Southland's Anniversary Day marks the acknowledgement in January 1856 by the Governor-General of the day that the Southland region would henceforth develop separately from Otago. Representations to the Governor-General that immigration and economic development in Southland should be independent from Otago were recognised by Governor-General's decisions to declare Bluff the port of entry for the region and that a new regional centre would be established (soon to be known as Invercargill).

Southland marked the 100th anniversary of this significant milestone with a year-long celebration in 1956, and the 150th anniversary in 2006. 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Southland Provincial Government, a short-lived and ill-starred political experiment which ended in ignominy and bankruptcy. It is certainly a cautionary tale worth remembering, but perhaps not one which merits an annual commemoration.

Many anniversary days in New Zealand mark the birth of settlements and regions - the first actions or events after which the future development of a region was assured. Elsewhere in the South Island, regions commemorate the arrival of the first immigrant ships - for Otago, the arrival of the John Wickliffe at Port Chalmers on 23 March 1848; for Canterbury, the arrival of the Charlotte Jane at Lyttelton on 16 December 1850, and for Nelson the arrival of the Fifeshire on 1 February 1842. The establishment/disestablishment of provincial governments prior to 1876 has never been accorded the same historical significance - why start now?

What qualifies an area as 'hard-to-staff'? The fact that they have such high relocation costs, along with the previous difficulties of finding staff and relocating them should immediatly qualify this position. Just because Stewart Island is at the bottom of the country does not mean the children there should be disadvantaged in any way