She attended the company’s 2023 annual general meeting at which she said it was disclosed in the 2022 annual report that there was a loss of $47.3 million from an investment into the North American Lamb Company (NALCO) in Canada.
The New Zealand side of business remained profitable, the 2022 annual report states.
NALCO was formed in summer 2018 when Canada Sheep and Lamb Farms, which had large-scale breeding barns in the Canadian province of Manitoba, merged with Canada Gold. The former was owned by Integrated Foods Group, a major New Zealand lamb producer and processor.
Mangatu is the majority shareholder in Integrated Foods Ltd and therefore the Group.
Canadian agriculture news outlet The Western Producer reported that NALCO entered into proceedings governed by the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in August 2022 with nearly $53m in outstanding debts to more than 200 creditors, according to court documents.
“The thing I don’t understand is why invest overseas when you could invest here in your own people?” Ms Campbell said.
“There’s no succession plan for them to be rangatira of their whenua.”
She first heard concerns in 1999 when she was a teacher at Te Kura o Whatatutu, she said.
During that time, Mangatu Inc would do bus trips to shareholders to share information.
“They asked for our kids to come and perform kapa haka,” Ms Campbell said. “I asked the elders if I could go and raise the concerns they were voicing to me. They all agreed.
“I shared the concerns but it wasn’t a formal meeting and there was never any action taken.”
These concerns had grown through the years as there had been more failed investments, Ms Campbell said.
A meeting this Saturday has been organised by shareholder Marise Lant for all shareholders to raise issues and discuss their concerns and next steps.
It is at the Emerald Hotel from 10am to 2pm.
Ms Campbell is also hoping to get shareholders to attend and engage at the next AGM on February 17.
A Facebook private group has been created to help inform shareholders. It is named Mangatu Blocks Committee 2023 “Step down”.
“This is about raising awareness and getting people prepared for the meeting. We are encouraging more of our whānau to engage and be better informed,” Ms Campbell said.
“Our children and our mokopuna are depending on us to take care of their interests into the future.”
Mr Haronga said the Mangatu Blocks AGM would provide a forum for shareholders to be updated.
“And in the future we plan to hold meetings around the country to ensure we hear what shareholders are saying. We want our shareholders to be heard and want to ensure they are fully informed of the business.”
At the AGM, they will present the 2023 reports.
Mangatu had a strong balance sheet and was in a strong financial position, he said. It had investments in forestry, farming and food production which had remained profitable.
“Shareholders will be involved in these industries and know the struggles and challenges facing them. While we are all very disappointed in our Canadian investment, when we first started to create this value chain, the returns were superior to what we could earn from our New Zealand operations.
“It was built to be complementary for all-year-round supply to the North American market and support shareholder returns sustainably. The Canadian investment is the most significant loss in one of our major investments ever and largely due to factors beyond our control.”
Firstly it was impacted by Covid and subsequently by the war in Ukraine where grain prices tripled, making the investment no longer sustainable, he said.
“The reality was if we had stayed in Canada we would have seen further annual losses due to these costs and we had to close this investment.”
Mangatu has 12,500 hectares of radiata pine forests and 15,000 hectares of indigenous trees.
“As far as we have monitored, no damage was caused by our forests being washed down into our waterways. And what small impact that was seen, even if uneconomic, was addressed immediately. The investment in trees has created significant value for our shareholders and Mangatu continues to invest into actively managing our forests.
“Mangatu and our committee are actively involved in the woody debris issue and work through advocating for the protection of Mangatu whenua, whenua Māori and waterways.”
Ms Campbell said she would be protesting outside the offices as often as she could.
