• Council makes new appointment to farming innovation trust

Council makes new appointment to farming innovation trust

There have been several governance changes within a Hawke’s Bay organisation set up to encourage farming innovation.

The changes have included the resignation of former regional councillor Tom Belford who was this week replaced as the council’s representative on the trust.

However, Belford continues to have a role on the Future Farming Charitable Trust, having been appointed at large by the Trust as a general trustee.

While Belford was unsuccessful in his bid to be re-elected as a councillor in September’s local body elections, he was reappointed as the council’s appointee to the trust for the new triennium at a council meeting on November 27.

The Trust was established in August and set up with seed funding from the Regional Council through its last Long Term Plan. It is made up of six to eight voluntary trustees.

Its aim is to highlight Hawke’s Bay’s existing and emerging agricultural expertise and create a local hub of knowledge, research and education to ensure the health of the region’s soil and water, communities and farmers into the future.

Appointing a replacement for Belford, who has been on the Trust since it was established, was on the agenda when the council met on Wednesday this week.

In a report prepared for the meeting, council CEO James Palmer noted: “Staff consider that in the formation of the Trust an expectation was created that the Council-appointee would be either a councillor or staff member.”

At the meeting, the appointment of current councillor Will Foley to the Trust was moved by chairman Rex Graham and seconded by councillor Jerf van Beek.

Graham said he had “little to say” on the matter except that Foley would be an “exceptional representative for us on that Trust”.

Others were more vocal on the issue. van Beek said he was “uncomfortable” with the decision that had previously been made and was “really pleased with this particular outcome”.

He said it was a learning experience as councillors had been under the impression that there was “universal” support for the previous appointment. 

Councillor Martin Williams echoed those sentiments, adding that he didn’t believe the council was “…completely or sufficiently briefed to make the decision last time”.

“I didn’t know that the clauses of the Trust deed hadn’t been brought to our attention whereby the reason that it is a council appointment is a reflection of the funding contribution.”

Williams said that if it had been “better explained to the council at the time” he may have had a majority.

It is understood three trustees have resigned. Williams said that was a “concern”.

Councillor Rick Barker said there needed to be some “counter-balance”. He has “no doubts” about his decision to support the previous candidate.

But he added that the issue is a “simple one”.

“The council reserves the right to itself to appoint who it wishes to be its representative on whatever body it is. That must be our sovereign right,” he said.

“To have others say that we are not entitled to appoint certain people is unacceptable to me.”

Foley, a former Hawke’s Bay Federated Farmers president, said he wasn’t holding anything against anyone in regards to the circumstances surrounding the previous vote.

“With what’s happened, it’s obviously very disappointing and so there’s obviously going to be a bit of work to restore that trust, credibility and integrity out to the farming public.”

 

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