Governance
This section provides some details on the Marram Community Trust history and the way in which it operates.
Marram Governance and our Board of Trustees
Marram Community Trust is a Not for Profit organisation and is governed by a Trust Deed and Board of Trustees. It is a registered charitable trust in terms of the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 but is not a registered charity in terms of the Charities Act 2005, so it does not qualify for tax exemption.
FUNDING:
The initial funding to establish the holiday homes network came from war bond fees. When this option was depleted additional funding came from the receipt of regular contributions from employees of the Post Office making contributions on behalf of its staff as a subsidy.
Today, Marram is funded by the holiday home rentals, contributions and income from investments. The funding provides money to pay healthcare expenses, heavily subsidise the rental cost of the holiday homes and maintain the homes from year to year. Most years this money is completely spent, but any excess is put back into the organisation.
Common misunderstandings surrounding how we are funded are:
- 'Contributors built the homes' - originally these were funded by war bond fees. Although contributions during the early years did go towards some purchases this has not occurred for decades.
- 'The contributions cover all costs' - Holiday home rental pricing is not sufficient to cover costs and all rentals are subsidised to some degree by Marram Community Trust. A significant proportion of income is paid out in healthcare benefits through the healthcare benefits.
- 'Past contributions should reflect in today's services' - all funds are used in the year they are contributed, so if you don't make a claim this year your contributions are helping out other people in the Marram Community.
THE TRUST BOARD
A minimum of seven members of the Trust Board come from affiliated organisations, as determined by the Trust Deed. Three of these Trustees are nominated and appointed by the three founding affiliated organisations and three Trustees are nominated by our contributors. The Chairperson of the Marram Community Trust Board is always the person in charge of the HR functions of Telecom NZ.
In accordance with the Trust Deed, the Board comprises a Chairperson, three independent (Appointed) Trustees and three executive (Employer) Trustees appointed by the affiliated organisations. The Board may also appoint other Trustees (Additional) from time to time to provide their expertise and to ensure that the Board has at least seven members.
Through oversight, review and counsel, the Board establishes and promotes Marram Community Trust's business and organisational objectives. The Board oversees the Trust's business affairs and integrity, works with the CEO to determine the Trust's vision and long-term strategy, performs an annual CEO evaluation, oversees CEO succession planning, oversees internal controls over financial reporting and assesses risks and strategies for risk mitigation. Potential conflicts of interest are disclosed at the start of each Board and sub-committee meeting and should any conflict of interest arise during the course of the Board’s business the trustee involved takes no part in that discussion or the resulting decision.
Where a Board vacancy exists the Board advertises the role and selects a short-list of candidates with the appropriate qualifications and experience. The Board appoints the most suitable candidate.
The Trustees meet a minimum of five times a year in either Wellington or Auckland. They are responsible for ensuring that the Trust follows good governance. The Board also provides strategic input and approves the budget and business plan of Marram Community Trust.
The Trustees as at July 2011 are:
Jan O'Neill
- Chairperson of Marram Community Trust Board since 1 July 2011. Group HR Director at Telecom New Zealand. Jan is leading the HR team to enable Telecom’s people and build a smarter organisation through improved workforce effectiveness and in embedding Telecom values of “people drive our success”; “passion for customers”; “working together as ONE” and “acting with openness and integrity” across the company.
David Benison
- Appointed Trustee on Marram Community Trust Board since 22 April 2010.
- Formerly the Government Actuary based in Ministry of Economic Development. David is based in Wellington and has been a supporter of Marram since 2003. He has been involved with the regulation of superannuation schemes, Kiwisaver schemes and insurance companies and he has over 30 years of management experience in private industry including Norwich Union and Prudential.
- David is married with three sons and four grandchildren.
- He plays golf and tennis when time allows due to life on a lifestyle block, and is also interested in social history from the late 19th century.
Robin Dodd
- Employer Trustee (for ANZ National Bank) on Marram Community Trust Board since 22 July 1998 and a current member of Marram’s Finance Sub-Committee.
- Robin is Branch Manager of ANZ Bank, Wellington and has been a Marram Contributor since 1970, when he joined the Post Office.
- He is also a house volunteer for Marram’s holiday homes in Lyall Bay, Wellington.
- Robin’s past roles have been in NZ Post Office and with Postbank.
- He is married with two children aged 15 and 25.
- Actively involved in sports administration, Robin is a Life Member Taradale Cricket Club in Napier and a Life Member Poneke Rugby Club in Wellington, where he is currently Poneke Club Treasurer.
Graham Henderson
- Appointed Trustee on Marram Community Trust Board from 22 April 2010.
- Formerly the Financial Controller for Postal Services within NZ Post, Graham has held a number of finance roles within NZ Post and Foodstuffs.
- Based in Wellington, Graham has been involved with Marram since 2002. He has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University and is an ACA, NZ Society of Accountants (1990).
- Graham is married with two children.
- His interests include cycling, playing football and golf (when possible).
Michelle Kong
- Employer Trustee (for Telecom NZ) on Marram Community Trust Board since 22 April 2010.
- Michelle is Head of Business Unit Strategy Support, Group Strategy at Telecom New Zealand and is based in Auckland.
- She has degrees in law and mathematics, and work experience in both strategy and investment banking and has been a Marram Contributor since 2005.
- Michelle is married, with two young boys.
- Michelle loves spending time with her family and friends, pottering around the beautiful New Zealand countryside, meeting new people, baking/cooking (and eating the results)!
Tim Lusk
- Appointed Trustee on Marram Community Trust Board since 20 May 2008.
- Tim is Chief Executive of Meridian Energy and is based in Wellington.
- He has a BE (Hons) from Canterbury University.
- A former Chief Executive of Marram Community Trust, Tim has been a Marram Contributor since 2006.
- He has a wealth of experience in professional electrical generation, transmission, and distribution engineering, as well as large infrastructure project management. He also had general management and senior executive experience at corporate level of organisations, including Telecom Wholesale, Transpower and McConnell Dowell International.
- Tim is married to Lesley and has two adult daughters.
- Tim’s hobbies include small scale property development, the gym, early morning tennis games, golf, sailing and skiing.
Carey Oldfield
- Additional Trustee (for UGL Services Limited) on Marram Community Trust Board since 29 March 2007.
- Chairman of Marram’s Property Sub-Committee and also on the Appointments Sub Committee.
- Executive General Manager for UGL Services Limited.
- Carey graduated as a civil/structural engineer and practiced in that profession for a number of years before going into project management and property development. He has wide experience with some 30 years in the property industry initially on the supply side and latterly on the demand side developing property strategy for NZ Post.
- Carey is also currently a board member of the New Zealand Green Building Council and Chapter Chair of CoreNet Global in New Zealand.
- Carey is married with three teenaged children.
- His interests include trying to keep fit (jogging and the gym), fishing, armchair sportsman and socialising with family and friends.
Board Sub-Committees
The Board has four sub-committees: a Property sub-committee; Finance sub-committee; Strategic sub-committee and an Appointments sub-committee. Each sub-committee is responsible for the review and oversight of the Trust’s activities in the areas delegated by the Board.