mutually exclusive goals. 

• Business South welcomes early engagement alongside Clutha Development as the LTP process gets underway. 

Supporting Private Sector Investment — Milburn Inland Port 

Business South supports the Calder Stewart inland port proposal at Milburn, a private sector-led project proceeding without government funding and a clear signal of confidence in the district's economic potential. We call on Council to ensure the planning, regulatory, and infrastructure settings support this development, signal publicly that the district is open for investment of this scale, and recognise that projects like Milburn directly address the financial sustainability challenge by growing the employment base and ratepayer numbers.