Dear members and friends
Please find attached below the links to the Notice of SPS’s 2013 AGM at 7pm on Thursday 18 April at the Grey Lynn Community Centre, along with a Nomination Form for members of the SPS committee.
Electronic Voting
For the first time there will be the option of electronic (email) voting. This will allow all members to vote (and stand for positions) even if not present at the AGM. If you wish to do more to help SPS in its goals please put your name forward for a Committee position.
To ensure your vote counts, renew your membership for the 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 year (You can do so on line now at
http://www.surfbreak.org.nz/?page_id=2726
and come to the AGM and vote or, if you can’t make it, vote by email at least 24 hours before the AGM.
Member’s Motions
Members may also put forward a motion and request that it be voted on at the AGM but they will need to give at least 14 days’ notice.
Nominations Called For Committee
Nominations are now open and called for on the enclosed Nomination Form.
You can nominate yourself if you wish and ask another member (or someone from the current Committee) to second your nomination. Email the completed form (ask the seconder and nominee to email confirmation to you and attach these to your email to SPS if you have difficulty obtaining signatures and scanning and emailing the form i.e. For a nomination to be valid the nomination, confirmation by the seconder and acceptance by the nominee must be self contained in ONE email (with attachments) from the nominator to SPS.) along with a one page (max.) summary of what the nominee has to offer. (Nominations must also be received by email before 5pm, 11 April to be valid.)
This information will be emailed onto members and the Committee may make recommendations to assist voting decisions. 7 to 10 Committee Members will be elected (which includes the officers) and the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer are also up for grabs.
More details of the responsibilities of Committee and officers can be found in the Constitution on the website. Generally: the President oversees the operation of the Society and gives leadership and direction (with back up from the Vice President) the Secretary records minutes of meetings, keeps the Register of Members, holds records (except those required for the Treasurer’s function), receives and replies to correspondence and forwards the annual financial statements to the Registrar of Incorporated Societies after the AGM, the Treasurer keeps accounting records (membership subs are now largely automated) and prepares annual financial statements for the AGM.
The Committee runs SPS and meets as often as it wishes by physical meetings or via video or telephone conference, or any other instantaneous communication format. Decisions can also be made by majority vote by email or any other means.
If you have ever wanted to be more involved in assisting in the protection of New Zealand’s beautiful surf breaks, now is a great time to put yourself forward. SPS is looking for those with computer skills to assist with running the website, planners and lawyers for dealing with councils, accounting types for Treasurer, organized types for Secretary, and any other enthusiastic surfbreak lovers who think they have something to offer on the front line or in the back rooms.
New Zealand – Leading the World in Surf break Protection.
SPS (along with others) successful submitted on the ten year review of the Taranaki Regional Plan asking for surf break to be included in the new Plan. 83 surfbreaks were included in the new Plan and subsequently formally protected by the Taranaki Regional Council in 2009.
Similarly SPS (again along with others) also successfully submitted (a 4 hour submission with professional support from lawyers, planners and scientists) in a ten year review of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (prepared under the Resource Management Act 1991).
The new 2010 Statement now gives protection to 19 top named surf breaks as well as potential protection to any other surf breaks forming part of the ‘natural character of the coastal environment,’ and the protection covers water quality, access and swell corridors. This is a world first with the protection of surf breaks at the highest Government level (New Zealand Planning documents must give effect to this protection and Councils must comply with it.) and the news of this success travelled worldwide.
However work still needs to be done on establishing an acceptable, methodical approach towards identification of surfbreaks and then ensuring the law is put into effect. SPS continues to lodge numerous submissions in this regard (the most recent being on the Northland Regional Plan Review 2013) as well as work on other campaigns and projects.
A priority at present for SPS (along with a team of supporters including and coastal and legal experts) is preparing for an upcoming hearing regarding the application by Port Otago to increase dredging and spoil dumping near the, now protected, Aramoana Spit surf break.