‘More for you, Better for Auckland’ demands a change to the electoral system
Venkat Raman
Auckland, October 4, 2024
Aucklanders must realise the ‘power’ they hold in their hands and exercise their franchise to elect a good team of Trustees to the Board of Entrust, a former Councillor and a prominent member of the Chinese community has said.
Paul Young, who was an Auckland Councillor (Howick Ward) and a member of the Counties Manukau District Health Board, believes that the Asian communities can make a big difference if they give up their apathy and vote in the forthcoming elections.
Election to the Entrust Board will be held from October 10 to October 25, 2024.
Entrust is a private trust that owns a majority shareholding in Vector, one of the largest energy distribution companies delivering electricity and piped gas.
Community Apathy
South Asian Communities including people of Indian, Fiji Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Nepali origin take sparse interest in its management and hence their voice is not heard in one of the most important sectors of the Auckland economy, Mr Young said.
He was at the offices of Indian Newslink on October 3, 2024 along with fellow contestant Pippa Coom to appeal to Aucklanders to understand the importance of voting.
Along with Mr Young and three others, they have formed a team called, ‘More for You, Better for Auckland.’
“Aucklanders continue to suffer the cost-of-living crisis, compounding which is the ever-rising electricity bill. There is a need to reduce the power rate and it can be made possible only through a diverse Board of Trustees. The Indian community in Auckland is not only hard-working but also a strong advocate of fairness. It is time to listen to common people, which can be done only if we are represented adequately in Entrust,” he said.
Mr Young said that with advances made in technology, cheaper forms of electricity such as solar panels must replace the conventional forms of energy which are expensive.
According to him, the Communities and Residents (C&R) group has been at the helm of Entrust for the past 30 years and as a true mark of democracy, it is time to change the leadership with more people from the Asian communities.
About Entrust
Entrust (formerly called the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust), is a private trust that owns the majority of Vector on behalf of its beneficiaries.
Entrust owns 75.1% of shares in Vector which are held in trust for energy consumer beneficiaries in Central, East, and South Auckland. These beneficiaries are paid a cash dividend each year, usually in late September.
The Organisation was created in 1993 to make sure that power lines remained in the control of electricity consumers and was established under a trust deed on behalf of electricity consumers in the area previously served by the Auckland Electric Power Board.
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Low Voter turnout
Describing Vector as a $3 billion giant, Mr Young said that the company can be managed better. Ms Coom said that the voting rate at Entrust is ‘incredibly low’ at about 9.6%.
“Over the years, the Entrust election has become even less democratic. In 2021, (the late Journalist and Commentator) Rod Oram wrote of the 2018 election, saying, “C&R made it a real turnoff, hence only 12.44% of voters cast their ballots. Incredibly, the turnout in 2021 plummeted even further than that record low, to a mere 9.5%. C&R has done next to nothing to reverse the decline in voting,” she said.
Her article appears separately in our Web Edition, to be followed in the Digital Edition.
Ms Coom claimed that there were anomalies in the electoral list of Entrust.
“In an apartment building, it is often the body corporate who gets the voting papers on behalf of all the residents. In a flat, it could be the landlord, a person who does not live there, or a flatmate who takes the dividend and bins the ballot without the knowledge of other flatmates Voters can forget about casting special votes if they are out of town or overseas because there is only a two-week window. This year, the Electoral Officer recommends posting voting papers by 21st October to arrive in time for election day on 25th October,” she said.
Mr Young agreed, saying that the time given to voters is ‘very short.”
“People do not get an opportunity to read through the voting papers and arrive at a calculated decision. Something is wrong here. I think that the low turnout (as low as 9.5%) is due to this factor. We must correct this situation,” he said.
Ms Coom said that ‘More for You, Better for Auckland’ will deliver the innovation, diversity, transparency and accountability that Entrust needs.
“We have the fresh skills, experience, and solutions-focused policies to take Entrust forward for Auckland. You might have seen our colourful billboards. Voting starts Thursday 10 October, and 364,000 households will have the opportunity to ensure that Entrust does more for you and is better for Auckland. Look out for the Entrust voting papers in your letterbox. Do whatever it takes to get them in the mail by Monday 21 October, or into a supermarket ballot box near you before election day Friday 25 October. The power is yours!” she said.
