NEIGHBOURHOOD SUPPORT NZ (Inc) MEETING MINUTES

Held on Tuesday/Wednesday 29/30 March 2011

At the Royal NZ Police College, Porirua (Kapiti Room)

Commencing at 9.30 am

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS:

• Paul Miller (Acting Chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting. A special welcome to Jan Maunder (Northland) John Stewart (Waitemata) Ross McKinnon (Wellington) Li Lin Lim (Wellington) and Heather Walker (Southern) to the meeting.

PRESENT:

   Vice Chair:	Paul Miller 
   National Mgr:	Roger Eynon
   Secretary:	Dorothy Lomas
   Treasurer:	Shelley Henderson

   Northland:	Jan Maunder (D.Delegate)
   Waitemata:	John Stewart (D.Delegate)
   Auckland:	Barry Hyde (Delegate)
   Manukau:	Poutoa Papali'i (Delegate)
   BoP:		Joy Johnson (D.Delegate)			
   Eastern:	Paul Miller (Delegate)
   Central:	Allan Muntz (Delegate)
   Wellington:	Sam Andrews-Paul (Delegate) (30th March only), Ross McKinnon (Wellington Rep), Li Lin Lim (Wellington City Co-ordinator)
   Tasman:	Robin Harris (D.Delegate)
   Canterbury:	Mike Mora (D.Delegate)
   Southern:	Sarah Hexamer (Delegate), Heather Walker (D.Delegate)
   Comm.Rep:	Insp Morris Cheer (NZ Police)

Guests: Sarah Lynn (Min of Justice) (30th March), Lyndsey Jacobs (Min of Justice) (30th March

APOLOGIES:

   Waitemata:	Les Duffield
   Waikato:	Lyall Duffus
   BoP:		Barrie Fenton
   Central:	Wendy Foreman
   Wellington:	Sam Andrews-Paul (29th March only)
   Canterbury:	Denise Langrish
   NZPOL:	Inspector Carey Griffiths

• Apologies accepted.

MINUTES OF LAST MEETING:

• The Minutes of the last Board meeting held on 9/10 November 2010, having been circulated, were passed as a true and accurate record with the following correction: -

(page 13) Li Lin Lim

Delete - "An activity she was planning was a brochure drop, one suburb at a time, anticipated 3/4 suburbs a month";

and replace with -

"An activity she was planning was a brochure drop, one suburb at a time, anticipating 3-5 groups per locale".

MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES - 9/10 NOVEMBER 2010

ACTIVE ITEMS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

CORRESPONDENCE: Dorothy Lomas

Correspondence (Incoming:

CORRESPONDENCE (out-going)

Dorothy tabled and moved that the correspondence be accepted.

Robin Harris/Mike Mora

NATIONAL MANAGER'S QUARTERLY REPORT: Roger Eynon

Having circulated to all Delegates prior to the meeting, Roger discussed a couple of items:

• Recognised income now received from CP&CJ.
• Recent events in Christchurch have resulted in progress being deferred with Civil Defence.
• Expanding the National Office with appointment of Secretariat position.
• Managing an overall strategy and budgeting work would be picked up on.
• Good to receive Delegate reports on activities occurring in districts.
• Great information received from Dave Wilkinson (ChC) on progress being made since earthquake.
• Accepting more responsibility and reported that four of CP&CJ objectives were being advanced.

Roger proposed that his report be accepted.

Barry Hyde/John Stewart

CARRIED

FINANCIAL REPORT: Shelley Henderson/Roger Eynon

• Roger discussed and explained the new budget trends of expenditure that he and Robert Temple (NZPOL) had been working on. The model showed the financial situation in respect to income and variances.
• Roger proposed that the Board agree to increase the contingency fund to $65,000.
• The reporting was now an integral part of our work and had the ability now to move quickly to produce figures. It looked professional by the way it had been developed. Delegates were pleased with this process.
• Roger stated that this report would now be part of the overall financial reporting.

Shelley tabled and moved that the Financial Statement be accepted.

Jan Maunder/Allan Muntz

CARRIED

11.10 am break 11.30 am resumed the meeting

COMMISSIONER'S REPRESENTATIVE: Inspector Morris Cheer

Having circulated his report to all delegates, Morris highlighted items of interest -

Life Tubes:

• 24,000 A4 posters had been produced. 2,000 had been sent to Hastings Age Concern and 10,000 had been put aside for the 2012 Sunflower Clinics. This poster is available for downloading into a PDF or Jpeg file.

Neighbourhood Watch Australasia Magazine:

• Delegate's attention was drawn to an article on "Operation Unite 2010" which addressed alcohol-related behaviours that was impacting on society. These copies were available for delegates to take back to their districts.

Conferences:

• CPNZ Training Seminar, Dunedin, Friday/Sunday 24/26 June.
• CEPED Conference, Rutherford Hotel, Nelson. Barry Hyde and Paul Miller indicated their interest.

Resources/Fact sheets:

• "Reducing burglary Opportunity" and "Giving a good description" now out of print.
• Look at possibility of combining two fact sheets on one A4.
• "Bumper Stickers" - Morris to look at co-branding and reprinting. He would obtain prices for next Board meeting in June.

ACTION: Morris Cheer

"Marking of Properties" pamphlet:

• Mike Mora (Canterbury) tabled the pamphlet, produced by My Home Inventory (MHI). It was suggested that any approaches from private companies to co-brand their products with NS should be forwarded to Roger Eynon for noting and follow up where applicable.

SNAP (Serial Number Action Project):

• This project was revived in 2010 by Waikato Police. A database records serial numbers or unique identifiers marked on household items. Website www.snap.org.nz for free registration. Available for use now. Marking by UV sensitive pen or engraving recommended. It was suggested you enter the last five digits of your Driver's Licence when recording items.
• Public to be encouraged to register and use the SNAP database.

12.00 pm Lunch

1.00 pm Resumed meeting

GENERAL BUSINESS:

Rob Veale's Resignation: Paul Miller

• Paul discussed Rob's resignation. We need to look at co-opting a person from either within or outside the organisation. He would like to think there was a person in the community, with a good skill set, who would be prepared to sit in as Chair with the approval of the board.
• Roger had a list of interested parties. In the past we had appointed a Chair and Deputy and suggested that we look at appointing two persons for this position. Send your ideas of people in mind to Roger.

ACTION: All Delegates

Property Marking with UV Pens: Paul Miller

• There was an opportunity for NS to obtain UV Pens at a favourable rate. Sarah Hexamer (Southern) had priced these (last year) at 85 cents per pen, with printed logo, with a minimum order of 5,000.
• This was a great opportunity for NS and it was suggested that Sarah provide the Board with today's price.

ACTION: Sarah Hexamer

• It was suggested that the Board purchase 5000 Pens through the National Office, for Districts to purchase at cost. Districts could supply pens to NS members for gold coin donation.

MOTION:

"that the National Office purchase the first 5000 UV Pens, with NS Districts/Areas around New Zealand purchasing off the National Office at cost price".

Joy Johnson/Shelley Henderson

CARRIED

• Paul advised that he had ordered 1000 UV pens from China for the use by the Napier Police in their Junior NS programme, costing $700. Five schools involved this term. The kids get to take home a pen, with a NS guide sheet on the use of the pen. Pens to be returned.

CP&CJ Objectives (reporting from 1 July 2011): Roger Eynon

• Ongoing costs to retain the National Manager position;
• Secretariat position;
• Increasing NS presence in Maori and Pacific Island communities;
• Review of policy guidelines;
• Identify training and qualification packages;
• NSNZ website;
• Contestable funding;
• Provide resources;

Training and qualification package: Delegates identified local training for members, with some attending workshops with CPNZ. We need to scope training availability for Board, District, and Area development and come up with a recommended proposal. NSNZ website: There were on-going needs for the website. Certainly we can improve on what we have. We need to develop this project further and delegates need to encourage content from area coordinators.

Contestable Funding: It's essential to document how much money would be distributed. To date we don't know the actual figure we would be managing. This was a subject that needed to be examined to find an appropriate way to administer. An Independent Panel of three was suggested, with NS Chair and National Manager as Advisors from a NS perspective. Delegates agreed in principle that this was a difficult issue and after an informal vote (show of hands) no clear options were decided upon.

Report from HR Group: Paul Miller

• Paul said the HR Committee (consisting of Paul Miller, Allan Muntz, and Sam Andrews-Paul) had not had the opportunity to meet with the National Manager to discuss his new Employment Contract, the new position description and complete his performance appraisal. He would report back to the Board in due course on the documents put to Roger.

Secretariat: Roger Eynon

• Roger advised that the actual date for this position had been brought forward by Justice. This had been discussed with the HR Committee and a decision was made to appoint Supriya Rathod. A job description is currently being developed by the HR Committee for her to work alongside the National Manager. Other roles would also come under that position. Roger emphasised that this role did not replace any duties performed by the Secretary or Treasurer. The contract was 20-hrs per week, $25,000 pa. This role has been offered to and accepted by Supriya who would be working out of PNHQ.

Diversion Money: Roger Eynon

• Applications now being sought to receive Diversion donations for 2011-2013. NS will make one national application. All applications have to be with Roger by 6th April to enable him to finalise and submit.

Funding - Stocktaking: Roger Eynon

• Roger requested that each District provide him with the latest funding figures. Please advise any changes before the end of April 2011.

ACTION: All delegates

Christchurch Earthquake: Mike Mora

• Mike said that since 22 February, NS had been supporting groups out of the Christchurch Art Galley. Their role with Civil Defence and the operation was winding down and said they needed to find an alternative property to work from, due to NZI House in Hereford Street (red zone) being damaged in the quake. They have recently been able to enter the building, and managed to recover a Laptop and computer tower only from this property. Was NS National Office able to provide some assistance towards office space short to medium term?
• Roger mentioned that there was a modest surplus of funding available and had approached CP&CJ to see whether they would approve this. He hoped to be in a position tomorrow to offer NS (Christchurch) some assistance towards their accommodation needs after the meeting with them.
• Mike acknowledged the work of the three staff members (Dave, Glenda and Andrea) who had been working 12-hr days from within the inner city. Denise Langrish (Delegate, Canterbury) had been working long hours from Timaru doing a tremendous job. Thanks also went to Barrie Fenton (Delegate, BoP) for his kind donation and thoughts. Recognition to Sarah Hexamer (Delegate, Southern) and her team for the huge contribution they have also made.

Combined NS/CPNZ Seminar, Dunedin (23/26 June)

Flights: Dorothy Lomas

• Flight details were circulated and notes made of any changes. She will be contacting delegates separately.

ACTION: Dorothy Lomas

Accommodation: Sarah Hexamer

• Dorothy to provide Sarah with amended flight details.
• Sarah would arrange shuttles to meet all flight arrivals in Dunedin.
• Meeting venue, still to be advised.
• Wednesday night dinner, Sarah to organise for those arriving early.

ACTION: Sarah Hexamer

ACTION: Dorothy Lomas

• NSNZ would pay delegate $200 Registration fee. Registration forms were available on the website; completed registration forms should be sent to Shelley Henderson, (Treasurer) who would write one cheque for those wishing to register. Registrations need to be with Shelley by early May, these have to be with the Conference Organisers by 24th May, otherwise late penalties would apply.

ACTION: All Delegates

ACTION: Shelley Henderson

• Roger stated that NS had been invited to manage a workshop. Anyone interested in assisting, please contact him.

ACTION: All Delegates

• CPNZ raffle: Raffle tickets are available at $2, with $1 being retained by organisation selling tickets. For noting the $5 car raffle had now been postponed until nearer Christmas.

Sunflower Month 2011:

• Most districts partook in this project. Great opportunities for NS.

Neighbours Day Aotearoa (March): Sarah Hexamer/Barry Hyde

• Huge media campaigns, local radio coverage and this event was prominent in national newspapers around the country.
• Unfortunately the weather in Auckland put a damper on organised events.
• NS were pro-active, with flyers dropped around local streets.
• Delegates were to consider running - NS Neighbours Week (October/November) as well as Neighbours Day Aotearoa (March).

Communication Plan: Roger Eynon

• Roger said it was important and timely to produce a Communication Plan.
• There was a need to promote the Neighbourhood Support image. We need to get our message out, not always through radio, but by getting ourselves in front of reporters etc; this is where a Communication Plan would assist in getting the right messages across.

NZ National Volunteering Conference:

• To be held in Wellington, on 23/24 May. Registration $475. Special focus on the experiences and the learnings for volunteering arising from NZ's largest single volunteer involvement; following the ChC earthquake this had been added to the programme. If interested in attending contact Morris Cheer.

Resignation of Nicole Devereux (Northland):

• Shelley Henderson (Northland) advised that Nicole had resigned as Delegate as at 8 February 2011. Nicole has now taken up a position as Committee Member. A new committee for Whangarei has now been formalised and NS in that area is moving forward.

4.30 pm Meeting closed

Wednesday 30 March (day 2) the meeting commenced at 8.15 am

8.20 am HR Sub-committee: Paul Miller (Eastern), Sam Andrews-Paul (Wellington) and Allan Muntz (Central) and Roger Eynon (National Manager) left the meeting.

GENERAL BUSINESS (continued): Dorothy Lomas chaired the meeting

District Reports & Initiatives:

Auckland: (Barry Hyde)

• Nothing new to report.

Bay of Plenty: (Joy Johnson)

• Advised that Barrie Fenton had resigned as Delegate. It was suggested that the Chair write a letter of thanks to Barrie, acknowledging his contribution to the Board over the last 5 years and to include a 'Certificate of Appreciation'.

ACTION: Paul Miller

• District had produced two brochures "How Valuable are these things to you?" 5000 printed at a cost of $700; and "It takes a whole village to raise a child".
• Mike Mora (Canterbury) on behalf of ChC, acknowledged the BoP donation, such a good thought, at such a good time.

Canterbury: (Mike Mora)

• Mike acknowledged the report provided by Dave Wilkinson (Canterbury Co-ordinator) on the ChC quake.
• He reiterated on the good work, long hours and the dedication Denise Langrish (Canterbury) had made in Timaru. It was suggested that a letter of thanks be sent to Denise and Dave for their commitment to NS during such a challenging time.

ACTION: Paul Miller

• Everyone was doing their bit and it demonstrated what a key role NS played in a Civil Defence emergency.

Manukau: (Poutoa Papalii)

• The Neighbourhood Policing team initiative on reducing crime in the area had been in operation since October.
• Anti-tagging programme in operation.

Southern: (Sarah Hexamer)

• Sarah mentioned that NS (Southern) had taken the initiative and had been assisting with short-term accommodation in Dunedin since the ChC quake. With 500 people listed on their database, she was matching party interests, ages etc. Housing NZ had dealt with the long-term accommodation needs. Sarah was proud of the fact that 1000 places had been made available to relocate people. She felt that NS in Dunedin had made a difference for quake victims.
• The Welfare Management Group was activated to establish the Earthquake Assistance Centre. A system was devised to set up evacuation centres, being run by 300 volunteers, including St John, Red Cross, and Social workers on-site. This was the initial stop for ChC people to be assessed of their needs. There was access to the internet, as well as a kids area. This is still on-going but now being scaled-down.
• Sarah's comments were that it was a good pilot, it worked well and it raised the profile of NS with other agencies.

Waitemata: (John Stewart)

• John discussed the rural area of Rodney. The issues raised were securing NS volunteers in large rural areas long term. How could these be developed?
• Mike Mora (Canterbury) said that the National Body had to recognise and give strength to rural areas long term and suggested that Roger contacts Karen Little (Rodney) to provide this support. (note: RE was absence from the table when this was discussed)

ACTION: Roger Eynon

• The project "Strengthening our Neighbourhoods" in partnership with the North Shore City Council Crime Prevention Reference Group and the Lifewise/Takapuna Methodist Church had identified three areas where they can work together. Really encouraging.

Tasman: Robin Harris

• Robin advised that the outlying areas in his District were not very active. It was difficult for people to sign-up due to the area being so widespread.

9.15 am HR Committee (Sam Andrews-Paul and Allan Muntz) joined the meeting.

Wellington: (Sam Andrews-Paul)

• Offers of accommodation raised NS's profile following the ChC earthquake.
• Anticipates holding another Workshop during June/July, likely to be in Upper Hutt.
• Ross McKinnon had been involved with the Junior NS programme in the Hutt Valley with a lot of interest from School Principals.
• Li Lin Lim continues to do brochure drops in the Wellington Central area with positive results.

9.30 am Morning tea

10.00 am Resumed the meeting

Paul Miller and Roger Eynon joined the meeting.

Central: (Allan Muntz)

• Unfortunately losing Ruapehu's part-time Co-ordinator was a disappointment; having now attained a permanent job.
• Meetings have been held with the Rangitikei Council in relation to re-establishing NS in the Taihape area; a public workshop had been scheduled, being hosted by the local Rotary club.
• Manawatu District had produced a fact sheet "Rental Accommodation and You", which was circulated to delegates. A very useful pamphlet.

Eastern: (Paul Miller)

• Discussed the interest from Police staff after advertising the 20-hr relieving position while the Napier Co-ordinator took annual leave. Approval was given by the District Commander and HR for a sworn police officer to take leave and fill the position in the form of secondary employment for a month.

Neighbourhood Watch Australasia Executive Meeting:

• Apologies received from Inspector Carey Griffiths, who was unable to attend the meeting to discuss this item.
• Roger advised that NZPOL were hosting this event, which was being held at the Kingsgate Hotel, Wellington, Thursday/Friday 16/17 June 2011. He advised that the Executive Board had placed 'disaster and recovery' on its agenda. Glenda Burt (Christchurch Office Administrator) had been asked to present on the situation in Christchurch.
• NS people interested in attending were Paul Miller, Barry Hyde and Sarah Hexamer. Dorothy would make flight and accommodation arrangements.

ACTION: Dorothy Lomas

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:

Authorisation of invoice payments: Paul Miller

• Paul discussed the payment of invoices. This had been the Treasurer's role, but now needed to be extended to the National Manager position as well. There had been credit card issues in the past, so to simplify the process Roger would be issued with a Debit Card.

MOTION:

"that the NSNZ National Manager and the elected Treasurer be authorised to pay invoices not exceeding $2,000 without the approval of the Board".

Paul Miller/Allan Muntz

CARRIED

NSNZ Neighbours Week/Neighbours Day Aotearoa:

• Sarah Hexamer (Southern) proposed that we looked at the time scale of both events, and saw the perfect opportunity of getting behind both concepts two-fold. Coming into spring, culminating with easing into winter.
• Neighbours Day could be co-branded by invitation.
• NSNZ Neighbours Week would have different activities being held by different agencies each day of the week.
  • Civil Defence
  • Neighbourhood Support, Police, Community Patrols, crime prevention
  • Red Cross, Age Concern, Meals on Wheels
  • Church Groups
  • Multi cultural, ethnic, including Maori and Pacific Islanders
  • Super Grans
• NSNZ Neighbours Week could be branded, promoted and supportive of these activities.
• Important that dates for these events are aligned with other stakeholders nationally.
• NS has an opportunity of owning this and it was agreed that a sub-committee be formed. Sarah Hexamer (Southern), Barry Hyde (Auckland) and Poutoa Papalii (Manukau) to create a package for the Board to consider at the June meeting.

ACTION: Sarah Hexamer/Barry Hyde/Poutoa Papalii

NS Funding through Local Government: Paul Miller

• He encouraged delegates to be seen in their districts. Be visible at meetings.
• Take a look at your Council's Proposed Annual Plan. Get involved in the budgeting process. Make submissions and attend consultative meetings.
• Utilise the LTCCP contact list.
• Be pro-active at Local Government and Community Board Conferences.
• There needs to be a long-term objective to grow and strengthen our organisation.

NS 0800 Number: Joy Johnson

• Joy requested that we change the name of the 0800 account from Papakura District Council to NS. Joy to send the form to Shelley to arrange.

ACTION: Joy Johnson/Shelley Henderson

11.50 am Lunch 12.50 pm resumed the meeting

Ministry of Justice:

The meeting welcomed Sarah Lynn and Lyndsey Jacobs, CP&CJ to the meeting.

Christchurch Earthquake:

Mike Mora (Canterbury):

• Mike explained that due to the February ChC earthquake, three NS staff members had been working alongside Civil Defence in the Art Galley. As the operation was now winding down, they were advised that they couldn't return to their previous premises (NZI House) as this had been rendered unsafe. They have managed to uplift a laptop and PC Tower, but unfortunately lots of resources had to be left behind. Meanwhile, they had been searching for suitable accommodation.
• Was there any opportunity of using some of NS's surplus funding through CP&CJ to assist them short-term?

CP&CJ:

• Have discussed providing some infrastructure to ChC and are fully supportive of this. Given the circumstances, we would take a more favourable view to offer help.

Contestable Funding:

NSNZ:

• Have discussed at this meeting -
  • How much this might be?
  • How we deal and administer this?
  • How we allocate the funds?
  • Possibility of appointing a Panel for transparency and allocation of funding.
  • How applications would be dealt with, delivered and voted upon.
• NS were aware that historically this responsibility has been with CPU.
• We are aware also that there are variants around the country and there are areas struggling for funds that need to be helped.
• Reporting guidelines would specify standards and criteria of reporting.
• We would need to be aware how CP&CJ sit favourably with our philosophy?

CP&CJ:

• We have a commitment on how contestable funding would look. We did touch on the prospect of the time-frame being short and have considered the option of rolling over the same agreement into the next financial year.

NSNZ:

• It's a big project and need to get this right. We are also considering the option of having this project rolled over for 12 months. Once applications are received, it's going to be a long process. The key is getting the process in place and other objectives we can move on.

CP&CJ:

• Are not able to provide NS with a funding amount at this meeting.

NSNZ:

• In 2009 we received 23% of funding from Justice. Roger to provide Lyndsey Jacobs with the funding stocktake.

ACTION: Roger Eynon

CP&CJ:

• Funding would be available from 1 July 2011. Affiliation has to be agreed upon before 1st July. (Note: No funding from Local Government (Councils) after 30th June.)

NSNZ:

• This is unknown territory to NSNZ, it's new and we are embracing it. NS are evolving and we welcome the opportunity of working together with CP&CJ.

NEXT MEETING:

Date: 23/24 June 2011

Venue: Dunedin

Meeting closed at 1.30 pm