Voting Starts Today In Fonterra Director Election

Voting Starts Today In Fonterra Director Election

About 12,500 voting papers are being sent to Fonterra shareholders today, signaling the opening of voting in the 2003 Fonterra Board of Directors elections.

Returning officers Carolyn Mason and Mike Linnegar say 11 candidates are now contesting the election, following the withdrawal of his candidacy by Les Keeper of Queenstown last week.

The elections will fill three vacant positions on the Board. Each year three of the co-operative's nine shareholder-elected Directors must retire by rotation, but can seek re-election.

The 11 candidates are:

* Colin Holmes, Murupara

* Harry Bayliss, Manaia

* Stuart Nattrass, Christchurch

* Richard Booth, Whangarei

* John Wilson, Te Awamutu

* Hilary Webber, Cambridge

* Graeme Edwards, Leigh

* Kingi Smiler, Wellington

* Marise James, Inglewood

* Malcolm Bailey, Feilding

* Maurice Hardie, Papamoa

The voting papers are being sent in a pack with a video interview of each of the candidates, candidate profiles, information regarding the key skills and capabilities directors should possess and an explanation of the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system being used.

Shareholders need to return their voting papers by noon on May 23 and receive one vote for every 1000kg of milksolids they supplied in the season ending May 31, 2002.

At the same time an election is being held in South Taranaki for two positions on Ward 17 of the Fonterra Shareholders' Council. There are three candidates standing for the two vacant positions. They are:

* David Pearce, Waitotara

* David Hopkins, Waitotara

* Philip Nixon, Hawera

Further information on the election process, including profiles of the candidates, is available on the Fonterra supplier-only section of www.fencepost.com . A discussion group has also been running on the website.

In both elections, the STV system will be used to elect candidates. The elections results will be notified by May 26.

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