On Your Behalf

Later this year, all members of New Zealand Winegrowers Incorporated (NZW) get to have their say through:

• a Special Members' Meeting (SMM), which proposes to extend the audit date;
• the Annual Members' Meeting (AMM), which proposes to implement the new Incorporates Societies requirements (in addition to the usual business); and
• the election of five Member Class directors to the NZW Board.

More information will be provided to members through our various channels at the relevant times. In the interim, please contact the Advocacy team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions. You can also find a dedicated webpage for each event on the NZW members website under ‘Governance’ (a subsection of ‘About Us’)./p>

In addition, the Governance Review is underway and members will be hearing more about this very shortly.

Special Members' Meeting change of audit date

The current turnaround time for audits after the end of NZW’s financial year is very short and the auditors have requested an extension of time for this. The current timing requirements come from legislation and the Rules of NZW (the Rules). Of these, the Rules are actually the most restrictive, but if these were to be amended, the deadline for the audit could be extended to 29 September while still meeting other legal obligations. The audit conducted would not be any less thorough, it would just allow more time for this to be completed. The deadline is also during the busiest time of year for auditors, which creates additional costs for NZW which are likely to be reduced if the date can be deferred.

Making this change to the Rules would require a SMM, which is currently planned for Thursday 2 May. As the SMM is on a single topic which is not expected to be controversial, it is being conducted online. The Notice of Meeting and Notice of Business for the SMM, which will include full details on how to attend and vote, will be sent to members before the Meeting in accordance with our Rules – watch this space.

Annual Members' Meeting - Implementation of the new Incorporated Societies requirements

At the next AMM, in addition to the usual business, we plan to restructure the Rules to accommodate the requirements of new incorporated societies legislation (which applies to NZW). The related documents and information, including the amendments to be voted on, will be put to members in advance of the Meeting. We anticipate that the AMM will be held on Friday 4 October and will be held online and in person, however, this is still to be confirmed by the Board. As always, we will keep you updated.

Election - five Member Class directors

The Board’s role is to govern and provide strategic direction to NZW, as your national industry body. As part of this, it directs the spending of your levy money – so it is important that you get involved. NZW members can stand for, and vote for who makes it on to, the Board – both are very important.

Because of the Member Class voting system, every member – large or small – will have an equal chance to influence who is elected for these positions. NZW hopes to see a diverse range of talented candidates standing across gender, ethnicity, age, regions and industry roles.

Any member of NZW may nominate a candidate from 5 August to 6 September. More information, including regarding eligibility and the nomination process, will come closer to the time. Members can also vote for their preferred candidate from 7 to 18 October.

The election will be run by electionz.com, an independent agent which has run many of NZW’s previous elections. There is still lots of time until it kicks off, and we will be putting out plenty of information in the second half of the year to keep you updated, but it’s never too early to begin thinking about the election, and who you want to govern your national body. Get involved!

Now is the time to start thinking and talking to your colleagues:

• Who do you want to represent your industry interests?
• Who is good at seeing the bigger industry picture, and asking perceptive questions?
• How can we ensure the Board reflects the diversity of our membership?
• Who do you know that you might want to nominate to stand?
• Are you interested in standing yourself?

We encourage all members to take these opportunities to have their say in 2024.