CHARTER AGM
CHARTER AGM
25 JULY 2024
The 6th Annual General Meeting will be held in the Limes Room, Christchurch Town Hall immediately following the ‘Future of Health and Safety Conference” commencing at 5pm.
Items of Business
- Welcome and Apologies.
- Confirmation of minutes of 2023 AGM minutes.
- Acceptance of Annual Reports – Chairman; General Manager and Financial Reports
- Motion: “The Board of the Canterbury Safety Charter Incorporated shall commence the winding up of the Charter in accordance with the rules, to be completed by the end of the current financial year, unless other funding opportunities arise which will ensure the long-term viability of the Charter.”
- Other AGM Business.
See Annual Report and Financial Statements attached.
Rationale behind motion
The Charter began with a mission to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of all those involved in the demolition and re-construction of Canterbury following the devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. 185 people died, and industry, government, and unions all came together to ensure that no more lives were lost during the rebuild, with a shared vision of doing all that was necessary to protect each other, with the clear understanding that buildings can be replaced, but people cannot.
The original aim of the Charter has been fulfilled, with no deaths attributed to the rebuild, and a huge increase in both institutional and personal health and safety capability entrenched in the region. In 2017 the Charter became an incorporated society and registered charity, with a Board and Management structure replacing the original Steering Groups. In 2019, WorkSafe withdrew their annual operational grant to the Charter, and since then the Charter has had to rely on contestable funding opportunities for projects to continue its operation.
In 2023/24, approximately a third of the Charter’s revenue came from membership fees and sponsorship, and two-thirds from project work for WorkSafe, ACC, and MBIE. Since mid-2023 the Charter has proposed numerous projects to various government agencies which we believed would be beneficial in reducing accidents and injuries in New Zealand workplaces. None of these applications have been successful and in the current economic climate, the board believes that it is highly unlikely that any further applications will be successful.
The Board therefore has made the difficult but prudent decision to instigate the process of winding up the Charter. The first step is a resolution to be presented to the members at the AGM, to be held at the Christchurch Town Hall on 25th July, commencing at 5pm.
The Board have also agreed to extend all current memberships until 31 December 2024 at no additional charge to members.
The Charter is not insolvent, the Board has prepared a budget and workplan for the remainder of the year, with two current workstreams, both of which are unaffected by the above resolution.
- The Future of Health and Safety Conference to be held 25th July, will be the Charter’s final membership event. We hope to go out on a high and celebrate the many successes over the years. The registration link for the conference can be found below, and we encourage your attendance.
- The BIMSafe NZ project the Charter is conducting in collaboration with the Building Innovation Partnership at the University of Canterbury will be completed by December this year.
On behalf of the Board and staff, I thank you all for your support of the Safety Charter and your commitment to the wellbeing of your fellow community members. There is still plenty of work to be done in this space, and I hope this will event galvanise our members to seek continuous improvement in their health, safety, and wellbeing journeys. In some sense we have exceeded our original mandate, and both the Board and staff will endeavour to ensure that the legacy of the Charter and all its resources will remain free and accessible.
Paul Duggan, General Manager