There’s a real sense that the next 3 years in local government are going to be both challenging and exciting at the same time – there will be significant changes.

Whether it’s central government mandating, climate change, sustainability, playground improvements or other council matters that impact our ratepayers more personally, these matters cannot be ignored and it would be foolish to do so.

After nine years on the Fiordland Community Board with the last four as Chair, Sarah Greaney is stepping up. She believes that now is the right time to seek election as a councillor for the Mararoa Waimea ward.

“I’m a strategic thinker and a change manager so there’s never been a better time to make this decision”, she says.

Sarah’s credentials include spending time in banking, corporate learning and development and working with small business. A small business owner herself, she has had to navigate through the significant challenges of Covid both professionally and personally. “I want to make sure we are making the right choices for our ratepayers in terms of balancing the spending around the value we are creating”, she says.

She believes her own resilience is what’s got her through the past few years and previous challenges in her life. “I’m proud of the hard work I’ve done to get to this point in my life.” She also found the role of helping lead the Fiordland community through the first Covid 19 lockdown in 2020 really gratifying. “It was important to keep everyone informed about what was going on locally and nationally, and answering the questions that needed to be answered. This ranged from helping a migrant worker get a new passport, find another a bed and then lobbying for government attention for our decimated tourism operators”. She says she’s also proud of her role as trustee on the Fiordland Retirement Housing Trust that delivered 23 retirement homes to Te Anau residents when no other provider managed to make the project viable. 

Sarah is currently on the Southland Murihiku Destination Management Advisory Group and the Strong Communities Murihiku Group both of which feed into the Beyond 2025 project. “I see myself as a bit of a dot joiner in all this. It’s important to contribute to the discussions around the future of Southland, its development and its promotion. Southland needs to be heard by central government. There are lots of ideas coming forward and we have to keep looking at the bigger picture”.

Sarah is also part of the Te Hau Toka Southern Wellbeing group that is responsible for allocating $3 million of funding allocated by government post Covid to address the increase in mental health and wellbeing needs across the Southern Lakes area. Fiordland community projects have all benefitted from this funding, and as a result Fiordland also now has a Community Wellbeing Coordinator. Similarly, her role on the Regional Event Funding panel has also seen government money spent in Fiordland bringing in events that have contributed to its recovery. “Events have always been important to us. This money has enabled more to happen which we would have otherwise been unable to do”.

Also, on several reference groups as part of the Milford Opportunities Project, Sarah played an active part in helping inform the concept plan for Piopiotahi. She firmly believes that tourism needs a voice at the Council table – and that’s not just Fiordland, it’s Rakiura and the Caitlins and all the townships in between “We’re all connected. No one place works in isolation of another”. Importantly though, she sees that this has to be balanced with the other key contributors to Southland’s economy - farming and agriculture, aquaculture and more innovative projects that are also happening. “We have some big contributors to GDP in Southland. We have to keep looking to the future, and local government has to get on board with leading and adapting to change as we go”.

Hot topics on Sarah’s agenda for the coming triennium include looking at housing and employment, ensuring that Te Anau’s growth and development during the next phase of the Milford Opportunities Project is fit for purpose and keeps the integrity of its CBD, community health and wellbeing, and ensuring we all have a sustainable future that includes diversification of business opportunities and better environmental practices to protect against climate change.

She is also keen to make sure that the voices of those that aren’t always in the room are heard, in particular Iwi and youth, and that councillors think about Southland as one community, rather than nine separate communities/community boards all vying for the same piece of the pie. 

“It is Council’s and the Community Boards’ role to enable and support our communities to be great places to live, stay and play,” she says. “What benefits one ward or community board area should be good for everyone.”

So what’s important now? “The most important thing that anyone can do right now it to vote. By voting for me, you’ll get sound leadership, communication, hard work and robust discussion and decision making,” Sarah concludes.

Authorised by Sarah Greaney, [email protected]