Hello I'm Sarah, a professional coach, community advocate, mother and resident of Venus Bay. I've also been a South Gippsland Shire Councillor for the past three years.

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I prioritise and advocate for planning and infrastructure that values our natural assets and supports sustainable growth and development.​

 

I know how to advocate within bureaucratic environments and have established relationships across all levels of government and agencies who manage this region alongside council. Whether in the council chamber or in Canberra I work collaboratively; mud slinging and divisive politics are not and will never be my style.

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I am standing for council to be a strong representative voice for South Gippsland.

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As we all know, South Gippsland has been hit hard with multiple severe storms, sadly managing storm damage and clean up is becoming part of our business as usual and I'm proud of the work the organisation has done to adapt.

 

During my term I sat on the Municipal Association of Victoria  (MAV) Emergency Management committee and the South Gippsland Shire Audit and Risk Committee and have a sound working knowledge of the local, state and national disaster planning space. I've met with all levels of government to advocate the needs of regional communities, for our farmers, towns and businesses, particularly those of us without mains water, for low lying coastal, high fire risk and flood impacted areas.

 

I was part of developing local Emergency management plans in key vulnerable communities, I'd like to see these local plans done in conjunction with local emergency service volunteers across our whole shire. Most of us know what power outages, storms and resilience actally mean by now, Our communities know what they need and local EM plans help connect our emergency service volunteers to each other and to resources.

 

I've been a part of a number of community energy resilience building projects and a driver of our award-winning coastal strategy, winning the Planning Institute of Australia Award for resilience and climate change. I've joined forces with Victorian Coastal Councils to advocate to the state and federal governments for investment in adaptation planning and get us out of the cycle of response not mitigation. We don't want insurance to be the only driver of conversations about what our future looks like.

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I see exciting times ahead for South Gippsland if we play it smart and work together. I love everything about this place, even the hard, messy problems.

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We face social, environmental and economic change with South Gippsland at the centre of the national energy transition and there's a lot changing in the agricultural land use space across the state already. I'm here to find the ways where we stay true to who we are and take advantage of the economic opportunities that come with new industry setting up in our patch. Barry Beach will be playing a key role in offshore wind, Marinus link hits land at Waratah Bay, we've got oil and gas decommissioning in Corner Inlet, wind farms East of the Prom and all sorts to be proactive about.  We are increasingly important as a key national food bowl, there's a lot to protect for future generations in the agricultural and environmental space.

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It's time to address the big challenges so we can grow sustainably and not lose our way of life.

 

Change can be scary but I believe it offers a unique opportunity. Lets champion a new story that celebrates all that we are: a melting pot of agriculture, tourism, business, arts and nature. Our small towns are our strength so making sure we are careful about where and how we grow is crucial. Nyora is already growing, that makes sense, but we are also going to have to accommodate workers and growth around our coastline and this is where you want me at the table.

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STANDING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS.

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VOTE 1. SARAH GILLIGAN 

I'm not doing preference deals, I think you can make up your own mind about who to vote for but if you want to know how I'm voting? Me, Emma and Scott are a good mix. I'll leave the rest to you.  NUMBER ALL THE BOXES OR YOUR VOTE WON'T COUNT!!!

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I acknowledge and pay my respects to the Gunaikurnai, the Bunurong and the Boon Wurrung peoples who have significant cultural connection to this place and recognise that they have a unique relationship with the land and water.

 

Authorised by S.Gilligan, PO Box 457, Tarwin Lower, 3956

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