The 27th Annual General Meeting of Summerfruit New Zealand was held on Wednesday, 9 June in Napier and online via Zoom.
There were 44 voting members in total; 21 in attendance in Napier, 20 members voted by proxy and 3 members via Zoom. Other people attending were exporters, industry observers and staff.
We’d be pleased to receive AGM attendees’ feedback on how it went – we’re interested in hearing your perspectives on the online voting system and any other feedback you have. Please email your feedback here.
The following results from members in the room, on Zoom, and proxy voting have been confirmed and are final.
Resolution 1
That the minutes of the AGM of Summerfruit New Zealand held on 15 July 2020 be taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record of that meeting.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 1 | Number of votes | Hectares | Outcome |
| For | 28 | 804 |
Carried |
| Against | 0 | 0 | |
| Abstain | 2 | 74 |
Resolution 2
That the Annual Report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2020 be accepted as tabled.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 2 | Number of votes | Hectares | Outcome |
| For | 40 | 1,094 |
Carried |
| Against | 0 | 0 | |
| Abstain | 0 | 0 |
Resolution 3
That the Board appoint BDO as financial auditors for the 2020-21 year.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 3 | Number of votes | Hectares | Outcome |
| For | 36 | 910 |
|
| Against | 0 | 0 | |
| Abstain | 2 | 51 |
Resolution 4
That the levy rate for the Commodity Levies (Summerfruit) Order 2020 for the 2020-21 year shall remain:
i. 1.5% (plus GST) for peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots and the hybrids thereof;
ii. 0.75% (plus GST) for cherries; and
iii. 0.5% (plus GST) for processed fruit excluding fruit sold to Heinz Wattie’s Ltd for processing.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 4 | Number of votes | Hectares | Outcome |
| For | 37 | 1,007 |
Carried |
| Against | 0 | 0 | |
| Abstain | 0 | 0 |
Resolution 5
That the Biosecurity Levy rate shall remain set at 0.05%.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 5 | Number of votes | Hectares | Outcome |
| For | 37 | 1,007 |
Carried |
| Against | 0 | 0 | |
| Abstain | 0 | 0 |
Please note that as resolutions 6 to 8 are Constitutional votes, members have one vote each.
Resolution 6
That the following alteration to the Constitution and Rules of Summerfruit New Zealand Inc be adopted.
Current clause 7.9 to be deleted and replaced with the proposed clause 7.9 following.
Current clause
7.9 Any instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited with the Society at its registered office at least 24 hours prior to the meeting to which the proxy relates. The form of proxy shall be in the form attached hereto as Schedule 2, or in similar form thereto.
Proposed clause
7.9 Any instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited with the Society by electronic means, to the email address provided at Schedule 2, at least 48 hours prior to the meeting to which the proxy relates. The form of proxy shall be in the form attached hereto as Schedule 2, or in similar form thereto.
Note
Schedule 2 shall be amended to include the admin@summerfruitnz.co.nz email address for email and timing to allow for lodgement of proxies.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 6 | Number of voters | Total votes | Outcome |
| For | 43 | 43 |
Carried |
| Against | 0 | 0 | |
| Abstain | 0 | 0 |
Resolution 7
That the following alteration to the Constitution and Rules of Summerfruit New Zealand Inc be adopted.
Current clause 8.1 to be deleted and replaced with the proposed clause 8.1 following.
Current clause
8. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
8.1 The Board shall comprise eight Directors, being five Producer/Associate Directors and three Exporter Directors The committee shall not comprise of more than one Associate Director at any one time.
(a) Producer and Associate Directors shall be elected by postal ballot, conducted amongst all members across those classes.
(b) Exporter Directors shall be appointed by the Summerfruit Exporters Committee.
Proposed clause
8. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
8.1 The Board shall comprise eight Directors, being five Producer/Associate Directors and three Exporter Directors. The committee shall not comprise of more than one Associate Director at any one time.
(a) Producer and Associate Directors shall be elected by electronic ballot, conducted amongst all members across those classes.
(b) Exporter Directors shall be appointed by the Summerfruit Exporters Committee.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 7 | Number of voters | Total votes | Outcome |
| For | 42 | 42 |
Carried |
| Against | 1 | 1 | |
| Abstain | 0 | 0 |
Resolution 8
That the following alteration to the Constitution and Rules of Summerfruit New Zealand Inc be adopted.
Current clause 8.2 to be deleted and replaced with the proposed clause 8.2 following and the addition of a new clause as 8.3 as proposed.
Current clause
8.2 The Board shall have the power to second any person or persons, whether a Member or not, to serve on the Board. That Member shall act in an advisory capacity only, shall have no voting rights, nor be counted in any quorum required for any meeting of the Board.
Proposed clause
8.2 The Board shall have the power to second any person or persons, whether a Member or not, to serve on the Board, to a maximum of three seconded Directors. That Member shall have full Director’s Rights, including voting rights, and shall be counted in any quorum required for any meeting of the Board.
Proposed NEW clause
8.3 The Board shall have the power to second any person or persons, whether a Member or not, to serve on the Board, as an observer or specialist. Such secondees shall act in an advisory capacity only, shall have no voting rights, nor be counted in any quorum required for any meeting of the Board.
Moved by: Summerfruit NZ Board
| Resolution 8 | Number of voters | Total votes | Outcome |
| For | 39 | 39 |
Carried |
| Against | 1 | 1 | |
| Abstain | 0 | 0 |
2020 AGM minutes
A copy of the 2020 AGM minutes can be downloaded here.
Annual report
A copy of the Annual Report for the year ended 31 August 2020 can be downloaded here.
Apricot Co Interim Board chairman's report
A copy of the report can be downloaded here.
Voting entitlement process
To be eligible to vote at the AGM, Producer Members were requested to declare their planted hectares completely and correctly by 22 March. Once all the declarations were checked and verified, a certificate indicating the number of votes the member has was emailed to them on 12 May.