NZAGA Elections 

The NZAGA Rules were changed in 2021 and we now have two regions, North and South. All growers vote for all regions but regional representation remains to ensure both North and South are represented on the Executive Committee.

Regions

For the purposes of determining the region of the nominee, the NZAGA rules define the boundaries of where the nominee’s orchard is located:

North:                   North of Auckland harbour bridge (this definition is abridged for simplicity)

South:                   South of Auckland harbour bridge (this definition is abridged for simplicity)

North:                   At least 2 seats vacant requiring representation

South:                   At least 2 seats vacant requiring representation

Fifth seat:            Once the 2 South and 2 North seats are filled, the next highest polling candidate will be elected                

Requirements for nominees are set out in the NZAGA rules, available on request and on the NZ Avocado website –About us/Industry documents/NZAGA Rules or click here. Nominees are encouraged to be familiar with the rules. The nominee must be a voting member of NZAGA, either as the Ordinary member, or the Levy member being the person primarily liable to pay a Commodity Levy to the Association, for a PPIN in the relevant region.

Meet the candidates:

Candidate bios will be available prior to voting commencing. 

Meet the candidates events are usually held to allow growers to hear from candidates in-person or via webinar.

Appointment as Director of NZ Avocado Industry Limited

On appointment to the Executive Committee, the candidate accepts that they will be appointed a Director of the NZ Avocado Industry Limited (NZAIL), the 100% owned operating subsidiary of the NZAGA. They will be bound by the obligations of a Director as set out in the Companies Act.

The successful candidates will be invited to attend the AGM, and will take up their position at the Executive meeting immediately following the AGM.

Voting

Voting will be done using the Vevox platform.

The Returning Officer will confidentially manage Vevox which digitally receives and counts the votes.

Voting members include:

  • Ordinary member, generally the land owner
  • Levy member being the person primarily liable to pay a Commodity Levy

Growers confirm the Ordinary and Levy member for each PPIN annually in the export registration.

Grower members may elect to vote using a paper vote by responding to any electronic communication in regard this election or can email returning.officer@nzavocado.co.nz to request a paper vote. You will need to include your name, PPIN, and postal address. The voting paper will be sent to you, along with a self-addressed envelope for you to return your vote to the returning officer.

Voting members

There are two types of voting members of NZAGA:

  • Ordinary member, generally the land owner (holds one vote per PPIN)
  • Levy member being the person primarily liable to pay a Commodity Levy (holds the production weighted vote)

These voting rights are described in the NZAGA Rules found here.

Those that receive the voting email will be listed in the NZ Avocado system as either the Ordinary member (Land owner) or Levy member (Crop owner) and in most cases this is the same individual.

Some orchards have previously requested different individuals be assigned to each voting category, so this is a reminder that it is the Levy member who holds the production vote for your orchard.

You can easily check who is listed against your PPIN in Avo hub either via your export registration receipt or by opening the registration process.
Within either of these options it will list:
The Land owner designated signatory = Ordinary member
The Crop owner designated signatory = Levy member

If the Ordinary Member and the Levy Member are different – both members would receive a voting email and would need to vote to ensure all of the votes assigned to an individual PPIN are counted.

Industry governance

Governance of the industry is very important.  We encourage growers to put their hand up to participate in industry governance. Members interested in becoming a candidate are invited to discuss this individually with the Chair or CEO directly. We can provide information on the roles and responsibilities of an Executive member and director.

Executive / Director

We encourage you to support nominations from growers with relevant skills and the capability to represent you on the Executive Committee of NZAGA and Board of NZ Avocado Industry Limited.