Voting is open for the Central Lakes Trust (CLT) elections and CLT chair Linda Robertson is urging residents to take the time to vote. 

CLT is the largest philanthropic trust per capita in the Southern Hemisphere and it has distributed over $128M back into the regional community since its inception in 2000.

With assets totalling over $467M, it has an annual grants budget of approximately $10-12M, which is distributed to worthy local causes.

“The trust is a significant community asset,” Linda said. “Ultimately that asset is yours, and consequently, it’s up to you to determine who will serve on the board as elected trustees.”

Funding from the CLT has supported a huge range of Central Otago projects over the years. 

Twelve candidates have been nominated for the five publicly elected trustee seats on the board (which will also include three appointed trustees).

There are plenty of familiar faces in the running, including former Central Otago District mayor Tony Lepper, and two former Queenstown Lakes District mayors - Jim Boult and Vanessa Van Uden.

The other nominated candidates are Lindsay Breen, Doreen Evans, Charlotte Gardiner, Grant Hope, Kate Radford, Kathy Dedo, Jude Battson, Trudi Webb and Barbara Withington.

“It is now the community’s opportunity to have their say on who they would prefer to represent them and serve on the trust for the next three years,” Linda said.

Voting documents are on their way to all electors in Central Otago.

Electors will be able to vote by post or internet voting, with voting closing on November 18 (although postal votes should be posted at least five days earlier).

Central Lakes Trust’s origins began with the Energy Companies Act of 1992 and the Electricity Industry Reform Act of 1998, which required power boards to be incorporated, to allow communities to determine how the shares in the new energy companies were held.

Many communities, including Central Lakes, allocated shares into a trust. Following the 1998 reforms, the CLT was officially formed in 2000, with an initial asset base of $151M . 

CLT’s purpose is to make a positive lasting contribution to the community by supporting charitable projects throughout Central Lakes.