OTAGO NATURAL HISTORY TRUST Minutes of the 14th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Held at 7.30pm on 20th. July 2016 at the Marjorie Barclay Theatre, Otago Museum, Dunedin. Present: Neville Peat (chair), Ross Smith (treasurer), Alyth Grant (secretary), Alan Mark, Pat Mark, Richard Higham, Jane Higham, Jean Bretherton, Scott Jarvie, John Burton, David Smith, Barrie Foote, Alister Robinson, Tony Stewart, Mary Seelye, Alison Cree, Francie Beggs, Sue Hensley, Ken Drew, Neil Kinniburgh, Linda Kinniburgh, Steve Walker, mary Tompson, Errol Nye, Noelene Evans, Alan Baker, Kelvin Lloyd, John Kaiser, Wendy Harrex, Jenny Longstaff, Margaret mcfarlane, Rob RaillBob?, Michael Fay, Noelene Glass, Colin Campbell-Hunt, Marian Hobbs, Maree Johnstone, Mike Hazel 1. Welcome. Neville extended a warm welcome to all members who had ventured out on a wild night. 2. Apologies: Marie Ballagh, Stan Rodger, Malcolm Farry, Sally Kendall, Ian and Shirley Fleming, D H McMaster, Claire Hagglund, Eion Edgar, Sally Kendall, Colin Weatherall, Phillipa Wilson, Lala Frazer, Claire Freeman, Lyn Carter, Bruce & Sue Cathro, Valerie Fay, Denise Hesson. It was moved by Colin Campbell-Hunt and seconded by Sir Alan Mark that the apologies be accepted 3. Minutes of the A.G.M of 22nd July 2015. The minutes, having been circulated in advance of the meeting were taken as read. It was moved by Jane Higham and seconded by Alister Robinson that the minutes be accepted as a true and correct record of the meeting 4. Matters Arising. NIL 5. Chairman's Report for 2015-2016. Neville Peat read his report for the year. (attached & on website) It was moved by Neville Peat and seconded by Marian Hobbs that the chairperson s report be received 6. Orokonui Ecosanctuary Ltd. (OEL) report. Andrew Noone, Chair of the OEL, reported on the work of the OEL for the year, as follows: Andrew thanked Neville for the special contribution he has made to the project as Chairman. reflecting on the death of and contribution of Roy Shanks to the OEL, he highlighted Roy s vision that it should be possible to see a kiwi at Orokonui, a goal that is still being aimed for. acknowledged the contribution of the staff, and in particular that of ranger Matt Thomson, who left in the course of the year acknowledged the huge input from Elton Smith during the stoat problem, a very stressful period, when teamwork was essential. He noticed the importance of caring for staff welfare in such stressful situations.
government health & safety regulations having been tightened, our H&S plan has been revised accordingly it had been disappointing that the planned Sirocco visit was suspended for the year due to pressure on DOC resources during the kakapo breeding season but it was hoped that 2017 may see him back importance of the bi-annual meetings between the two boards acknowledged Chris s successes in acquiring funding for numerous projects. We are fortunate to have someone of her calibre as General Manager a special person doing a special job. It was moved by Neville Peat and seconded by Mike Hazel that Andrew s report be accepted 7. Annual Accounts were presented by Ross Smith (Treasurer). These are available in detail on the website. Ross apologised for the late posting of these, due to the time that had been required by the auditors to complete their task. A new reporting requirement is the inclusion of a Statement of Service Performance. This sets out the non financial targets the Trust has achieved during the year. The targets are based on the Trust s objectives as set out in the Trust Deed. A summary of Ross s interpretation of the accounts: Revenue: looks good, but cash is the important thing. VC income is up slightly (if the Sirocco effect from previous year is omitted) Café has made a valuable contribution, turning around previous losses. This year a $14,000 profit (after deducting wages and overheads) Shop: revenue up by $12,000. It is a good income source for us. Venue hire: slightly down in a very competitive market. Entry fees: significantly up ($154,000 this year compared to $127,000 last year excluding Sirocco). DOC grant income down $18,000 this year but still a significant contributor Donations: includes $100,000 from Ian Campbell and $37,000 donated to the Foundation. Grants & sponsorship: down $48,000 but this reflects fewer projects undertaken that required grant funding. Last year DOC provided a $42,000 reimbursement of Kiwi crèche expenses. We are still dependent on grants. Membership: up slightly. The annual pass has been successful in bringing in new members. Volunteer hours volunteers make a significant contribution of over 12,000 hours per annum. If this is costed at $25 per hour it equates to over $300,000 in labour. Looking ahead, Ross anticipated the need for expansion of VC facilities if visitor numbers continue to grow. The gradual, but pleasing growth gives us time for controlled planning. Surplus before depreciation was $96,000 which was down slightly on the previous year. Additional costs this year included the stoat incursion $9,000 (this does not include the staff cost involved) and a salary adjustment for staff the first adjustment for one staff member in over five years. Maintenance is up to date. Cash in bank: cash plus deposits were $326,000 including $100,000 in the Foundation. This is an increase of $95,000 over the previous year.
OEL has $220,000 on term deposit. These funds are being held in anticipation of the likely need to expand the VC to cater for increasing visitor numbers and as a buffer. A 10 year spatial plan is being formulated. Initial data collection shows that if visitor numbers continue at the current rate there will be 45,000 within 10 years the VC was built to handle 25,000 visitors. We are in a strong financial position, but cannot rest. Things can change quickly. Budget: have budgeted conservatively for a $25,000 profit, not stinting on anything required for conservation work. It was moved by Ross Smith and seconded by Alister Robinson that the audited annual accounts be accepted Auditors. Ross reported that the auditors, Price Waterhouse Cooper, had been fully satisfied with the accounts for the current year. It was moved by Ross Smith and seconded by Alister Robinson that Price Waterhouse Cooper be appointed as auditor for 2016-2017 financial year Neville thanked Ross for the job he has done on our behalf. APPLAUSE 8. Election of Trustees. Three vacancies arose from the three-year rotation of trustees Neville Peat, Alyth Grant and Graeme Leith. 3 nominations were received for those vacancies. Nominations had been received for Marian Hobbs Tony Stewart Errol Nye Neville read out a short statement from each nominee. (attached) It was moved by Neville Peat and seconded by Steve Walker that we fill the three vacancies with the three nominees 9. Membership Subscriptions: recommendation from the ONHT Trust board is to keep the subscriptions the same as in the previous year. Annual passes include membership. It was moved by Neville Peat and seconded by Jenny Longstaff that the subscription remain the same. 10. General Business. It was moved by Chris Baillie and seconded by Jean Bretherton that Neville Peat be made an honorary life member in recognition of the extraordinary contribution he has made as Chairman of ONHT. WITH ACCLAMATION Chris presented Neville with a watercolour painting of the Ecosanctuary done by Canterbury artist Ben Woollcombe on the occasion of the royal visit 2016. She also presented outgoing secretary Alyth Grant with a framed photograph of a tui by Craig Mackenzie
The formal part of the meeting closed at 8.30pm. Signed... Date... Following the formal part of the meeting, Professor Alison Cree and postgraduate student Scott Jarvie spoke on their research on Tuatara at Orokonui over the four year period since the tuatara release. Statements by the nominees for the vacant positions on the Trust board: MARIAN HOBBS Within twelve months of our settling in Dunedin we joined Orokonui Ecosanctuary and began volunteering. Living in Wellington 1999 to 2008, I was a frequent visitor to the then Karori Sanctuary and came to see how important such sanctuaries were to our conservation effort. I value Orokonui as a conservation project. To expand the effect of conservation, I also strongly support the Operation Halo project, our education work and our partnership with the science community. I bring strong governance experience to the Board. Marian L Hobbs TONY STEWART From the time the fence went up, I have been a volunteer at Orokonui, typically two days each week. I started on track clearing then graduated to mousing, culvert fixing, and numerous other activities. As my background is in physics and information technology, I take a particular interest in things technical for example the electronics in the fence surveillance system, and mapping (GIS). Currently I am working with a year 13 student from King s High to build a system to monitor gates in the kiwi crèche fence, a system that could cheaply be extended to monitor other things around the sanctuary. ERROL NYE Dr Errol Nye is an ecologist with 20 years of experience in the conservation field, with a keen interest in avian issues. In 2004 he completed a PhD at the University of Sydney on the ecology of threatened waterbirds in Australia, and subsequently worked in academic, government and private institutions throughout Australia. In 2008 he moved to New Zealand and took up a position with the Department of Conservation s Kakapo Recovery Programme, where he worked with this threatened species on offshore island sanctuaries. In 2014 Errol moved to Dunedin to start a family. He has previous experience working with Orokonui, including being the handler and tour guide for the Sirocco Kakapo experience, as well as being an advisor to the ONHT board. He is a keen supporter of wildlife conservation and excited about the initiatives that Orokonui offers in species repatriation, research and education to the Dunedin city and wider South Island community.