Increasing costs for Dunedin’s stadium should not be disproportionately passed on to those living in the city’s far-flung hinterlands, Federated Farmers says. In March, Dunedin city councillors voted to include $1.25 million of additional Forsyth Barr Stadium funding in the 2026-27 draft annual plan, bringing the total payment to $4.2m, followed by a $1.25m increase the next year. Federated Farmers Otago provincial president Luke Kane said any additional funding should be serviced by a uniform rate, not the property value-based general rate, and the council should avoid extra stadium costs where possible. Funding additional costs through the general rate would disproportionately affect rural properties and farms, which tended to have a higher value than inner-city residential properties, he said in a public submission on the draft plan.…