Gary Rooney to the rescue. The South Island businessman has had a year of charging in to save ailing programmes; while his efforts haven’t all come off, they've certainly done his public image no harm.
In August last year Rooney announced he would underwrite the Hunter Downs water scheme, which was struggling after the government backed away from funding it earlier in the year. Rooney’s $18.5 million offer buoyed farmers and local politicians, who heaped him with praise for the move. However, it turned out to be not quite enough as farmers – presumably still wary after the government funding cut – declined to provide enough investor funding for it to go forward.
Undeterred, Rooney soon switched his attention to the remarkable, yet dilapidated, 1906 Quinn’s Arcade building in downtown Waimate. Rooney’s Waimate Property Holdings bought the Historic Place Category 2 arcade, which is rundown and tattered, with the intention of restoring it to its former glory. The purchase followed on from the company earlier announcing a long-term project to revitalise Waimate’s CBD. To date, it has demolished a vacant and earthquake-prone building on Queen St, is redeveloping the Waimate Hotel and has received permission to remove three Category C historic buildings in the area.
On a personal level, a cloud over Rooney’s head lifted after a Fish and Game audit absolved him of any conflicts of interest during his time as chairman of Central South Island Fish and Game. The audit came after complaints about Rooney’s business activities while he was in the role from 1999 to 2018. It found he had acted appropriately, although it did advise CSI Fish and Game to better manage perception of such risks in the future.
Rooney started Rooney Earthmoving in 1976 with a single bulldozer. The group has grown to encompass irrigation, pipe and cable laying, transportation and dairy farming as well. It employs over 300 people, with Rooney still very much a hands-on presence.
He also has a growing portfolio of dairy farms. Four high country stations are used by his Kiwi Safaris hunting business, which charges up to $17,450 for a top-line 'Four of the Best' package.
Rooney’s daughter Natalie is a talented trap shooter. Once ranked world No 1, she took home a silver medal from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. She recently opened up her own shooting range for other aspiring trap shooters, a first for her hometown of Timaru.
2018: $120 million