Sector and AuSAE News

  • 24 Aug 2015 6:15 PM | Kerrie Green

    Two Directors of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) are required to retire by rotation at each Annual General Meeting. This year Matthew Goodson (Chairman) and John Stace step down and both are eligible to stand for reappointment.


    Matthew Goodson announced on 11 June 2015 that he would not be seeking re-election for a further three-year term and will retire from the NZTR Board at the conclusion of the AGM to be held in Christchurch on 6 November 2015.


    A meeting of the Members’ Council was held on 10 August 2015 at which it was agreed to appoint Dr Alan Jackson and Mr John Stace to the two vacant seats on the NZTR Board from the conclusion of the AGM.


    Wayne Guppy, Chairman of the Council, stated: “The Council reviewed a very strong group of applications and unanimously agreed to appoint Dr Alan Jackson to the vacant seat on the Board and retain the skills of Mr John Stace, the current NZTR director retiring by rotation.”


    “Alan will bring enormous racing knowledge and experience to the Board. He has had over 30 years of business experience across a wide spectrum of industries and disciplines including public and listed companies and racing bodies in three countries.”


    His current governance roles include independent directorships of Fletcher Building, Fletcher Finance Limited and Delegat Group.


    He was a founding Director of the New Zealand Racing Board between 2003 and 2006 and again in 2012-13 including serving as Chairman.


    Alan served as Chairman of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Australasia between 2003 and 2009 after holding the positions of Senior Vice President and Managing Director. He has also chaired the Housing Corporation of New Zealand.


    He is an owner and breeder in New Zealand and Australia and a member of the New Zealand

    Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Federation and Australian Racehorse Owners’ Association; Auckland Racing Club and Taupo Racing Club (part of the TRAC Group).


    Wayne Guppy added: “The Council followed a thorough process and I thank all members of the Council for their meticulous approach to this governance role.”


    “We look forward to working with Alan and John, and the other four members of the NZTR Board to

    continue the progress they have made in ensuring a sustainable model for thoroughbred racing.”


    This media release was directly sourced from  the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing website here and was written by Simon Cooper. 

  • 24 Aug 2015 12:53 PM | Kerrie Green

    The Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) 2016 Congress will take place 20–24 May 2016, in Christchurch. It is expected to attract 200 overseas delegates from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Brunei, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Canada, South Africa, Europe and the USA, alongside 150 delegates from New Zealand.

     

    Marilyn Moffatt, Executive Director, New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NZIQS), says post-earthquake Christchurch is a particularly relevant host for the conference theme ‘Building For the Future - A Global Dilemma’.


    Why bring this event to New Zealand?

    “Our people are involved in the construction industry and there’s a lot happening in Christchurch for visiting delegates to see in terms of site visits. It’s the opportunity for people to see a new city being built. I think it goes back to how New Zealanders work in general - there’s a lot of innovation in our industry, a lot of that forced by what has happened in Christchurch. Attendees can discuss and discover the new building structures and techniques being used in the construction community.


    “At NZIQS we like to think of ourselves as leaders in the Pacific. Some conferences tend to be a little more academic-focused, whereas our conference is looking at speakers that will add value to people working in the sector, it’s a more practical approach. We’re well regarded for technical knowledge. ”


    What are the benefits of holding a conference in New Zealand for your organisation?

    “Membership is voluntary for our organisation. Hosting this event is about leadership - they can see we are taking a leading role internationally in this sector and that adds excitement. The media attention will also lift our profile within the industry in New Zealand.


    “People really enjoy the opportunity to network with delegates from overseas. We will also have more resources for this conference, so we can bring more international speakers across. It raises the engagement and excitement about our industry and makes more people want to belong to it, so that’s a plus in retaining and recruiting members and generating interest in NZIQS.”


    What support did you get to help bring the conference to New Zealand?

    Tourism New Zealand has been fantastic and offered us guidance in applying for the Conference Assistance Programme (CAP), which gave us funding for a feasibility study, and paid towards attending the 2014 PAQS congress in Hong Kong to bid for the 2016 event. It also included producing high quality bid documents and presentation material that the delegates were very impressed with.


    This year we received further CAP funding to promote our conference at the 2015 PAQS conference in Yokohama. We got together a Maori concert party of people based in Japan and at the conference handover they came on stage and performed some songs. That went down really well, it was a bit different. TNZ is really open to different ideas - we made the suggestion and they made it happen.


    One of the biggest attractions of our stand this year was the traditional Kiwi lollies we had - Minties and Pineapple Lumps. We had people coming over saying they had been waiting for us! That really helped with engagement. TNZ had also provided promotional material and banners which generated a high level of interest from delegates about coming to the conference and talking about what they can do in NZ beyond the event itself. New Zealand is on a lot of people’s wish list to visit, so they are planning to come, bring their families and take the opportunity to travel.


    “I think the interest levels are much higher than usual because people are really excited about coming to New Zealand. Part of it is the attraction of Christchurch and wanting to see the development there; part of the draw card is that New Zealand is somewhere they have always wanted to go to.”


    How easy was it to plan an event in Christchurch?

    “It was easier to plan an event there than we had thought. We were really surprised at the conference infrastructure that is in place post-earthquake; we got a lot of help from Tourism New Zealand and Christchurch & Canterbury Convention Bureau. They made it very easy for us, we couldn’t have done it without them.


    “Meetings will take place at the Novotel Christchurch, and the Congress itself at Wigram Air Force Base. We did some early site inspections and what gave us confidence was the number of large international conferences that have already successfully taken place there. Wigram Airforce Base isn’t a purpose-built convention facility but they were able to show it set up for a conference. We didn't want to rely on what was going to be built, but on our visits we could see the number of beds available at different types of accommodation already, and that was more than enough.”


  • 24 Aug 2015 12:30 PM | Kerrie Green

    Recent changes to the Charities Act 2005 create statutory audit and review requirements for medium and large Registered Charities from 1 April 2015.  


    Who will be affected?


    If a charity’s total operating expenditure for each of the previous two accounting periods was:


    • over $500,000 (medium) –  financial statements must be either audited or reviewed by a qualified auditor; or
    • over $1 million (large) – financial statements must be audited by a qualified auditor.

    Registered Charities with total operating expenditure of less than $500,000 are not required by law to have an audit or review. However, they may be required by their rules (e.g. trust deed, constitution, or charter) or as a condition of receiving a grant to have their financial statements audited or reviewed.


    For more information on these changes please visit the Charities Services website here. This information was sourced directly from the Charities Services website. 

  • 24 Aug 2015 12:20 PM | Kerrie Green

    The New Zealand Technology Industry Association (NZTech), the voice of the New Zealand tech sector, appoints new Board Directors from across the tech ecosystem.


    NZTech has a new board, including senior government sector members following its 6th Annual General Meeting in Auckland last month.


    New NZTech board members include: Chris Bishop, Manager ICT Policy and Programmes, MBIE; Diane Knowles, NZ Country Manager for Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services; Paul Deavoll, Head of South Island, Spark NZ; and Sarah Perry, CEO, SnapComms.


    The new board members join those who were re-elected for a successive term; and those who will continue for another year. They are: Rob Lee, Managing Director, IBM New Zealand; Mark Nichols, General Manager, Trimble Navigation; Bennett Medary, Director of Simpl Group; Rob Old, General Manager, Provoke Solutions; Bob Pinchin, CEO, Swaytech; Jonathan Miller, National Network Manager ICT, Callaghan Innovation; and Frances Valintine, Chair of the Mindlab by Unitec.


    Departing board members this year are: Keith Watson, Managing Director, Hewlett-Packard New Zealand; Tom Duffy, Chief Operating Officer, Fuji Xerox; Steve Newman, CEO, EROAD; and John Ferguson, Customer Manager, NZTE.

    This year’s Board Chair will be appointed at the first meeting of the new Board in late August.


    “I am excited to be working with such a strong and dynamic Board,” says NZTech CEO Graeme Muller. “The Board selection process focused on ensuring we attracted the right level of diversity to enable us to achieve our purpose of being the voice of the technology sector while delivering on our key strategies. With new Board members from Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington, across key government, corporate and New Zealand export business organisations we have increased our ability to truly represent the sector.”


    NZTech has been growing rapidly with a broad array of tech-based organisations continuing to join to support our mission of improving New Zealand’s economic prosperity through a vibrant technology sector. NZTech members include organisations ranging from start-ups and locally focused IT firms to fast-growth tech exporters, hi-tech manufacturers, telco’s, major corporations and education providers.


    “The growing recognition of the importance of technology for New Zealand’s economic success is coming about as all sectors and occupations become more digitalised,” says Mr Muller. “NZTech’s members are combining their voices to raise awareness of the need for our Government to develop a national digital strategy that addresses the implications of this in key areas such as education, health and society in general .”


    “NZTech is focused on three primary areas where we believe technology can make a significant positive impact on our economy – helping New Zealand technology businesses to lift the country’s export earnings, helping guide and support government technology decisions, and helping drive the digital transition of the education system so that all Kiwi kids have the best start in life.”


    This media release was directly sourced from the New Zealand Technology Industry Association website here

  • 24 Aug 2015 12:05 PM | Kerrie Green

    Revenue from New Zealand-made video games and game apps more than doubled to $80.2 million in the year to 31 March 2014, according to an independent survey of NZ Game Developers Association members. 90% of those earnings were digital software exports, primarily through the Internet and app stores.


    Digital distribution platforms like the AppStore and Steam mean that New Zealand no longer has any significant disadvantage in the international games market due to distance. “Interactive entertainment software is a hi-tech weightless export industry that creates New Zealand-owned IP and competes on a global scale,” says NZGDA Chairperson Ben Kenobi. “With smart digital exports there is no upper limit on how many physical copies you can sell.”


    The majority of earnings were recurring New Zealand-owned Intellectual Property, with only 12% of revenue coming from contract work for other companies. 50% revenue came from direct sales, 22% from advertising, with 9% being licensing and royalties.


    “The growth reported in our survey comes from a cluster of studios who are now well-established with global reputations and are six years old on average. However, the Developers Association is concerned at a lack of new globally-successful studios and the next generation of startups,” says Ben Kenobi.


    “With the right infrastructure and support, New Zealand’s interactive entertainment sector could be far larger again.” For instance, the interactive game development industry in Finland – a country with a similar population to New Zealand – was worth over three billion US dollars last year.


    To address this, the Developers Association launched its own $25,000 business startup competition, the Kiwi Game Starter. Three finalists will pitch their prototypes and business plans to a panel of judges during the New Zealand Game Developers Conference at AUT University on 19 September.


    “Unfortunately existing business startup or creative sector programmes don’t quite suit the nature of games businesses who must compete globally from day one in order to succeed,” said NZGDA chairperson Ben Kenobi. “The competition aims to raise awareness about the challenges facing NZ game developers and attract investor and sponsor funding for future initiatives.”


    “Exports from interactive entertainment now exceed local film or music exports. Domestically New Zealanders spend over $295 million on interactive games each year, far more than we spend on music or watching movies. The reality is that interactive games are a serious business for New Zealand.”


    Mr Kenobi says there are exciting opportunities in the areas of games for health, education and social change.


    The survey also found there were 450 fulltime equivalent professional game developers in New Zealand, with several hundred other part-time developers.


    30 video game development businesses were independently surveyed with figures as of 31 March 2014. This is the fourth year of the survey with the methodology based on Statistics New Zealand’s Screen Industry Survey.


    This article was sourced directly from the New Zealand Game Developers Association website here

  • 24 Aug 2015 11:57 AM | Kerrie Green

    The Institute of Directors’ 2015 Directors’ Fees Report shows directors’ fees have risen moderately this year, but workloads have almost doubled, reflecting an environment where boards are facing more scrutiny and regulation than ever before.


    Institute of Directors Chief Executive Simon Arcus says despite the median increase in non-executive directors’ fees by 4%, most (88%) saw a median increase of 41% in time commitment.


    “The right balance between risk and reward is critical to attracting skilled, competent and diverse talent to your board table,” Mr Arcus says. “We think there could be pressure on director remuneration levels in an era of increased liability and compliance. Our members tell us the burden of compliance has grown. What New Zealand needs is highly skilled, fairly remunerated directors. It’s not enough to say there are plenty of directors lining up out there: New Zealand needs a focus on quality not quantity.”


    This is the first year that the IoD has worked with EY to undertake our annual IoD Directors’ Fee Survey, and this year saw a 27% boost in survey participation, making it the most comprehensive in our history.


    EY partner Una Diver says the relatively modest increase in directors’ fees is a concern. “Do their current pay levels mean we don’t adequately value the critical governance role directors perform? We know the regulatory landscape is changing significantly, meaning it is critical that people with the right mix of skills are attracted to governance roles.”  


    Survey data shows only 50.6% are satisfied with their current level of remuneration, Diver says. Diversity in the boardroom is another area where progress has been slow. According to the IoD-NZIER Director Sentiment survey, of current serving directors, 64% agree diversity is a key consideration in making new appointments. Nevertheless, female non-executive directors comprise only 26.9% of the total sample; for Māori non-executive directors the figure is 4.7% and for Asian directors 0.2%. 


    “There are good economic arguments for getting the right skill mix, and gender, onto boards,” Diver says. “Research shows even one woman on a board can enhance its performance. It’s time to see the diversity statistics improve.” 


    Mr Arcus said it is also notable and concerning that the disparity between New Zealand and overseas owned companies has increased.


    “In 2014 NZ-owned company director fees were on average 58% less than overseas-owned companies. In 2015 it is 63% less,” Mr Arcus says. “Many variables need to be considered when determining a fair and reasonable fee. Directors play a central role in the economic health of our country. Economies are about confidence, directors are the backbone of that confidence. I am not afraid to say that directors are worth it. We pay directors to do the right thing not the commercially safe thing,” Mr Arcus says. “That can involve taking risks. New Zealand needs directors who are courageous but for whom the risk and reward balance in remuneration makes sense.”


    This media release was directly sourced from the Institute of Directors website here


    For further information:

    Institute of Directors – Justine Turner, Communications Manager, justine.turner@iod.org.nz

  • 24 Aug 2015 11:49 AM | Kerrie Green

    The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) is extremely disappointed Trade Minister Hon Tim Groser has rejected the call for an independent assessment of the impact of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPPA) on our health system.


    “The NZMA joined with a growing number of health organisations in calling for such an independent assessment,” says NZMA Chair Dr Stephen Child. In a letter in May, the NZMA formally requested a comprehensive, independent Health Impact Assessment (HIA), based on the actual text of the agreement and including input from sector experts.


    In his reply, Minister Groser noted that the Government was committed to protecting the fundamentals of the public health system, including PHARMAC. But he rejected a specific HIA in favour of a general National Interest Analysis, including health-related issues.


    Dr Child says health equity and public health measures are key advocacy issues for the NZMA. “These include issues surrounding alcohol, tobacco regulation and affordable access to medicine,” he says. “We need to have a clear understanding of the possible effects of the TPPA on current and future policy settings and directions—before we are committed to such a deal.


    “Before New Zealand commits to an agreement, we must ensure our ability to achieve legitimate public policy objectives—such as the protection of public health, safety and the environment—is protected. To do this we must have an independent assessment focused on these aspects.”  


    The United Nations Human Rights Commission recently voiced its concern about the possible ‘chilling effects’ of the Investor-state-dispute settlement (ISDS) chapter in the TPPA. As experience with other free trade agreements has shown, the regulatory functions of many states—and their ability to legislate in the public interest—have been put at risk by the ISDS provisions.


    As the UN pointed out: ‘ISDS chapters…provide protection for investors but not for States or for the population. They allow investors to sue States but not vice-versa.’ 


    Increasing numbers of health organisations and individuals have called for an HIA, with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) joining the chorus this week, ahead of this week’s Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in Hawaii.


    “With the total lack of transparency around the negotiations so far, we need the assurance an independent assessment can give that our health system and affordable access to medicines will be protected, and the TPPA will not compromise New Zealand’s ability to formulate policies to improve the health of its people,” says Dr Child.


    This media release was directly sourced from the New Zealand Medical Association website here

  • 21 Aug 2015 5:07 PM | Deleted user

    Members are not just a number on a database. Attend AuSAE’s upcoming Workshops on membership Engagement to find out how to engage with different generations of members, identify stumbling blocks to developing robust membership programs and walk away with the tools to help your get more value out of your membership and give your members more of what they want. This is the ideal workshop for chief executives and senior management who work in associations and the Not-for-Profit sector. 


    For more information and to register, please click on a location below:


    Wellington Workshop: September 22 2015


    Auckland Workshop: September 15 2015


    Christchurch Workshop: September 1 2015


  • 21 Aug 2015 5:06 PM | Deleted user

    Tourism New Zealand is celebrating today’s milestone of reaching three million international visitors annually for the first time, saying it spells jobs, income and economic value for all New Zealanders. 


    Tourism is this country’s biggest services export and Tourism New Zealand’s Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says the industry is growing strongly. 


    “Yesterday the International Visitor Survey showed total international visitor expenditure up 28 per cent to $8.7 million, and now having topped three million arrivals, it’s good news for all New Zealanders.  


    “International visitor spend is distributed widely across the economy; it’s not just accommodation or tourism activities that benefit; spending occurs at the local supermarket, petrol station, dairy, retail shops, and a myriad of other local businesses.”


    Even before this recent surge in visitor numbers, the tourism industry was directly responsible for nearly 100,000 jobs (4.7 per cent of employment) in New Zealand. A further 73,000 people are indirectly employed bringing the total number of people employed as a result of tourism to around 170,000 (or 8.3 per cent of all New Zealand’s employment)*.


    “We are also starting to see more visitors arriving outside of the traditional summer period and a wider regional distribution of visitor spending – all positive signs for the long-term growth of the industry and New Zealand’s regions. 

     

    Data released today by the Statistics New Zealand show that for the year-ending July 2015, over three million visitors came to the country, an increase of 7.3 per cent on the previous 12 months.

    Leading the way was the Australians at 1.29 million maintaining steady growth of 4.1 per cent. 

    New Zealand’s second largest source of visitor arrivals are the Chinese at 315,248, growing at 29.5 per cent year on year. 


    Australia, China, UK, USA, Germany and Japan round out New Zealand’s top six source markets.  

    Kevin says potential visitors to New Zealand continue to associate the country with landscapes and scenery, wildlife, and adventure.


    “For the past 15 years we have been playing to these strengths through the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign, during which time annual visitor arrivals have grown from around 1.54 million to where they are today.”


    * Tourism Satellite Account 2014 – See full report here: http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/Tourism/tourism-satellite-account-2014.aspx


  • 21 Aug 2015 1:11 PM | Deleted user

    An industry association has announced a raft of new changes, starting with a complete rebrand.


    The FBAA has announced a variety of changes, including a new logo it says will appeal to a broader demographic. The association has also launched a new website and plans to introduce video newsletters. FBAA chief Peter White said the changes are the first in a series of new offerings to be rolled through the end of 2016.


    “A new higher calibre level of free PD Days will be offered to members with the addition of VIP guest speakers, and these will be professionally videoed and placed on our website so regional people and those that can’t attend can still benefit with the professional content and CPDs," White said.


    White said the association was also formally kicking off its CPDOne offering, which enabled the FBAA to manage its members' CPD points and provide access to more content.


    White said further announcements and initiatives were on the way from the association, urging members to "just wait and see, and you'll be very pleased".


    "I believe this is the most exciting year in the FBAA’s history and is changing the game. This renewal will directly benefit all of our members and the industry as a whole, which is what we are about.”


    Article sourced from www.brokernews.com.au on August 21 2015.



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