Sarah’s portfolios and priorities
National portfolios, grounded in the regions
Sarah holds Opportunity’s Regional Development, Local Government and Internal Affairs portfolios. Taranaki is an important proof point because it combines energy, engineering, manufacturing, food and fibre, a deep-water port and strong community institutions. But these are national portfolios. The aim is to build opportunity in every region—from Northland and the East Coast to Canterbury, Otago and Southland—while recognising Auckland’s continuing importance to New Zealand.
Regional Development
More productive regions make a stronger New Zealand
Auckland accounted for 37.5% of national GDP in the year ended March 2025. That concentration is not a reason to hold Auckland back; it is a reason to develop more centres of productive strength throughout the country. Taranaki contributed 2.6% of national GDP and produced GDP per person of $85,095, demonstrating that a smaller region can make a disproportionately valuable contribution. See the Parliamentary Library’s summary of Stats NZ regional GDP data.
New Zealand should celebrate Auckland success stories such as Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, which continues to invest in research, manufacturing and distribution in East Tāmaki. But firms that require substantial land, reliable energy and freight access should also have credible regional options. A 2025 Auckland planning assessment recorded high industrial land values, rising construction costs and severe pressure on land-extensive industrial activity. Read the Auckland industrial-land assessment.
Manufacturing already contributes approximately 8.6% of New Zealand’s GDP, supports about 247,000 jobs and accounts for around 60% of exports. About 96% of manufacturing firms employ fewer than 50 people. Advanced manufacturing is especially important outside Auckland: it represents 16.8% of employment in Southland and 16.3% in Taranaki, compared with 9.1% of Auckland’s economy. See MBIE’s small-business and manufacturing overview and regional advanced-manufacturing evidence.
Sarah’s focus is to make regions genuinely investable: fit-for-purpose industrial land, abundant and dependable energy, freight and digital connections, skilled people, access to research and finance, and government agencies that understand small firms. Regional manufacturing should be linked to local strengths—such as Taranaki’s engineering, energy, food and fibre, biotechnology and port capability—rather than imposed through a one-size-fits-all plan. Venture Taranaki documents the region’s current strengths and opportunities.
- Add value here: process more food, fibre, timber, minerals and other resources into branded or technically advanced products before they leave New Zealand.
- Back regional manufacturers: develop industrial locations where land, energy, infrastructure and workforce requirements can be met competitively.
- Connect research to production: turn polytechnics and research organisations into practical regional innovation partners for firms.
- Use AI and automation productively: help workers and businesses design better products, reduce waste, improve quality and reach customers—not treat technology as a substitute for making things.
- Convert trade access into sales: provide the capability, certification, finance and market intelligence that allow regional exporters to use New Zealand’s free-trade agreements.
- Invest on evidence: prioritise infrastructure that removes real bottlenecks and connects regional producers with domestic and international markets.
This direction aligns with Opportunity’s Breakthrough Economy, Abundant Energy and its call for firm-level support for research, skills, technology uptake and SME capability in the 2026 Budget Policy Statement submission.
Local Government
A genuine partnership with Wellington
Local government is not a minor administrative layer. Councils own and operate 26% of New Zealand’s infrastructure assets, worth at least $76 billion, including roads, water systems, waste services, parks and community facilities. The Auditor-General has also identified substantial financial and infrastructure pressure: council operating expenses reached $18.1 billion and debt $29.9 billion in 2023/24, while renewal backlogs remain. Read the Auditor-General’s infrastructure findings and 2024 local-government insights.
Sarah wants central government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto communities without durable funding or delivery plans. National standards can be necessary, but they should be developed with councils, funded transparently and flexible enough to reflect different places. Rural and provincial councils cannot carry metropolitan-scale compliance and infrastructure obligations on small rating bases.
City and Regional Deals show the potential of long-term collaboration, but the first signed deals in 2026 were Auckland and Western Bay of Plenty. The next phase needs transparent selection criteria and a credible pathway for every region, so regional investment does not depend on proximity to Wellington or the size of the local population. See the official City and Regional Deals framework.
- Clarify which level of government is responsible, accountable and paying for each service.
- Build a 30-year national infrastructure plan with local government, not for local government.
- Give councils predictable funding and better tools to finance long-lived infrastructure.
- Use common standards and shared capability where they reduce duplication, while keeping decisions local when communities are best placed to make them.
- Make regional-deal decisions and performance reporting public and comparable.
- Strengthen democratic participation through better consultation, civic education and representative tools such as citizens’ assemblies.
Opportunity’s published democracy and governance programme includes a jointly developed 30-year infrastructure plan, four-year local terms, ranked-choice voting, rating reform and locally supported council reorganisation. Read Opportunity’s fit-for-purpose democracy proposals.
Internal Affairs
Trusted institutions and public services that work
Internal Affairs touches people at important moments throughout their lives. Its responsibilities include passports, citizenship, births, deaths and marriages, RealMe, charities, community grants, gambling regulation, digital safety, anti-money-laundering supervision, Archives New Zealand and the National Library. See the Department of Internal Affairs’ current responsibilities.
Sarah’s focus is public trust: services that are accessible in every region, decisions people can understand, strong protection for identity information, transparent regulation and enduring access to New Zealand’s public record and documentary heritage. Digital services should make government easier to use without excluding people who lack connectivity, confidence, language support or the ability to complete everything online.
Trust also matters as government adopts AI. The Privacy Commissioner’s 2025 survey found that 62% of respondents were concerned about government agencies or businesses using AI to make decisions about people using their personal information. Innovation and privacy are not opposites; good digital government needs clear purpose, human accountability, security and meaningful ways to challenge decisions. Read the Privacy Commissioner’s survey.
- Protect the integrity, security and accessibility of identity and life-event services.
- Require responsible, transparent and privacy-protecting use of AI and personal information.
- Keep essential services available to regional, rural, disabled and digitally excluded New Zealanders.
- Maintain independent, accessible public records through Archives New Zealand and the National Library.
- Regulate gambling, digital harm, charities and anti-money-laundering obligations consistently and proportionately.
- Rebuild participation and trust by giving citizens a stronger voice in difficult, long-term decisions.
Opportunity’s Citizens’ Voice policy proposes representative citizens’ assemblies and an independent Parliamentary Commissioner to strengthen participation without replacing Parliament or elected councils.
Taranaki as a national proof point
Taranaki should be used to demonstrate what productive regional development can look like: established engineering and manufacturing skills, food and fibre production, energy expertise, a deep-water port and growing biotechnology and innovation capability. The objective is not preferential treatment for one region. It is to build a repeatable approach that helps every region identify its advantages, remove its bottlenecks and create higher-value jobs and products.
Opportunity’s published policy remains the authoritative source for detailed party positions. Sarah’s portfolio work will continue to be developed with the party, affected communities, councils, iwi, businesses and subject-matter experts.