On its own, Southland DHB was not going to be able to continue.  The financial deficit was ballooning and it was essential reduce costs so that services could be delivered.  Over a period of time we had progressed to the stage where Otago and Southland shared a number of senior positions and we were regionalising services co-operatively.  It was inevitable that amalgamation had to be considered.  As a southlander I did not like the idea of a Southern board.  As a DHB member I saw the need for it.  My fight was about representation because the original plan had been to have one set of elected representatives across Otaga and Southland.  It was obvious that Southland would lose its voice under this plan.  I made it plain that we would not be consenting to any amalgamation unless Southland had at least three places at the table.  On population we would have been lucky to have one seat.  With the Ministers appointments weighting the representation towards Otago this was an jmportant issue.  It has given us a unified and much redued management structure.  It has given us a greater voice in Wellington.  It was save us around $3 million so that we can continue to provide high levels of service to the people of Southland and Otago.  It has already made us a more attractive place for young dcotors (17 new ones this month), when we struggled to attract anyone in the past.