Still in school

Timaru and Waimate may be a good way to bring ‘‘unique’’ shops to town.

‘‘It will get people starting businesses and will also give more people jobs.’’

Also introducing more opportunities for employment would be the group’s proposed idea of ‘‘getting the traffic off the roads’’, Stevenson said.

‘‘We need to get into rail again,’’ Burgess said.

‘‘It would take the pressure off roading and would be better for the environment.’’

Education was another hot topic for the residents, with the region’s polytechnic an important part of the community, they said.

‘‘We don’t have a uni here, and we don’t want one here,’’ Scott said.

‘‘If they [young people] don’t get into uni, the polytech is a place for them to go.’’

‘‘It’s a place for them to get a start,’’ Burnett said.

Burgess said the region was in a good location - close to major centres - and that they were lucky.

They hoped it would remain this way for a long time to come. While most of them are unable to vote yet, a group of Mountainview High School students have strong views on what the region needs, and what they face looking ahead.

Josiah Tucker, Benjamin Dalloway, Asylvia Redgrave, Harry Lincoln, Hanna Harvey and Kaitlyn Ratcliff don’t agree on a lot of issues, but say they are all interested in the impact of the future Government on their lives.

‘‘Whatever happens in the election, in the end, it will affect all of us,’’ Hanna, 18, said.

‘‘We want to know what the policies are.’’

While Hanna and Benjamin are at the legal voting age, the rest of the students, who range from 15 to 17, say they can understand why other youth may be less excited about politics.

‘‘I think it’s important to have your say,’’ Kaitlyn, 17, said.

‘‘What’s the point in not voting and then complaining about stuff?’’

Hanna thought many youth who could vote felt like their vote counted for nothing.

‘‘Also, people latch on to characters like Trump. We don’t have anyone like that here,’’ Asylvia, 15, said.

‘‘Winston Peters is probably our closest thing to Trump,’’ Hanna said.

For Harry, 17, the ability to encourage tourists to the region was a ‘‘boon for the economy’’ but it needed to be monitored by the Government, possibly through taxes.

Another issue which needed close attention, the group said, was the impact of farming on the environment.

‘‘Farming is a big driver for us,’’ Harry said.

‘‘I don’t think taxing farmers will help though. I don’t see how taking money from them is going to help the country.’’

Kaitlyn disagreed, saying something needed to be done to tackle the issue.

Asylvia said one way to begin with the impact would be for the Government to introduce the planting of native trees around waterways to decrease erosion.

‘‘I think there also needs to be more regulation on the industry.’’

Kaitlyn said the Government needed to weigh up which was the more important aspect - the environment or money.

Benjamin, 18, said mixing tourism and farming was not a good combination for the environment.

‘‘We need to have a clean, green environment,’’ he said.

Harry also thought the Government needed to provide more funding to the region’s district health board, to attract more surgeons to South Canterbury. Kaitlyn agreed, asking for more money to be provided for mental health.

‘‘Mental health is a big one,’’ she said.

However, Harry wondered what politicians could do to lower the country’s suicide rate.

Kaitlyn said more money for mental health support in schools could be a start.

Harry also thought the Government had been ‘‘too hard’’ on past criminal offenders.

‘‘More needs to be done to help them.’’

Prisons were a concern for Asylvia, who was worried about the privatisation of them.

‘‘Prisons for profit do not rehabilitate people.’’

Harry disagreed, arguing that privatised prisons could provide people with an income and prisoners with skills to take out with them, when they were released.

Increasing house prices were also a concern, with the students saying they would all probably be tackling paying off student loans before they considered entering the housing market.

‘‘I would definitely be taking into consideration where I wanted to live, when it came to buying. Some places are a lot cheaper than others,’’ Hanna said.

Equality between male and female South Canterbury residents was also a big topic, the group said.

‘‘I think for my future there needs to be more equality between males and females. That’s really important,’’ Kaitlyn said.