EASTLAND COMMUNITY TRUST

Transcription

1 DRAFT MINUTES FROM THE ANNUAL MEETING OF BENEFICIARIES OF THE EASTLAND COMMUNITY TRUST Held on Wednesday 16 August 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at Eastland Community Trust offices 260 Gladstone Road, Gisborne. PRESENT: Trustees: Michael Muir (Chairman), Paul Reynolds, Meng Foon, Ailsa Cuthbert, Te Rau Kupenga and John Clarke. IN ATTENDANCE: Staff: Gavin Murphy (CEO), Leighton Evans, Yvonne Berry, Audine Grace-Kutia, Kerry Donovan, Jacque White and Peter Varey Beneficiaries: 31 beneficiaries as per the attendance record. Quorum The Secretary confirmed after reviewing the attendance record that a quorum was present and the meeting could commence. Welcome Michael Muir opened the meeting and welcomed those in attendance. 1. APOLOGIES Jill Chrisp, Te Aturangi Nepia-Clamp, Roland Matthews and Pat Seymour. Moved by Matt Todd, seconded Philip Searle. That the apologies be accepted. 2. MINUTES Copies of the minutes of the Annual Meeting held 17th August 2016, having been provided to all attendees, it was: Moved by Rehette Stoltz, seconded John Clarke That the minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Trust held on the 17th August 2016 as circulated be confirmed as a true and correct record. Noted in previous minutes Winston Moreton at top of page 2 was spelt incorrectly. 3. MATTERS ARISING Nil Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries of the Eastland Community Trust 16 August Page 1 of 4

2 4. CHAIRMAN S REPORT The Chairman delivered his verbal report. Highlights were: The Income from the Trust was ahead of the budget submitted to Council with the Trust s Statement of Intent by $3.143m. The Trust received $8.265m in dividends and interest from Eastland Group. As noted in the report, the work at Prime is now beginning to bear fruit. To date, this investment has generated 20 jobs directly, with a further 80 jobs likely in the coming 12 months. Prime SPV Ltd has entered negotiations for the sale and purchase of the sawmill plant, equipment and selected buildings. The Trust s economic development has been paralleled by its community work. In the year, over $4.3 million was given to 61 community organisations. Tribute was paid to Nelson Cull who retired as a director and chairman of Eastland Group at the company s AGM. Nelson joined the board, and was appointed Chairman, in He had made a huge contribution to the company and had been thanked and wished well for the future. One of the requirements of the Trust Deed is that trustees should, at the expiration of each period of 3 years, review their continued holding of the investment in the Eastland Group. This review has been undertaken by Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The report concluded that, over time, the investment has performed well and has the fundamentals in place to continue to do so. As such, there was no immediate or urgent need to alter the investment in Eastland Group or its subsidiaries. However, the report also identified that as with any business- there are risks and opportunities which could impact Eastland Group in the future which might require the investment to be restructured in some way. Thanks were given to trustees and staff at ECT and Activate Tairawhiti. A special tribute was paid to retiring trustees Philip Searle and Vicki Thorpe for their passion and dedication to the Trust and the community. 5. EASTLAND GROUP PRESENTATION A YEAR OF EXPANSION. The Group CEO delivered an overview of the company and annual activity. annual report and statement of intent discussion. Highlights were: Total Income $76.2m; Distribution to Shareholder $9.9m; Profit $14.8m; Total Assets $481m; Capital Spend $72.2m; Invested in Region $28.7m. Construction of Te Ahi o Maui well underway. $5 m investment in Flick. Commitment to at least 75% non-commercial fleet electric by Electric Village nearly complete. Launch of Port twin berth development. Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries of the Eastland Community Trust 16 August Page 2 of 4

3 6. ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF INTENT DISCUSSION The Chairman spoke to the Annual Report and Statement of Intent, highlighting the importance of the SOI and the role Council played in this process. Questions were invited from the floor on the presentations or SOI. Winston Moreton queried the funding going from the Trust to the Eastland Group for the Electric Village. Matt Todd explained that the Group had made an application that outlined the public benefit of the Electric Village and trustees recognised this with funding support. A $2m distribution to ENCT was also queried. This was noted as an internal process to provide grant funding to charitable organisations efficiently. Colin Sowersby raised the questions he had supplied in writing prior to the meeting. The Chairman s responses were: Activate Tairawhiti will remain some form of entity separate to ECT, the sale of the Prime mill site was not completed yet, the Air NZ funding provided was for the marketing campaign and there is no regular funding provided to AirNZ and $3.4m was made available to the Navigations project. Rick Thorpe queried the Trust s role in economic development asking, at what level of unemployment would ECT stop supporting economic development given the low unemployment? Why invest in more business when existing businesses are struggling to find workers? Chairman responded that there is no set amount. CEO added - why not both? create jobs and attract/develop new workers. Steve Breen, Activate Tairawhiti stated investing in developing and attracting talent is a key part of the work being done. Ron Elder asked why EGL had not invested in rail? Matt Todd responded that the company mandate from the Trust was to invest in commercial assets and he had never seen a commercial business case that justified the investment 7. MOTIONS 7.1. Financial Statements and Annual Report Moved by Joe Martin, seconded John Clarke That the Eastland Community Trust and Group Financial Statements and Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2017 be received and noted Appointment of Auditor Moved by John Clarke, seconded Rehette Stoltz That the recommendation of the trustees to reappoint Deloitte as the Trust s auditor for the period from the conclusion of this Annual Meeting until the conclusion of the next Annual Meeting be approved. An additional motion was proposed by Winston Moreton. Change of Auditor Moved by Winston Moreton, seconded Jackie Dobson Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries of the Eastland Community Trust 16 August Page 3 of 4

4 That in accordance with good governance the trustees seek a replacement Auditor for the financial year commencing 1 April Following discussion by those in attendance the motion was put to the vote. DEFEATED 7.3. Audit Fee Moved by Andrew Gaddum, seconded Meng Foon That the remuneration of the Auditor for the period from the conclusion of this Annual Meeting until the conclusion of the next Annual Meeting, having been estimated at $25,000 plus GST and disbursements for Eastland Community Trust and $297,000 plus GST and disbursements for the Group, be: i. In the case of ECT, fixed by trustees, and ii. In the case of Eastland Group Limited, fixed by the directors of Eastland Group Limited and approved by trustees in their capacity as shareholders 7.4. Statement of intent Moved Paul Reynolds, seconded Joe Martin That the Statement of Intent for the 2017/18 year be received and noted. 8. GENERAL BUSINESS Philip Seale and Vicki Thorpe were acknowledged, having retired as trustees in June, and the Chairman presented certificates of appreciation. Meredith Akuhata-Brown asked about how the Trust measures the impact of the grant programme and particularly poverty or inequality. The CEO responded that we are trying to measure outcomes and change but this was still a work in progress. Huia White Thanked the Trust for the grant to Gizzy School Lunches and talked to the impact it was having. Malcolm McLean thanked the Trust for the job being done and favoured what we were doing over receiving a power rebate. Jeremy Muir If people want to influence the Trust to offer rebates, what was the Council process to influence the SOI? Nedine Thatcher-Swann, Council CEO, responded that any submission would need to be received by Council by December. Simon Cave spoke to the original set up and that rebates were considered but not supported, hence a community trust not a consumer trust was set up. 9. CLOSE OF MEETING The Chairman thanked the members of the public for their attendance. There being no further business the meeting closed at 6.30 p.m.... Confirmed... Date Annual Meeting of Beneficiaries of the Eastland Community Trust 16 August Page 4 of 4

5 EASTLAND COMMUNITY TRUST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 16 AUGUST 2017 MEETING ATTENDANCE RECORD Beneficiaries: 1. Ailsa Cuthbert 2. Michael Muir 3. John Clarke 4. Yvonne Berry 5. Gavin Murphy 6. Kerry Donovan 7. Ron Elder 8. Te Raumawhitu Kupenga 9. Winston Hindmarsh 10. Sandra Matthews 11. Brent Stewart 12. Rehette Stoltz 13. Phillida Eivers 14. Adam Lynch 15. Peter Varey 16. Joe Martin 17. Malcolm Maclean 18. Fiona Evans 19. Katherine Evett 20. Cherith Evans 21. Suzanne Winterflood 22. Terry Sheldrake 23. Colin Sowersby 24. Paul Reynolds 25. Anne Muir 26. Andrew Ashton 27. Jackie Dobson 28. Phil McLeod 29. Steferl Gordon 30. Gordon Webb 31. Rick Thorpe 32. David Hall 33. Meredith Akuhata-Brown 34. Philip Searle 35. Matanuku Mahika 36. Bridgett Penny 37. Rev Jack Smith 38. Mayor Meng Foon 39. Leighton Evans 40. Jacque White 41. Audine Grace-Kutia