Two mayors have joined forces with the aim of creating up to 300 new well-paid jobs in their towns within a year.
Nelson mayor Aldo Miccio and his counterpart in Hastings Lawrence Yule are working to attract Australian call centres to their regions.
They say if successful, the move could create hundreds of new jobs, offering staff at the centres salaries of more than $50,000.
The mayors have met with the chief executives of Gen-i and Xero to try to move the idea forward.
