The deal to cease payments at the end of 2022 would see each Trustpower consumer receive a one-off compensatory cheque worth $2500 later this year plus a further five annual TECT cheques worth $360 each.
However, it relied on a two-step process, starting with TECT seeking a response from Trustpower customers to the proposal. If after consultation the trustees decided to press ahead, the issue would be decided by a binding referendum.
Diane Bruin of the Tauranga Budget Advisory Service said they could not survive without TECT support, but the people who utilised their services would be disappointed because they relied on the cheques to get them over Christmas.
The money helped towards the cost of presents, school uniforms or maybe a holiday for the family. Watering down the size of the cheques, so that more went to community organisations, threatened to make the cheques less significant for families, she said.
''I am not leaning either way, I can see both sides of the argument,'' Bruin said.
Arlene Foster of Tauranga's Turning Point Trust, a mental health recovery centre, said it would be fantastic if TECT had more money to put into the community, but she also knew there were struggling families that relied on the cheques.
She urged local Trustpower customers to read the consultation documents carefully in order to make an informed decision.
Liz Davies of umbrella group SocialLink intended to organise a meeting of not-for-profit social service organisations in order to get a clear line on what they felt about the proposal.
Stuart Caldwell of Get Smart, a specialised drug and alcohol service for young people, said the generous "payout" proposed by TECT, combined with the additional offer of five more years of TECT cheques, would be seen as providing an enormous amount of goodwill to Trustpower customers.
''We at Get Smart are grateful for the huge support TECT has given us and our communities, and the prospect of that support being increased is clearly welcomed.''
Caldwell said the story of the mental health and addictions sector over several years had largely been that there was no new money.
''I see this as a measure that will do a lot to support the long-term sustainability of agencies like Get Smart.''
Hawksworth said research showed that the TECT cheque was important to 85 per cent of households and ceasing the payments in 2023 would have unintended negative consequences.
''In particular, we're concerned about the impacts on superannuitants and low-income families who rely on this annual payment for budgeting purposes."
He said the rationale for change put forward by the trust made no sense: "We're not sure why the trustees are proposing such a dramatic, irreversible change.''
The electricity industry has been changing for 25 years and changes in technology had been an opportunity for Trustpower until it was now New Zealand's fourth largest telecommunications company, he said.
Hawksworth said Trustpower's local electricity customers deserved to better understand why the change was needed.
"We believe there will be a range of community views. Some of our customers will be implacably opposed and will want to protect the cheque, others will see merit in rebalancing the distribution between customers and community.''
Trustpower and TECT
- Trustpower was formed out of the former Tauranga Electric Power Board.
- TECT was established to hold Trustpower shares in trust for the benefit of Trustpower's customers in Tauranga and the Western Bay.
- TECT cheques ensured Trustpower's success was shared with its local customers.
Source: Trustpower
