With only 2 days remaining in the AECT election a disappointing 14.65% of eligible voters have so far returned postal ballots to decide the 5 trustees of the Trust. At the same time in the 2003 election the turnout was only slightly better at 17.5%.  Independent Candidate Pippa Coom, a lawyer who previously worked at Vector, visited nearly the whole Trust area over the course of her campaign and found a high level of ignorance about the Trust and very little awareness about the election.

 ”Voter apathy is a real concern but can be explained by the fact most people do not realise they are beneficiaries of a Trust which this year received income of $98m and has an asset valued at approximately $1.5bn. The current Trustees have clearly not being doing enough to communicate their role and to justify excessive Trustee fees” said Ms Coom

 ”The election has given me the opportunity to attend community meetings all over Manukau City. It has convinced me that you can’t beat face to face communication with the beneficiaries of the Trust.  I have been overwhelmed by the warm reception I have received and if elected will be heading straight back to South Auckland to start a conversation about what the community could best do with the $98m dividend”

 “I feel very fortunate to have been made redundant from Vector at the beginning of the year. Without that push I would not have thrown myself into working for the transition town movement through Grey Lynn 2030 nor with the support of Grey Lynn 2030 pursued the idea to run as an independent candidate with aim of putting community into the Trust and setting a sustainable direction for Vector.” said Ms Coom

 Suzanne Kendrick, steering committee member has really seen Grey Lynn 2030 grow from strength to strength in the first year of the group. “In only one year we have achieved so much through practical action in our community. We now have about 800 supporters on our contact list. The Grey Lynn Farmers Market is one of our biggest success stories. From one of our monthly meetings volunteers got together to make it happen and after 8 weeks of being open, the market is hugely popular for locals and is already running at a profit.  We have other groups focusing on stream restoration, minimising waste, community gardens, traffic calming – all through a shared positive vision to make our community sustainable.” said Ms Kendrick 

“If Pippa gets elected – and if the feedback I am receiving is anything to go by it is looking very likely that she will become a new trustee – it will be fantastic way to celebrate Grey Lynn 2030’s first anniversary. It will really show what can be achieved in the community when a group of people decide to make an idea a reality – after all it all comes back to us as a community, we have to appreciate how much power is in the hands of the community if people get into action” said Ms Kendrick

Ends

Your voting papers should have arrived for the AECT election.  Please use them don’t just recycle them.

Vote for our Grey Lynn 2030 Steering Committee member, Pippa Coom

Voters not aware of their valuable asset

Only 21% of eligible voters cast their votes in the last election for the trustees of the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust in 2006.  This low turnout is surprising because the asset of the Trust is worth approximately $1.5 billion – a 75.1% holding in Vector Ltd. The Trust received a $98 million dividend from its shareholding in Vector.  The low turnout is because power bill holders are unaware of the fact they are beneficiaries of the Trust and the important role that the trustees play in managing such a sizeable asset on behalf of electricity consumers.

Voting papers will be arriving in mail boxes in the Trust district from Friday 16 October and independent candidate, Ms Coom is taking steps to ensure that voters know about the election by visiting all of the super city–sized voting district over the next two weeks.

“It’s always harder for an independent to get elected but I think it is worthwhile getting out there so that voters know about their Trust, their ownership of a valuable and essential power asset as well as their option to vote for a credible, community focused, non-political candidate as one of the five Trustees” said Ms Coom, a corporate lawyer, most recently at Vector Ltd.   “Quite frankly, I have no idea why the political parties are so involved in these kinds of elections – especially for a non-political issue such as electricity supply.  I would have thought the main criteria for elect-ability was competence to address relevant issues rather than association with voting blocs” she said.

Trust beneficiaries have recently been paid a dividend of $320 by the Trust but the majority are still confused about where it comes from. Common misconceptions are that the money is paid by retail companies, the defunct power board or even one of the party tickets.

“We are entering a unique period in Auckland’s governance history with the implementation of the super city structure.  I think it is vitally important that Auckland’s energy consumers have someone on the board of trustees who is able to think about what is best for their interests without having to follow party allegiances” said Ms Coom.

Contact details

Pippa Coom
021 926 618
pippacoom@gmail.com
www.pippacoom.co.nz
twitter.com/pippacoom

Notes:

Profile -  Pippa Coom LLB (hons) Otago

Pippa has hands on experience of the energy sector and regulated industries. She is a corporate lawyer with over 15 years experience most recently at Vector – the Trust’s key asset.

Pippa has a life -long involvement involvement in community organisations. Her current work is focused on developing sustainable communities as part of Grey Lynn 2030: transition community, Cycle Action Auckland, Frocks on Bikes, and 350 Aotearoa (climate change action).

Pippa is standing as an independent candidate with the support of Grey Lynn 2030: Transition Community.

Come along to our Annual General Meeting and Special General Meeting

Date: 28th of October

Where: Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Rd. Same venue as the market
Time: 07:30 – 09:00pm

It’s a great chance to get to know other members and join in on a night of music, organic wine and kokako catering. Gardening personality Linda Hallinan is speaking, and there’s a couple of short films from The Outlook for Someday sustainability film challenge.

Not to mention lots of spot prizes from stallholders and local businesses, including wine giveaways, Yoga Ground and il buco vouchers and Weatherfield organic seedlings.

It’s also a chance to be involved in electing the Market’s official management committee (see below). To date the market has been run by an interim management team. We’re in need of keen beans to help keep the momentum of the Market going, particularly people with marketing and organizational experience.

We are now calling for Management Committee nominations

What is the Management Committee?

A small group of up to nine un-paid individuals who are passionate about the Grey Lynn Community and prepared to give up to three hours per week for the cause in addition to attending meetings as required.

How do I get involved?

Write a half page brief about yourself addressing the following:

1. What you can offer as a member of the GLFM  Management Committee.
2. Why you want to be involved.
3. What your vision is for the market.
4. How much time per week can you commit?

You can format your own submission or simply complete the attached template. Please submit all nominations to greylynnfarmersmarket@gmail.com by the 21st of October. These nominations, along with the AGM agenda, will then be circulated to all members for consideration before the AGM.

Thank you for your continued support – See you at the Market on Sunday.

The Interim Management Committee

Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market

Hey GL 2030ers,

We have sold out! All the Food Inc movie tickets are gone for our event tonight. Thanks so much for those who have supported us.

Scroll down the blog pages or click here if you want more info on the film.

The film goes on general release around New Zealand from October 22nd.