President's Christmas Message 2024
As 2024 comes to a close I'd like to take the opportunity on behalf of the National Executive and our three branch committees to wish all members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
This year has been a difficult one for everyone and for those who govern manage and own unit title properties, it has been no different. I would like to thank all members for their loyalty and support of BCCG as we endeavor to provide support ,education and guidance to our members as they navigate their way through the intricacies of governing, managing and owning a unit title property.
In 2024 we have seen a heap of new developments and issues. But one positive step has been the opening of the new South Island branch and I thank Mark Darbyshire and his committee for getting the branch up and running and having a very successful first meeting of the branch in November.
Otherwise, we have had the final tranche of the Amendment Act come into play with the requirements for the BC manager role and electronic voting amongst other changes. We've tackled various issues through our branch meetings such as the changes to the BWOF regime, insurance which has been a constant worry for many and Wellington in particular, and running general meetings which the South Island presented. We've been involved with submissions to central government over a variety of issues such as the possible remote inspection regime, and amendments to the building act and we're now involved with the seismic Review Steering Group an MBIE initiative. We have built new or developed our relationships with MBIE, SCA(NZ), CCRG in Auckland and ICW in Wellington. We have joined LinkedIn which is a valuable channel for communication with our members and supporters.
There have been various events we have run in conjunction with SCA(NZ). These have been very successful like the joint event in Mt Maunganui, the round table on Leaky Building issues and discussion on the rebuttal to the Living Hell series of TV programmes. We will continue working on events together with SCA(NZ) in 2025 including webinars for committee members, two very well-attended sessions were run in 2024. Also, we have added new sponsors and the National Executive is very grateful for the support of all our sponsors, details of which are on our website.
So what does 2025 hold in store for Bodies Corporate chairs, committee members and owners? Insurance will almost certainly be an ongoing issue for many; we still have to get clarity around certain aspects of the Act such as who is responsible for repairs and maintenance on the building and who pays for what maintenance repairs and when.; whether various building elements can be omitted from or included in the LTMP. The Seismic Review Steering Group will continue its work during 2025 which is a critically important topic for some apartments, particularly in Wellington. But, a major issue that will need to be addressed by all is the Emergency Management planning for apartment buildings. Local government has been charged with putting together such plans and dealing with Emergency Management for apartment buildings it's going to be a major issue for all.
In all of this, we should not forget the role played by our Body Corporate managers and Building managers. They play a very important part in the smooth and trouble-free running of any Body Corporate development. I would encourage BC chairs and their committees to remember how hard BC managers and Building Managers work for their body corporate and thank them for what they do for them.
In closing, I thank all members of the national executive and the three branch committees for their commitment as volunteers to the purposes of BCG which is to support, educate, guide and assist all of our members in the governance and management of their body corporate. Collectively we have achieved a lot in 2024 and I'm sure we will continue to do so in 2025
Best wishes to all for a very relaxing and enjoyable summer break.
Tim Jones
National President
23- Dec-2024
