CANDIDATE HANDBOOK 2021 Triennial Elections - Line Trust South Canterbury
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CANDIDATE HANDBOOK 2021 Triennial Elections
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. GENERAL INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LINETRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
TRUSTEE MEETINGS AND REMUNERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. ELECTION PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4. CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
ELIGIBILITY TO BE A TRUSTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
DUTIES OF TRUSTEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
CESSATION OF TRUSTEESHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. NOMINATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
NOMINATION DOCUMENTS AND CLOSING DATE FOR NOMINATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
CANDIDATE PROFILE STATEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
PROCEDURES AFTER THE CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6. ELECTION CAMPAIGNING AND HOARDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
CAMPAIGNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
ELECTION HOARDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
7. ELECTORAL ROLL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
8. SPECIAL VOTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 LINE TRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY1. INTRODUCTION
This booklet outlines information which may be of interest to you as a candidate for the 2021 LineTrust South
Canterbury (LTSC) Trustee election.
The Trust area covers most of the South Canterbury province and is divided into three areas by the boundaries of
the composite territorial local authorities i.e. the Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie District Councils.
There are five trustees in total, with three representing the Timaru DC area and one each for the Waimate and
Mackenzie DC areas.
The term of office for LTSC trustees is three years. An election is held in September or October every third year.
In the event that more than the required number of nominations are received for any of the three areas, an
election for that area will be held by postal vote with voting closing at 12 midday on election day, Thursday 23
September 2021.
The Returning Officer is Caroline Ovenstone from Alpine Energy Ltd.
Much of the election administration including vote processing has been contracted by the Returning Officer to
electionz.com Ltd, an independent elections management company based in Christchurch.
Relevant key dates are:
Nominations Open Monday 2 August 2021
Nominations Close 12 midday Friday 20 August 2021
Delivery of Voting Papers Starting from Friday 3 September 2021
Voting Closes 12 midday Thursday 23 September 2021
Results Available As soon as possible on Friday 24 September 2021
Official Declaration Tuesday to Thursday 28-30 September 2021
For further information, additional copies of this booklet or nomination forms, please phone (toll free) the
ELECTION HELPLINE on 0800 666 046.
32. GENERAL INFORMATION
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LINETRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY
LineTrust South Canterbury (LTSC) was established in June 2002 to replace the South Canterbury Power Trust. The
Trust holds 40% of the shares in Alpine Energy Ltd (the Company) on behalf of qualifying consumers. The 3 South
Canterbury district councils own the balance of Alpine Energy shares.
Alpine Energy Ltd is a company with annual operating revenues of $40 million.
Alpine Energy Ltd is the electricity network company covering the majority of the South Canterbury province. It
owns and manages the power line distribution network in South Canterbury.
Various electricity retailers supply electricity to South Canterbury consumers via the Alpine Energy network. The
retailers pay a rental to Alpine Energy to deliver the electricity to the consumer.
LineTrust South Canterbury receives dividends from Alpine Energy and returns 90% of that dividend to consumers
by way of discount on their power accounts. It carries out a range of energy based community projects with the
remaining 10% of those funds. “Healthy Homes” (sponsorship for insulation) is an ongoing project. Eco light bulb
sponsorship and Cosy Home projects are examples of past community projects.
LineTrust SC is divided into 3 regions – Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie.
The existing Trustees are:
Waimate Grant EAMES
Mackenzie Joy PATERSON
Timaru Peter BINNS
Karen MCCROSTIE
Hugh PERRY
TRUSTEE MEETINGS AND REMUNERATION
Trust meetings are held generally every 2 to 3 months in the offices of Ford Simpson Ltd, 18 Woollcombe Street,
Timaru with additional special meetings held as required. It is anticipated that the Trust will meet approximately
six to eight times per year.
The Chairperson of the Trust is appointed by the Trustees at the first Trust meeting after the election.
The remuneration of the Trustees will be determined by the Trust after the election.
4 LINE TRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY3. ELECTION PROCESS
The election is being carried out under the full authority and discretion of the Returning Officer pursuant to the
LTSC Trust Deed. The decisions of the Returning Officer are final.
The following parameters and requirements apply to the 2021 LTSC election:
• Candidates must provide a candidate profile statement and recent photo with their nomination (see page 10
for further details)
• There are approximately 31,500 qualifying customers within the total trust area. The approximate number of
consumers within the three areas are – Timaru 23,725, Waimate 4,454 and Mackenzie 3,561
• Any election will be carried out by postal vote
• Candidate names will be listed in random order on the voting papers
• The voting documents will be processed by electionz.com Ltd, an independent election processing company
based in Christchurch. The return address on the freepost envelope will be to electionz.com
• The LTSC Trust Deed specifies that elections of Trustees will be held across eligible electricity consumers
connected to the Alpine Energy distribution network and that qualifying customers receive one vote
irrespective of the number of connections to the network
• Where the connection for a qualifying customer is in a joint (more than one) or business name etc, the listed
parties need to decide who will exercise the vote for that entity
• Any returned voting documents cannot be processed until after the close of voting. Vote processing will
therefore be carried out in Christchurch on Friday 24 September
• Candidates may appoint scrutineers, however as the vote processing will be carried out in Christchurch,
scrutineers will need to make their own way to the vote processing centre, at their expense. The Trust is not
responsible for reimbursement of any costs incurred by scrutineers for candidates
The election result will be available as soon as possible on Friday 24 September 2021 - likely to be mid/late
afternoon. The Returning Officer will advise all candidates asap by phone or email as soon as the result is available
prior to advising the local media.
The Returning Officer will attempt to contact all candidates in the election using the contact details listed on
the nomination form. If the contact details listed on the nomination form will not be appropriate for Friday 24
September, candidates are requested to contact the Returning Officer and provide alternative contact details for
that day. The onus is on the candidate to provide correct contact details and be available to be contacted on that
day.
All enquiries about the election results must be directed to the Returning Officer, Caroline Ovenstone on
03 687 4302.
54. CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS
ELIGIBILITY TO BE A TRUSTEE
A candidate for Trustee of LineTrust SC must be resident within the Trust district, be aged 18 years or older, be
enrolled on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll, and not be disqualified by any of the specific exclusions outlined
below.
The following persons may not hold office as a Trustee as per Schedule 1, Rule 2.6 of the Deed of Trust:
(a) a bankrupt who has not obtained a final order of discharge or whose order of discharge has been suspended
for a term not yet expired, or is subject to a condition not yet fulfilled;
(b) a person who has been convicted of any offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of 2 or more years;
(c) a person who has been convicted of any offence punishable by imprisonment for a term of not less than two
years and has been sentenced to imprisonment for that offence;
(d) a person to whom an order made under section 382, 383, or 385 of the Companies Act 1993 applies;
(e) a person who is mentally disordered within the meaning of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and
Treatment) Act 1992;
(f) a person who is not a parliamentary elector for the purposes of the Electoral Act 1993;
(g) a person who is holding office as a director of or is employed by the Company (Alpine Energy Ltd);
(h) a person whose principal residence is not in the Defined Area;
(i) a person who is a district councillor on the Waimate District Council, Timaru District Council or MacKenzie
District Council.
[Candidates are required to sign the Nomination form acknowledging that they meet the requirements of Rule 2.6
of the Trust Deed.]
ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE
(a) Subject to (b) below, each Consumer on the Roll as at one month prior to election day shall be entitled to one
(1) vote only for the aggregate of all connections held in that name
(b) each group of joint Consumers is entitled to one (1) vote between them, and joint account holders shall
determine the manner in which the vote shall be cast;
DUTIES OF TRUSTEES
The Trust Deed notes the following requirements for Trustees.
The Trustees shall:
12.1 subject to Clause 8, act as a diligent shareholder and in particular monitor the performance of the
directors of the Company with respect to the Company’s statement of corporate intent, and exercise
the rights of shareholders for the benefit of the Trust Fund and with due regard to the objective of the
Company to be a successful business;
12.2 ensure that full and correct accounts of all the financial transactions of the Trust and its assets and
liabilities and funds are kept;
12.3 after the end of each Financial Year cause to be prepared financial statements including a balance
sheet and income and expenditure account and notes to those documents giving a true and fair
view of the financial affairs of the Trust for that Financial Year. The financial statements shall show
separately the names of persons or organisations to whom distributions of income have been made
by the Trust in that Financial Year and the amounts distributed;
6 LINE TRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY12.4 pursuant to the Electricity Act 1992, in each Financial Year hold an annual meeting of the Consumers
at which the Consumers appoint an auditor of the Trust to hold office from the conclusion of that
meeting until the conclusion of the next annual meeting of the Consumers. The Trustees must give
no less than 14 days’ notice of the annual meeting of Consumers to appoint an auditor in the news
section of 2 separate editions of each newspaper that is widely read by the Consumers. Such auditor
(not being the auditor of the Company):
(a) must be a person qualified to act as an auditor under section 199(1) of the Companies Act 1993
and in selecting an auditor the Consumers may seek the advice of the Auditor-General; and
(b) must not be a trustee, director, employee or agent of the Trust or of the Company or otherwise
disqualified from being an auditor under section 199(2)(b) and (d) of the Companies Act 1993.
12.5 With respect to the annual meeting held in accordance with Clause 12.4, the following shall apply:
(a) Every Consumer has 1 vote.
(b) The quorum for the annual meeting is 20 Consumers.
(c) No business may be transacted at the annual meeting if a quorum is not present.
12.6 The fees and expenses of the auditor must be fixed—
(a) at the annual meeting of the Consumers or in the way the Consumers determine at the
meeting, if appointed at the annual meeting: or
(b) by the Trustees, if appointed by the Trustees.
12.7 The Trustees may fill any casual vacancy in the office of auditor by appointing an auditor to hold office
until the conclusion of the next annual meeting of Consumers (but, while the vacancy remains, the
surviving or continuing auditor, if any, may continue to act as auditor).
12.8 If no auditor is appointed in accordance with Clause 12.4 or a casual vacancy in the office of auditor
is not filled within 1 month of the vacancy occurring in accordance with Clause 12.7, the Auditor-
General shall be appointed the auditor of the Trust. The Trustees must, within 5 working days of this
clause becoming applicable, give written notice to the Auditor-General of this fact.
12.9 Ensure that the financial statements are audited.
12.10 Immediately upon completion of the audit of the financial statements insert advertisements in a
principal newspaper or newspapers circulating in the District, notice that the statements are available
for public inspection at the office of the Trustees.
12.11 Make the financial statements available to the public in accordance with Clause 13.
12.12 Within four months after the end of each Financial Year of the Trust, hold public meetings in the
District and at those meetings report on the operation of the Trust during the preceding Financial Year
and on the financial statements of Trust for that Financial Year. The Trustees shall give not less than
14 days’ notice in a principal newspaper or newspapers circulating in that District of the holding of
such public meetings.
12.13 in respect of any statement of corporate intent delivered to the Trustees by the Company make
comments thereon to the Directors within one month from the date of delivery of such statement
by the Company to the Trustees and in making any comments the Trustees shall ensure that the
statement of corporate intent is consistent with the obligation of the Directors to operate the
Company as a successful business and in particular to optimise the return on the assets of the
Company.
12.14 Make any completed statement of corporate intent available to the public in accordance with Clause
13.
712.15 At the meeting to be held in accordance with Clause 12.12 comment on the Company’s compliance
with its then current statement of corporate intent.
12.16 Exercise where appropriate its right to require modifications to the statement of corporate intent in
accordance with section 40(2) of the Act subject always to the requirements of section 40(3) of the
Act.
12.17 Make a copy of this Deed available to the public in accordance with Clause 13.
CESSATION OF TRUSTEESHIP
The Trust Deed lists the following ways in which a Trustee’s term of office can be terminated.
A Trustee shall cease to hold office if such Trustee:
8.1 by notice in writing to the secretary of the Trustee or if there is no secretary to the then chairman, resigns his
or her office;
8.2 refuses to act;
8.3 becomes of unsound mind or becomes a protected person under any statute for the time being in force;
8.4 becomes bankrupt or enters into a composition or assignment for the benefit of his or her competitors;
8.5 is absent without leave from three consecutive ordinary meetings of the Trustee; or
8.6 is convicted of any indictable offence.
8 LINE TRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY5. NOMINATIONS
NOMINATION DOCUMENTS AND CLOSING DATE FOR NOMINATIONS
• Nominations open at 8.30 am on Monday 2 August 2021.
• Nominations close at 12 noon on Friday 20 August 2021.
• Initial public notices calling for nominations will appear in The Timaru Herald on Saturday 31 July and the
Timaru Courier on Thursday 5 August 2021.
• Subsequent public notices (being a repeat of the first public notices) will appear in the Timaru Courier and The
Timaru Herald newspapers between 4 and 14 August 2021.
• Each nomination must be made on the appropriate official nomination form. Nomination form and a candidate
handbook are available from the Alpine Energy office at 24 Elginshire Road, Washdyke, from Monday 2 August
2021, or from electionz.com by phoning 0800 666 046.
• The nomination form must be accompanied by a candidate profile statement (maximum of 150 words) and a
recent photo.
• Full contact details and an email address (if available) should be provided on the nomination form. Email is the
Returning Officer’s preferred form of contact with candidates.
• Each nomination form must have the consent of the candidate and be nominated by two (2) qualifying
customers whose names appear on the electoral roll. A candidate cannot nominate himself or herself. If
a candidate is unable to sign the nomination form (eg absent overseas), a letter of consent signed by the
candidate is acceptable to attach to the nomination form.
• If a candidate is commonly known in the community by a slightly different name (e.g. Edward Smith is
commonly known as Ted Smith), the commonly known name may appear on the nomination form and voting
papers (if required).
• LineTrust SC nomination form can be lodged direct at the office of electionz.com, 3/3 Pukaki Road, Avonhead,
Christchurch or with the Returning Officer, C/- Alpine Energy, 24 Elginshire Street, Washdyke, Attn Caroline
Ovenstone or by emailing scanned copies of the documents to nominations@electionz.com.
• Once lodged, nomination form are checked to ensure the candidate is eligible (name appears on the
parliamentary electoral roll) and both nominators are customers whose names appear on the LTSC electoral
roll.
• The lodgement of nomination form should not be left to the last minute. Should a nomination form be lodged
late on the day when nominations close, and be incorrectly completed, or an ineligible nominator is provided,
there may be insufficient time to correct the situation and the nomination could be invalidated.
• Nomination form can be mailed to electionz.com but should they be received after the close of nominations,
the nomination is invalid.
• Sending nomination form by mail is not recommended but if necessary the postal address is:
The Returning Officer
LineTrust South Canterbury
PO Box 3138
Christchurch 8140
Please do not leave lodging your nomination to the last minute!!
If sending by mail, candidates should take a copy of the nomination form in case it is lost in the mail system.
9CANDIDATE PROFILE STATEMENTS Candidates should provide a candidate profile statement with the nomination form. These will be collated by the Returning Officer and forwarded to qualifying customers with the voting papers in the event that an election is required. Profile statements and candidate photos should be provided electronically by email. Please email them to nominations@electionz.com. The profile statements: • Must not exceed 150 words • Must be confined to information concerning the candidate, and the candidate’s policies and intentions if elected to the Trust; and • Should comply with any prescribed requirements; ie in MS Word and be spell checked The Returning Officer is not required to verify or investigate any information included in a candidate profile statement. The Returning Officer will take no responsibility for the accuracy of the content, however may suggest corrections to spelling or grammar if appropriate. A disclaimer concerning the accuracy of the information contained in the statements will be published in the profile statement document. A recent photo should also be provided with the nomination form. This should be supplied electronically as a jpeg attachment to an email. Photos should be provided in colour. Digital photos should be a minimum of 300 dpi and supplied as a jpeg, ie .jpg format. If the photo is supplied in hard copy format it will not be returned to candidates. PROCEDURES AFTER THE CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS Confirmation of the accepted nomination will be given to each candidate by email as soon as the nomination form is verified. After the close of nominations, the Returning Officer will advise each candidate of the final nominations, by email, along with additional information about the conduct of the election. Once nominations have closed, a list of all candidates will be publicly notified in The Timaru Herald and Timaru Courier newspapers. If more than the required number of nominations are received in any of the three Trust districts, an election will be notified for that district(s). Where the number of nominations received does not exceed the number of candidates required, those candidates will be declared elected unopposed. In the event that insufficient nominations are received then any candidates nominated will be declared elected unopposed and the Trust will review options for filling the remaining vacancies. In the event of an election, candidate names will be printed on the voting papers in random order. The randomisation of candidate names is done as the voting papers are printed to maximise the variation of the candidate order. The Returning Officer will then collate the candidate profile statements and photos into a candidate profile document for distribution to electors with the voting papers. 10 LINE TRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY
6. ELECTION CAMPAIGNING AND HOARDINGS
CAMPAIGNING
Election campaigning can commence anytime but must cease by the close of voting at 12 noon on Thursday 23
September 2021.
No election material may contain an imitation voting paper which has the names of the candidates with any
direction or indication as to the candidate a person should vote for, or in any way contains such direction or
indication likely to influence the voter.
Voting papers are not permitted to be collected from electors by candidates or their assistants. Each elector is
required to post or deliver his or her own vote to the Returning Officer.
Candidates:
• must act in good faith and in the best interests of the Trust
• must be respectful of other candidates and not make any statement relating to other candidates that are
defamatory or that undermine the integrity of the election process
• must focus on issues affecting the Trust and the expertise and attributes that they will bring to the position
• must not use any property or resources of the Trust for campaigning purposes, including logos, brands,
letterhead, photos, images or other intellectual property of the Trust
• may use letters, fliers, hoardings emails, radio, television, internet and printed media for campaigning
purposes.
ELECTION HOARDINGS
Any queries regarding election signs must be made to the respective district councils, ie Timaru, Waimate, or
Mackenzie. Each council has their own specific rules regarding placement and sizes of elections hoardings and
signs etc.
All signs or structures must be removed by 12 noon, Thursday 23 September 2021 at the latest.
117. ELECTORAL ROLL The electoral roll for the Trust is available for public inspection from Friday 6 August 2021 at the Alpine Energy office, 24 Elginshire Road, Washdyke. Alternatively, elector details can be checked by phoning 0800 666 046. Details appearing in the Electoral Roll are elector names (listed alphabetically by surname, then first names), and ICP connection number. The qualifying address of the elector is shown alongside. No postal addresses or occupations will be made available to comply with privacy provisions. The Roll will be compiled from lists of consumers provided by the retailers of power in the District to the Company. The Returning Officer to the best of her ability will verify the integrity of the roll from the retailers’ databases. However as each retailer has a different system and format for keeping names and addresses, the details of names and postal details may not be up to date. The Roll’s information is valid as at 2 August 2021. If a qualifying customer has obtained a connection after this date, the customer will not be on the roll. Customers who believe they are eligible to vote but are not on the roll will need to provide evidence to the Returning Officer (copy of latest retail account showing ICP number) and make application for a special vote once the voting papers have been posted. 8. SPECIAL VOTING Special votes are available to electors: • who spoil or damage a voting paper previously posted to them. • whose names do not appear on the electoral roll, but who qualify as electors. • who did not receive a voting paper previously posted to them. Special Votes are available from 9am Friday 3 September to 12 noon Thursday 23 September 2021 from the election helpline on 0800 666 046. Special votes can be posted directly out to electors. The completed voting paper must be returned to the Returning Officer by 12 noon on election day. Special votes cannot be collected by candidates or their assistants for distribution to electors. 12 LINE TRUST SOUTH CANTERBURY
13
www.linetrustsc.org.nz
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