CHAIR’S REPORT

Last year I predicted that 2021/2022 would be the year of more for QEII. More change, more growth, and more opportunities for us to continue to lead the way in private land conservation.

Looking back on the year, it has certainly shaped up that way. We have continued to grow, continued to take on new opportunities and we continue to stay true to our core values and our main objective to inspire conservation on private land.

We saw a change at Government level, with a new Minister of Conservation, Hon Poto Williams, appointed to take over the portfolio in June 2022. We have had great engagement with Minister Williams. She attended a QEII board meeting shortly after taking on the portfolio and we were pleased that she took a keen interest in the work that we are doing alongside our covenantors.

In a world full of change, at governance level we saw members vote for continuity with Donna Field and Graham Mourie both re-elected to the QEII board of directors in the director elections. I would like to thank Murray McKee for standing in this election. Members were given three strong candidates and the quality of candidates underscores the passion and commitment that our members and covenantors have for the work QEII does.

One of the big items on our to-do list this past year was the projects that we put together as part of the Jobs for Nature programme. Our ‘Protecting the Gains’ project is enabling us to protect more areas of biodiversity on private land, safeguarding other Jobs for Nature investment that is being made. Part of this project also involved developing an alternative tool for protecting areas that do not yet have biodiversity values that meet the criteria for protection by an Open Space Covenant. We have also initiated two further Jobs for Nature projects, funded through DOC’s Private Land Biodiversity Fund – a covenant deer exclusion project (nationwide) and a project to accelerate stewardship of rare and threatened species in the Eastern South Island. These will support landowners with existing QEII covenants and give us an opportunity to support landowners with work that isn’t possible with our usual funding. You can read more about these projects on page 24.

One of the biggest moments for QEII this year was preparing for the takeover of Remarkables Station, a 900-hectare property in Queenstown. This was thanks to an incredibly generous gift by Dick and Jillian Jardine. The property was officially transferred to QEII on 1 July 2022 after 100 years of ownership by the Jardine family. We have developed a 50-year strategy for the Station and are working closely with stakeholders to ensure it is an asset for the community and the country in the future. Change because of growth also continues to be a theme for us this year, with our fundraising manager Bryna O'Brien hitting the ground running with the launch of our new fundraising programme, Partners in Protection – Ōhākī, in September 2021. This programme allows our generous supporters to help QEII by leaving a gift in their will and we will continue to expand our work in the fundraising space.

The generosity from bequests has continued to enable us to allocate additional funding to the Stephenson Fund, a contestable fund that QEII launched in 2017. Demand has increased over the years and this year we received 52 applications from landowners for funding. We distributed over $190,000 to landowners through the Stephenson Fund, funding 31 projects – an increase from $150,000 the year before.

The 2022 financial statements at the end of this annual report show that the trust has made a deficit of $1.6m compared with the budget deficit of $2.0m. The $0.4m turn-around from the budgeted deficit is due to a range of factors including the Pre 1995 fencing provision which was $1.3m lower than 2022. This was offset by a decrease in the value of investment portfolio of $1.9m. Other changes included the recognition of $0.5m less revenue from Jobs for Nature and covenant costs $1m lower than budget.

At the time of writing this report, the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is at the front of our minds. Our connection to Her Majesty goes back to 1977, when the QEII National Trust was formed and named after Her Majesty in honour of her silver jubilee. We were honoured that Her Majesty was able to see the Trust in action during a visit to Taupō Swamp in 1986. I hope that her passion for conservation will be remembered through the ongoing work that we do in partnership with our covenantors.

I am continually heartened by the desire of so many landowners to work with QEII to covenant and protect special areas of their land. These generous acts leave an extraordinary legacy for us to enjoy and admire and will last beyond our lifetime. So, with special thanks to all our covenantors, I am proud to present this year’s annual report.

Bruce Wills

CHAIR