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NEIGHBOURHOOD SUPPORT NZ (Inc) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGHeld On Wednesday 29 September 2010 At the Royal New Zealand Police College, (Kapiti Room) Porirua Meeting commenced at 1.00 pm PRESENT:Vice Chair: Paul Miller National Mgr: Roger Eynon Secretary: Dorothy Lomas Treasurer: Shelley Henderson Waitemata: Les Duffield (Delegate) Auckland: Avon Lines (Deputy Delegate) Manukau: Poutoa Papapli’i (Delegate) Waikato: Lyall Duffus (Delegate) BoP: Joy Johnson (D.Delegate) Eastern: Paul Miller (Delegate) Central: Allan Muntz (Delegate) Wellington: Sam Andrews-Paul (Delegate) Tasman: Robin Harris (D.Delegate) Canterbury: Mike Mora (D.Delegate) Southern: Sarah Hexamer (Delegate) APOLOGIES:Patron: Paul Fitzharris Chairman: Rob Veale Northland: Nicole Devereux (Delegate) Auckland: Barry Hyde (Delegate) BoP: Barrie Fenton (Delegate) Central: Wendy Foreman (D.Delegate) Tasman: Kim McDonald (Delegate) Canterbury: Denise Langrish (Delegate) Comm.Rep: Insp Morris Cheer (NZ Police)
Mike Mora/Joy Johnson MINUTES OF LAST MEETING:
Paul Miller/Les Duffield CARRIED CORRESPONDENCE: Dorothy Lomas
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Rob Veale
Paul Miller/Allan Muntz CARRIED NATIONAL MANAGER'S REPORT: Roger Eynon
Roger Eynon/Les Duffield CARRIED FINANCIAL REPORT: Shelley Henderson
Shelley Henderson/Avon Lines CARRIED NOMINATIONS OF DELEGATES and DEPUTY DELEGATES:
Northland: Nicole Devereux (Delegate) Waitemata: Les Duffield (Delegate) Karen Little (D.Delegate) Auckland City: Barry Hyde (Delegate) Avon Lines (D.Delegate) Manukau: Poutoa Papali’i (Delegate) Waikato: Lyall Duffus (Delegate) BoP: Barrie Fenton (Delegate) Joy Johnson (D.Delegate) Eastern: Paul Miller (Delegate) Willie Paul (D.Delegate) Central: Allan Muntz (Delegate) Wendy Foreman (D.Delegate) Wellington: Sam Andrews-Paul (Delegate) Tasman: Robin Harris (D.Delegate) Canterbury: Denise Langrish (Delegate) Mike Mora (D.Delegate) Southern: Sarah Hexamer (Delegate) Heather Walker (D.Delegate) ELECTION OF OFFICERS:
Chairman: Rob Veale Vice Chair: Paul Miller Secretary: Dorothy Lomas Treasurer: Shelley Henderson
CARRIED PATRON: Paul Fitzharris
GENERAL BUSINESS:
DATE OF NEXT MEETING:
Meeting closed at 1.50 pm
CHAIR'S REPORT 2009 - 2010.The past 12 months has provided some exciting opportunities as well as raising some challenging questions as Neighbourhood Support looks to continue our growth and demonstrate our relevance as an integral part of communities across New Zealand. Recent and anticipated developments, especially relating to securing funding, have provided a solid foundation from which the organisation can move positively forward in coming years. At the national level, we recognise and appreciate our long-standing relationship with New Zealand Police and our joint focus on crime reduction as part of our role in contributing to community safety. But the opportunity for our organisation must be seen as far more than crime reduction or prevention. While sensitively recognising and acknowledging the loss and harm caused to people and property in various communities throughout New Zealand in the past 12 months, Neighbourhood Support must take the opportunity to evaluate our actions and assess our capability to be part of an effective community response to natural disasters, potential pandemics and other situations where we can play our part. We now have tremendous opportunities to work collaboratively with sector partners, Nationally and at District levels, and I would expect this to be a focus in the short term. Neighbourhood Support has a strong and well-recognised brand. Being apolitical, we are well positioned to act as an ‘honest broker’, to bring various parts of the community together on issues relevant to that community, and to act as the conduit through which a range of government and community-based organisations can promote their goals as part of a joint commitment to enhancing community safety. At a national level, we are on the cusp of consolidating our funding streams on a more sustainable basis with key government agencies. While this funding is still to be finalised, the three-year contract term will provide us with the certainty that will assist with our longer-term planning without the distractions of annual funding applications. But these new funding streams will also present challenges, both nationally and at District and Area levels in terms of developing our capability and capacity to manage various contracts, as well as overcoming real risks associated with the potential loss of funding from other sources. It was excellent to see seven Neighbourhood Support Districts feature as part of the Police Diversion funding scheme. This demonstrated the benefits of a single national application, with Areas and Districts working together. The challenge will be for us to use this funding wisely and demonstrate why all 12 Districts must be part of this process next year. As a Board, while I have been pleased with how we worked together, there are opportunities for further improvement. Key areas for improvement could be in developing a communication strategy, including key messages around our vision and getting the success stories from our frontline to those who support us financially. Our limited capacity at a national level is a significant barrier to us reaching our potential. When funding becomes available as expected, we will need to urgently consider the role and function of our national office, and any modest increase in capacity required to provide more effective support for our national manager, delegates and Districts before the end of 2010. While we are in a sound position financially, there will be a requirement to review our financial systems and processes so we can demonstrate our professionalism, transparency and fiscal responsibility to national funders at short notice. To all Board members, I thank you for your support and commitment over the past 12 months, and reiterate that while we some challenges ahead, we have a solid platform to move forward. And I believe together we have the passion, commitment and resolve to meet these challenges. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support, enthusiasm and abilities of our national manager. I would hope in coming months, the Board can provide him with resources and guidance to move Neighbourhood Support further forward. Thank you Roger. I also acknowledge the huge effort and work that goes on ‘behind the scenes’ and with little fanfare. In my short time as Chair, I have met with some groups throughout the country, and am always impressed with the passion, skill, and dedication of people working in this area. To the coordinators and hundreds of volunteers working for Neighbourhood Support in communities throughout New Zealand, I offer you my sincere thanks and ongoing support. I wish everyone involved with Neighbourhood Support the very best for the coming year. Rob Veale MNZM Chair: Neighbourhood Support New Zealand 29 September 2010
National Manager report 2010It's just over two and a half years since I took the role of National Manager Neighbourhood Support. I remember the first Board meeting I attended - possibly not all for the right reasons. I attended for 3 hours I think - I wasn't sure what the priorities were as it wasn't quite what I expected. As a neutral, I didn't quite get the feeling of harmony within the Board. I may have been wrong but I was a prime example of someone who was on the outside looking in. I went in cold. I had no minutes to review prior to joining the meeting. They were not available to me (as it predated my instatement) or anyone who was not in the inner circle - so it seemed. I was always of the mind that engagement is a two-way street and that leadership is something that has to be demonstrated often and decisively. NSNZ Board meetings are not a place for pedantics or minutiae. They are too precious for that. I believe we are getting somewhere in striking a balance between provision of information and utilising information. When we come together, it is for a purposeful and productive time and not one of prevarication and procrastination. I am happy to say that this is generally not the case and we are as forward thinking and objective as our influences allow us to be. The Board meeting format is now one of expectation and delivery. There is a pace that we have adopted at this level and long may we perpetuate it. Simple things like action points on the minutes ensure we follow things through as an agreed and accepted responsibility. All Delegates and Executive members have a role to play. Merely sitting at the table will not be enough for the future. Why do I mention this? In 2010 Neighbourhood Support New Zealand will start to receive that which it has craved for some time. An increase in funding for the national office will enable benefits to be fed out to the Districts. NSNZ will be looking to stretch its wings by controllable expansion of national office capacity. This has been jointly welcomed by Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Police and the Minister of Police herself (I have the letter!). Moving forward and evolving is not all fun and games. There will be difficult times and conversations. Isolation will only result in further isolation and eventual decay. All Neighbourhood Support activities will need to be brought into the fold. Alignment will be the key to future funding and organisational success. I say this because it is now quite conceivable that NSNZ will have the ability to facilitate the awarding of contracts and funding across the country - or at least be involved in a process that previously we have not been consulted about. The aim will be to support NS where it is working well (doing what it should be - following national and local objectives) and where it isn't and needs nurturing. In a perfect world, the mapping of NS should offer a consistent pattern and link with Police and other likeminded organisations. At present, it won't look exactly like that. Our job will be to address the balance and fill the gaps. The national office has existed for so long on a relatively small budget, so small, it didn't need to adapt too much to the hard financial times that have engulfed a lot of society. Our frugality has been to our advantage. The ability to actually attract increased funds and expand is not an experience being felt by many at the moment - but this is not an accident or a coincidence. This reward is based on a number of different factors. To dismiss what volunteers could achieve would be mindless. To dismiss what NS contributes to the community and to community reassurance would also be foolish. There may well not be a specific document or neutral report that highlights exactly what NS does or is capable of but that is not the issue. To receive a sizable amount of Central Government funds, you have to walk the talk and have the confidence of the decision makers. We currently have that. I firmly believe that this is a point in Neighbourhood Support's coming of age that may not be offered again. It is up to us to ensure that we firmly grasp the coming opportunities and take them to the next level - ever mindful of the world we operate within and fully aware of the vulnerabilities that we should be familiar with. All are now aware that in order to compete at the highest level, NSNZ has to promote what it does. To do that - we have to exhibit a minimum amount of service and organisational knowledge. We all know what that means:
You simply cannot adequately promote that which you cannot account for. National campaigns have to have substance to them. During 2010, we have begun to scratch the surface of that substance. We relied on a "guestimate" of membership from the 2006 Crime and Safety survey for far too long. In my mind a reliance on overall membership numbers does us no favours. Our ability to administer, maintain and nurture new members is our bread and butter. The way we cover the country in terms of support and our ability to link with other organisations is key to how integral we can become. Master that and a growing membership is an outcome and not our reason for being. In advertising, it is the product that sells to the public and not the other way round. Neighbourhood Support is a quality product. It is unique but still has the ability to have a "localised" feel about it. There is little else like it out there. There have been some significant wins for us during the 12 months, July 2009 to June 2010. I won't go through them all but highlights of national importance include:
For the rest of 2010 and beyond, NS does need to concentrate on what it doesn't do so well. Making positive examples available for all is still a very local thing. A call for a national campaign will remain an elusive challenge for us until we actually talk with each other. Some contact is there but the vast bulk of information I access is from the public domain and not from the network we have around the Board table. Until this changes and we ensure what should be easy tasks are not hard - then we can get to the really hard things that may seem impossible at the moment. Two years ago I stated that if we didn't account for our membership in some way - we would struggle. I said that I didn't want people to look back 12 months and reflect on something that was not done - that should have been done. Those issues never go away. That time is here again. The onus is on you.......to ensure that I hear about successes from those who achieved them rather than from a third party. This is one of my challenges for the coming year - communication. There will be a plan - and you will all be part of it. I want us to be on the inside looking out - not the other way round. The plan for NSNZ - 2010 and beyond. I would also like to acknowledge the continuing support of New Zealand Police, especially Insp Morris Cheer and the volunteers who give their own time to specifically work alongside me: Rob Veale (Chair), Shelley Henderson (Treasurer), Dorothy Lomas (Secretary) and Robert Temple (Treasury) - without all of whom, life would be very difficult. Roger Eynon |
