Greg Sayers

Greg Sayers is a New Zealand local government politician for Auckland Council.
Early life and family
Greg was born in Auckland, the son of journalist, photographer and athlete Alan Sayers. He attended Auckland Grammar School where he was a school prefect and winner of the Burroughs Cup for best all-round sportsman.
Business Career
Sayers holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Auckland, as well as a New Zealand Institute of Management Diploma.
Prior to entering politics, Sayers was a Chairman of Zorb Ltd , an international adventure tourism franchisor. He also was an independent Chairman for Kiwa Digital Ltd , a digital e-book production company distributing globally.
Sayers was also the owner of Real Software Support Ltd (trading as Real NZ Software) , a trust accounting and general ledger business software development house which he sold his share in 2015.
His first business was Connexions Consulting Limited , a specialist Wellington based company implementing self-managing work teams and democracy concepts into corporations.
His earlier career was in corporate human resources management and as an industrial chemist.
Political Career
Sayers was elected as an independent candidate to the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, Auckland Council in the first-term elections of the inaugural Auckland Council “Super City” in 2010. He was re-elected for a second-term in 2013 with the highest majority vote and elected by the Local Board as the Deputy Chairperson.
He also won a seat on the Rodney Local Board, Auckland Council in 2013.
Rodney Roads
Sayers has been involved with campaigns to improve rural roading in the Rodney area, culminating in him leading the Seal Rodney Roads campaign
In response to, and in preparation for the considerable growth in, the Warkworth, Matakana, and Mahurangi areas, Sayers has also led opposition to the lack of progress to address congestion at the State Highway 1 intersection with Hill Street in Warkworth, the Puhoi-Wellsford Motorway extension to the Auckland Northern Motorway, and Matakana Road improvements.
Controversies
National Member of Parliament Alfred Ngaro proposed a private member's bill called [http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/legislation/bills/00DBHOH_BILL12999_1/local-government-auckland-council-amendment-bill-no The Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 3)], which would remove the ability of politicians to hold office in more than one local board. The bill was passed into law to prevent what Ngaro called "double-dipping," where politicians earn multiple incomes from multiple electable positions. For the October 2016 local body elections, the new law meant that Sayers could run for more that one local board but, if he obtained enough votes to be elected to more than one local board, he had to choose only one position and relinquish the others.
Sayers attracted controversy on his stance to the removal of the ban on set nets at Arkles Bay on the Hibiscus Coast. In favour of continuing an all-year ban, he criticized his colleagues on the Auckland Council’s Regulatory and Bylaws Committee for siding with uncontested evidence from officials instead of the evidence presented by many locals.
Sayers chaired a committee which passed controversial bylaws which restricted dog access to parks and beaches, infamously saying "It's a win-win-win situation which has received strong local support". The late changes to the bylaws surprised many, some calling it a flip-flop compared to the previous position, which favoured relaxing the rules". A bitter letter writing campaign to local newspapers accused the local board members of being manipulated by a small group composed of environmentalists, bird watchers, and wowsers. Similar campaigns by the same small group have also lobbied for restrictions on motorhomers.
Community Involvement
Sayers is involved in the not-for-profit sector as a voluntary board member on the community health organisation Health Link North (Rodney). He is a voluntary Board member of the New Zealand Police aligned organisation Neighbourhood Support (Rodney) and a committee member of the New Zealand Police Rodney Crime Prevention Group.
He’s also a yachtsman, holds a Boatmaster ticket, and is a member of the Auckland Rotary Club since 1999.

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