NEWSLETTER #3 - 25th October 2024

  The hard work has continued over the last month as we head to the finish line to deliver the very first NZ Loyal AGM!

But it has not been an easy road to travel, and we have had to negotiate a few potholes along the way. Which sadly now seems to be quite typical on a day-to-day basis for most Kiwis, and not just metaphorically.

We have a few updates to bring to you in this our third Newsletter in as many months, so please, read on…

  Before we go any further, we must acknowledge an absolutely amazing and tireless supporter of New Zealand Loyal that has assisted with managing the finances and getting bills paid; Linda Greenhorn, without Linda stepping up when we needed help it would have been an uphill battle. And it’s not just the help with finances, right from the very beginning, Linda has been there, always at the front of the line, and without hesitation, willing to help with whatever needed doing. 

On behalf of the Board, Linda, thank you!

We hope that you continue to be a champion for New Zealand Loyal.

•  Mark this date in your calendar: 

Saturday 30th November 2024.

As previously reported, we have secured a venue in West Auckland with a capacity for 300 attendees. Venue details are included in the ticketing process.

You can now reserve a ticket for the AGM by clicking the link below via Eventbrite.   

https://NZLoyal2024AGM.eventbrite.co.nz

Securing a ticket will be on a first come first served basis. Tickets and membership registration will NOT be available at the door, so get in early. You MUST be a member for your ticket to be valid and for entry to the event.

Remember, to vote at the AGM and have your say on the make-up of the new Board you must be in the room.

Tickets to the AGM are free of charge, but donations at the door will be greatly appreciated to help cover costs. Venues and events like these are not cheap to run!

 As aforementioned, only current members are eligible to attend the AGM, and more importantly to vote at the AGM for the new Board. You must also be at the AGM to vote. 

So, we are on a drive to re-invigorate our membership base and to take the Party through to the next General Election in 2026.

Our intention has always been to reinstate the Party registration with the Electoral Commission, which requires a minimum of 500 financially paid-up members.

That starts now!

We have a good starting base from the SGM, and we now want to build on that base and encourage anyone that was previously a member to rejoin, but also to encourage you if you were not a member before, and your family and friends to join us on this journey to the next General Election in 2026.

We have an updated membership form with some great joining fee options to get us to the AGM and our initial goal of 500, so don’t delay, become a member, attend the AGM, and let’s get our Party re-registered.

In the last newsletter we explained that those that signed up and paid a financial contribution for membership for the running of the SGM will not be asked to ‘top-up’ the annual membership fee. The Interim Board have agreed for those members to be treated as Early Bird sign-ups, and that means that you are already eligible to attend the AGM. 

If you are unsure of your membership status, please get in touch with our Party Secretary, Lisa, via email (office@newzealandloyal.com) and we will confirm this for you, remembering also that as we do not have any of the previous administration documentation or databases, we are having to start again from scratch.

We need to also double check that the membership forms are completed correctly so that they will withstand scrutiny by the Electoral Commission for Party registration. 

One of the most common mistakes made is the signing of the membership form, this must be a written signature, not a typed or digital signature, so your normal, or ‘wet’ signature as it is known, must be used when completing the form. If this is not done, then the membership will not count in the 500 needed for Party registration.

So, we need you to talk to your family, friends, and neighbours and anyone that you have contact with that would like to join NZ Loyal so that we can build depth to our Party’s membership. This in turn will allow us to get to that magic number of 500 and to re-register with the Electoral Commission.

Note: Due to the administrative complexity of confirming membership, payment, and ticket registration, we will not be issuing tickets to the AGM to members joining after Sunday 24th November 2024.

One of the main purposes of the AGM will be to elect a new Board, this aligns with the requirements of the current Party Constitution. The Board will have several key positions, and we are now calling for Nominations for the Board and those key positions.

A Nominations pack has been published with this newsletter detailing the process and job descriptions of the various roles and responsibilities. Remember, if you are considering a position on the Board, you are required to also be a member of the Party.

If you wish to nominate someone then obviously the person nominated will need to accept that nomination and be a member of the Party before the process moves forward. Nominating someone or being in support of a nomination, you are also required to be a member of the Party. If you wish to be nominated for a position but don’t have a member to nominate you, encourage someone to join and to be that nominator, or get in touch with the Board and we may be able to put you in contact with someone to support you.

Please note that Nominations will close at 5pm Monday 4th November 2024

A sub-committee from the current Board will be formed to manage the nominations and undertake a vetting process before all accepted nominations are put forward to the Board and AGM. The Nomination pack will answer any questions that you may have about the nomination process and eligibility.

Finally, those put forward for nomination will be voted on at the AGM by those members in attendance.

We have a website!

                                                                             NewZealandLoyal.com

It’s still a work in progress but we are adding information daily so please feel free to visit the site and see how it is progressing.

If you are wanting to get in touch with the Party or any of us currently on the Board, you can do so by emailing us at; office@newzealandloyal.com

 We have a Bank Account! 

                                                                New Zealand Loyal 

                                                                             02-1298-0086402-016 

This bank account will be used for all membership fees, donations, or money raised at fundraising events in the future. Please, if you can donate, now is the time to show your support financially. The Party will not be a success without your financial support. Events like the AGM have costs attached that are substantial and we can only do this with that financial support from you, the members and supporters. We would love to see you show that support by becoming a member of the Party, if that is not something you want to do right now, but you would like to contribute with a donation, we would be grateful for whatever you can donate. 

  It is public knowledge that a Trade Mark application has been made by the former leader of NZ Loyal. The Trade Mark case is currently (and unusually) still in an “Under Examination” status by IPONZ and has yet to move to an “Accepted” status which is when a formal objection can be lodged with IPONZ. We will continue to monitor the status of the application and when that status changes we will lodge the objection accordingly. We remain in contact with IPONZ as an interested party to the application.

As we have previously reported we have had no cooperation from the previous leadership or administration of NZ Loyal. Despite several attempts to engage there has been no satisfactory outcome for gaining access to any of the Party administrative documentation, databases, financial records or reporting, outstanding funds, or assets.

This has resulted in the Board having to engage Process Servers to make formal requests from various persons for what rightfully belongs to the Party to be handed over. This continues and is part of a process that may well lead to other legal action being taken. We are restricted by confidentiality and privacy as to what can be disclosed at this time to ensure that we follow due process in the hope that those involved are held to account for their actions.

We have been fortunate that on the current Board we have a Criminal Barrister, and a Licenced Private Investigator and former Police Detective, to assist in defining the process and give guidance. Without them we would have had to engage external legal advisors at great expense to the Party.

We also have to report that Chris Newman has tendered his resignation from the Board, which has been accepted. Unfortunately, Chris has a number of family and work commitments that left him with very little time to give to the Party. Chris remains a staunch ally of New Zealand Loyal and looks forward to seeing its future successes.

The Board thanked Chris for his contribution to the Party over the last couple of months and wished him well for the future. 

Its only five weeks to go before the AGM and we hand over to a new Board, a lot of preparation is still required to be done before we get there. This will be the busiest time yet for the Board.

As a final plea, if you can, consider a donation to NZ Loyal, or better yet become a member. It needs to be said that Board members have out of their own pockets financially supported the various costs to get to where we are now, including the website, domain registration, email services, zoom meeting costs, administration software, which has added up to hundreds of dollars so far. We, more than ever, need your financial support for us to be successful.

As always, we look forward to your continued support.

Kindest regards

Brenton Faithfull

Interim Board Member and Authorised Spokesperson

NZ Loyal Party