The combined populations of Wellington and Canterbury equal that of Auckland, with many of New Zealand's smaller regions more heavily reliant on their local sports clubs and organisations for the physical, mental and social well-being of their local communities, compared to our larger national urban areas. While over 75% of New Zealand's total population lives in the North Island, the South Island has many of the nation's most passionate and successful sporting clubs, whose voice should be equally heard.
If the premise behind the review of Auckland sport by an Independent Commissioner is valid, then there would seem to be no obvious reason why the same factors should not be considered across the broader New Zealand sporting environment, which is experiencing similar challenges to those being experienced in the Auckland region. To not do so, suggests a sporting primacy based on geography, which is neither fair, nor equitable.
(With thanks to TVNZ, for the attached video clip, broadcast on Thursday, 22 October).