Meet Pereen Singh, a practicing solicitor and independent candidate for Community Board in the Halswell ward, Christchurch. Singh, who is of Punjabi descent, is dedicated to improving daily living through significant policy changes and increasing diversity in communities.

Singh is a practising property and commercial solicitor at Parry Field Lawyers in Christchurch. Born in Malaysia, Singh moved to New Zealand with her family when she was 10. The Singh family is Sikh and originates from Punjab; they emigrated to Malaysia in the 1940s.

Among the youngest candidates, Singh is just 24 years old. Despite her youth, she is passionate about solving problems, and as a practising solicitor, she understands how important it is to provide effective representation.

Halswell is one of the fastest growing residential suburbs of Christchurch, with subdivisions extending in all directions. It has an estimated population of about 10,000.

Singh wants Halswell and Christchurch to be amongst the best places in New Zealand for a family to raise a child, work, and live. She claims that to do this, the community needs strong local leadership that gets the fundamentals right and makes sure that the proper choices are made now so that future generations won't suffer the consequences. She says, "I will ensure every dollar spent is invested in areas that genuinely benefit our community, both now and into the future."

According to Singh, greater emphasis must be placed on core services that are not being delivered efficiently or effectively. This includes the need for the roads, footpaths, infrastructure and parks to be maintained properly and efficiently.

There is also a dire need to have more investment in the city. The council needs to lobby more actively for Christchurch's role as a business and tourist-friendly city.

Singh also wants to improve the public transport system by making it more accessible and efficiently utilised.

"I would encourage more young people to get involved because it gives them the opportunity to be involved in local decision making and to help foster an environment where young people want to live and work long-term."

For Christchurch, one of Singh's key focuses is efficient traffic management. As Halswell, Lincoln, Rolleston etc, are rapidly growing, more and more people are coming through Halswell to access the city.

"We must ensure our roads and public transport system can deal with this expansion. We also have several dangerous intersections in the area - Halswell Junction Rd/Springs Road is noted in the top 100 dangerous intersections in the city, and there are also concerns regarding the sparks road intersection. More needs to be done to ensure our roads are safer."

Additionally, Singh recognises that we must engage with all groups in our communities and facilitate open discussions, such as hosting events with various community organisations and associations, meeting with community leaders and representatives, and hosting public meetings, among other activities. We must embrace our growing diversity and the opportunities that come with that.

When asked why she chose to contest as an independent candidate, Singh says, "National politics has no place in local politics and Wellington should not have any influence on what happens at a local level. If elected, the only person I will be accountable to is the voter - not any political party. That is the way it should be."