Update

UFBA AGM & Conference Hui Pressures

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National news

Kia ora koutou

Our dedicated Events Team of three people have been working hard, calling all brigades directly, to help clarify the separation of our AGM and Conference Hui, discuss the reasoning and what our pressures are.

Through these conversations, it has become clear that we need to highlight these points to all of our members:

  1.  Fire and Emergency are no longer funding our AGM. The UFBA and Fire and Emergency have a Conditional Grant Agreement that sets out the conditions for which we are funded. For many years, Fire and Emergency have funded the UFBA Conference, which included half a day dedicated to our AGM.

    This year, Fire and Emergency made it clear that the funds we receive for the conference cannot be used to pay for UFBA business (ie. our AGM).

    This means we have the additional pressure to self-fund an in-person AGM, as we know how much our members value coming together. Even though it is only a half-day meeting, it is not cheap to fly 200-300 members, plus transfer and venue costs.
     
  2.  After the 2022 Conference Hui, Fire and Emergency advised that they wanted to see a new audience attending in 2023. Based on membership feedback, the decision was made to develop an emerging leaders conference hui, to support brigade succession planning.

    There is a misconception amongst the membership that we don’t want existing leaders to come to the conference. This is untrue. We warmly welcome existing leaders, but they no longer fit the funding criteria and we strongly recommend existing leaders attend the AGM as the delegate, and we will change your return flight to Sunday so you can stay on to enjoy the learnings from the conference.

    For members who do not meet the funding criteria, it is much the same as bringing an observer in previous years, except your flights are funded because you attended AGM as the delegate, so it is actually more cost-effective. Cost savings can also be made if you choose to share accommodation with the funded emerging leader.
     
  3. The Conference Hui content has been chosen according to previous UFBA membership surveys (one post-Conference 2022 and the other in January 2023). We selected the keynote speakers based on the topics that members identified as areas of interest to them. You can see our exciting lineup of keynote speakers in the registration pack on our website - https://www.ufba.org.nz/events-learning/agm-and-conference-hui.
     
  4. COVID-19 has changed the landscape of our country, particularly the events and hospitality industries. At our AGM last year, the membership voted to accept the motion to change the registration close date to minimise the financial impact with accommodation providers. We are now at the point where we need to release large amounts of accommodation to avoid significant loss.

    We hear a lot of brigades have already voted on who their AGM Delegate and Emerging Leader Representative are. Please go online and register now, so we can place you in accommodation close to the venue.

At the AGM, we will be discussing the future of our AGMs and Conferences. It is important that your brigade is represented at the AGM so you can have your say on how we shape what we do in the future with the resources we have.

Ngā mihi
UFBA