Editorial: Punching Above Our Weight
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
At this week's 2016 LGNZ (Local Government New Zealand) Excellence Awards in Dunedin, Southland District Council won the Chorus Excellence Award for Best Practice in Infrastructure Management, for their programme "Changing Direction, The Way Forward for Southland's Roads".
The partnership uses smartphone technology onboard Fonterra's milk tankers to send road quality information to Southland District Council to gain deeper insights into the state of the district's roads and the pressures placed on them.
Fonterra staff at Edendale worked closely with Southland District Council to develop the programme which enables the Fonterra tanker fleet to effectively become the "eyes and ears" for the council.
"This is wonderful recognition for the council and the Fonterra team at Edendale," says Mark Robinson, Fonterra regional head for Otago/Southland.
"It shows what's possible when we take a partnership approach to issues facing our local communities."
Southland District has the largest rural roading network in New Zealand (about 5000 kms), nearly two thirds of which are gravel. Fonterra drivers know the network well – the company operates 60 tankers from its Edendale site, transporting milk from 1050 farms. Data from these daily journeys allows the council to make smarter spending decisions, and improve service to ensure safer journeys for Southland's road users.
Recent NZIER analysis shows that the dairy sector in Southland contributed $1.024 billion to the Southland economy in 2015/16.
"We know we're a big part of economic life in Southland, so we're proud to be able to apply our existing technology to innovation that benefits the whole community," says Mark Robinson.
