Brent Eastwood: Sport Northland AGM comes to the end of another challenging year

After a challenging year, Sport Northland is ready for 2023.

OPINION

Sport Northland recently held their 2022 Annual General Meeting, capping another successful year for the Trust.

The current Tangata Tiriti Vice Chair, Libby Jones, was re-elected by the members at the meeting. Libby will serve another three-year term, her third term at Sport Northland.

Libby, who lives in Paparoa, was first appointed to the Sport Northland Board of Directors as a Kaipara District Councilor back in 2016, but did not stand again as a Councilor in the 2019 local elections and as such ran again for the Board by the process chosen and was subsequently successful at the 2019 AGM.

The board bid farewell to Sheryl Mai (Whangarei District Council), Rick Stolwerk (Northland Regional Council), Kelly Stratford (Far North District Council) and David Wills (Kaipara District Council), who are ending their tenure as councillors.

A Deed of Trust was passed unanimously by the members at the AGM, the result of which was to reduce the size of the Board from 10 to eight. Three of these will be elected at the AGM (one per year), three Māori Trustees will be appointed – one by Te Kahu o Taonui (Collective of the Iwi Chair) and two by the Board Appointments Panel, while the outcome of the Trust Deed is now on display two local government trustees appointed by the Mayoral Forum instead of the previous arrangement where each council appointed one trustee.

The downsizing of the Board will help Sport Northland meet its mid-term co-governance target of at least 50 per cent Māori trustees, which will advance the Board’s goal of partnering with Māori in true co-governance; and continues to demonstrate Sport Northland’s continued commitment to Te Tiriti and He Whakaputanga.

At the first board meeting recently following the AGM, the board re-elected Libby Jones (left) and Kath Wharton as co-chairs for 2022-23. Photo / Included

In addition, a lot of proven board size research has been published, showing several benefits of a smaller board of around eight people.

Richie Guy, a former long-time chairman of Sport Northland’s board of directors, was unanimously re-elected as the organisation’s patron for 2022/23. Richie served as Chairman of the Board for more than 20 years until 2014 and took over patronage in 2015 from another longtime trustee, the late Dr. Matt Marshall.

At the first Board meeting recently following the AGM, the Board re-elected Libby Jones and Kath Wharton as Co-Chairs for 2022-23, continuing the Co-Chairs test the Board agreed to in July of this year had agreed a period of 12 months.

This process reinforces the co-governance approach taken by the Board and seeks to give full expression to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga, New Zealand’s founding documents, at the governance level so that the Māori voice as Sport Northland is at the decision-making table strives for their vision “All Nordic people move more for better well-being”.

In their report to the AGM, Wharton and Jones highlighted a great year for the Board and the organization as a whole, citing developments such as the Board’s continued Te Ao Māori/Co-Governance journey, the development of a new organizational strategy to 2027, moving forward of governance in Northland and the $1.2 million in funding distributed to the gaming, active recreation and sports sectors through the Tū Manawa and Kauri Mana Funds received by Sport NZ for Sport Northland.