WESCT consists of six Trustees. The next election that all beneficiaries can vote in will be in September 2026.
There are three types of Trustee, and each type is voted for slightly differently:
Three (3) “A” Trustees.
Beneficiaries elect these three Trustees by a postal vote. The position expires after three years which will be the 30th of September 2026. The “A” Trustees are Janette Osborne of Waitomo, William Oliver of Te Kūiti, and Yvette Ronaldson of Aria.
Two (2) “B” Trustees.
Major Beneficiaries elect these two Trustees. The position expires after three years which will be the 31st of March 2025. The “B” Trustees are Cathy Prendergast of Arohena and Guy Whitaker of Te Kūiti.
One (1) “Appointed” Trustee.
The “A” Trustees jointly appoint this Trustee on the basis of his or her commercial expertise. The “appointed trustee” holds office for a term from the date of their appointment until the expiry of the term of appointment of the “A” Trustees, which is currently the 30th of September 2026. The “appointed” Trustee is Erin Wirihana of Te Kūiti.
Election Dates
- The next election date for three (3) “A” Trustees is September 2026.
- The next election date for two (2) “B” Trustees is the 31st of March 2025.
Trustee Eligibility
Rule 7 of Schedule 1 of the Trust Deed lists the following eligibility criteria for WESCT trustees:
7. Cessation of Trusteeship
A Trustee shall cease to hold office if such trustee:
- has served for the term prescribed herein as a Trustee provided however that at each election the trustee may seek re-election for a further term.
- by notice in writing to the secretary of the Trust or if there is no secretary to the then chairman, resigns his or her office.
- refuses to act.
- becomes of unsound mind or becomes a protected person under any statute for the time being in force.
- becomes bankrupt or enters into a composition or assignment for the benefit of his or her creditors.
- is absent without leave from three consecutive ordinary meetings of the Trustees.
- is convicted of any indictable offence.
- is employed by the Company. Note: ‘The Company’ in this case is the Lines Company Ltd. Any staff or directors of the Lines Company Ltd would need to resign from their employment or director positions before taking up a Trustee position with the Waitomo Energy Services Customer Trust.
Section 25 of the Local Electoral Act 2001 states:
25. Candidate qualifications
- Every parliamentary elector is qualified to be a candidate at every election to be held under this Act if that person is a New Zealand citizen.
- This section is subject to section 58.
Section 96 of the Trusts Act 2019 states:
96. Who may be appointed as trustee
- Any person may be appointed as a trustee of a trust unless the person is disqualified.
- The following persons are disqualified from being appointed as a trustee:
a. a child:
b. an undischarged bankrupt:
c. a person who lacks the capacity to perform the functions of a trustee:
d. a body corporate that is subject to an insolvency event. - Despite subsection (2)(b), an undischarged bankrupt may be appointed as a trustee with the consent of the court.
- For the purposes of subsection (2)(c), and without limiting that paragraph, a person lacks the capacity to perform the functions of a trustee if the person—
a. is subject to an order appointing a manager under section 31 of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988; or
b. has a trustee corporation managing the person’s property under section 32 or 33 of that Act.