Greetings to you all. Look, before I hand over to Peter for an official welcome, I'll quickly touch on our health and safety emergency procedures before opening our AGM today with the Fonterra Co-operative. In the unlikely event of an emergency, a siren will sound continuously. This curtain over here to my left, your right, will open. I'd ask that we all assemble out there as quickly as possible in the garden area. If the emergency is an earthquake, don't attempt to leave the building until the shaking has stopped. Keep away from the glass and shelter under doorways and tables, although I don't see any tables in here, so maybe around that way. If you are the closest person to a call point, I think that's all taken care of, but if you do find yourself near a small red box and it isn't an emergency, please hit it as quickly as possible. And our toilets are located out on the corridor as you come through the reception area, including accessible toilets as well. So on that note, look, I'll kick us off with the Fonterra Kaumātua. Mikata kiatu tatu. Haya tiata kahawa mpira tiata kutiata nui kahurai na hepo hepo hea kaawa tia haumie uye tai tia. Tēnā koutou. Thanks so much. Tēnā koutou katoa. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou, Fonterra whānau nei. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. Good morning, everyone. My name is Peter McBride, Chair of the Board of Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited. I'm pleased to welcome you to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Fonterra. Thanks for your attendance here today in New Plymouth and online. I now declare the meeting open. The notice of meeting was sent to all shareholders listed on the share register as of 16 October 2024 and will be taken as read. Not less than 50 shareholders, who between them hold not less than 2% of voting rights, have cast postal votes either by mail or electronically or are present in person or online. This means we have the requisite quorum. The agenda for the meeting was set out in the notice of meeting booklet. Shortly, I will present the chairman's review. Our Chief Executive, Miles Hurrell, will then address shareholders. We'll then open the meeting for questions and answers on the year-end review and our presentations. We'll then move to the six ordinary resolutions and two special resolutions. The Cooperative Council review will be presented by Council Chair John Stevenson before putting the resolutions relating to the Council bylaws and the Council program and budget. We'll then collect the voting papers and open the meeting to general business. We expect to finish around 1:00 P.M., and I invite those in the room to stay and join us for lunch. I'd like to introduce my fellow directors and senior management from my far left. Directors Bruce Hassall, Andrew Macfarlane, Holly Kramer, Brent Goldsack, and Leonie Guiney, and our director of governance, risk, and audit, Anya Wicks. From my far right, this isn't left or right of the house, but directors Alistair Field, Alison Watters, John Nicholls, Cathy Quinn, and Clinton Dines, and our CEO, Miles Hurrell. We also have other members of Miles's management team here today: Andrew Murray, our chief financial officer; Mike Cronin, managing director of cooperative affairs. I'd like to acknowledge the Cooperative Council Chair, John Stevenson, and the members of the Cooperative Council who have joined us today. I'd also like to welcome Mary-Jane Daly, the chair of the Fonterra Shareholders' Fund, and representatives from our auditors. We have also invited members of the media who are in attendance today. In a moment, I will ask Miles to take us through a short summary of our financial performance. I know many of you will also be keen to hear his comments on our strategy refresh and the intended divestment of consumer. Before we hear from Miles, I thought it would be informative to talk you through a couple of key insights that the board considers important in the development of strategy. These form the background of the conversations we have as a leadership team when we consider our options, including the decision to divest our wider consumer business. The first insight is our global operating context, which continues to change, and the second is risk, how we manage risk on your behalf and the way we treat your capital. We are always and always will be a New Zealand farm-owned co-op, but we are also a global export business. When considering our strategy, we need to challenge ourselves to look beyond the back fence and past the here and now. The world is changing. We are moving out of an era of trade liberalization and cooperation and into a world that is more expensive, competitive, and volatile. Expectations are evolving, and New Zealand milk is becoming scarce. Customers are increasingly calling on us to partner with them to improve their sustainability and innovation capabilities. And there's even more focus on sustainability from banks, regulators, and from a market access perspective. The cost of capital has increased, and many industries, including agriculture and our bankers, face higher capital requirements. In this new global context, Fonterra also faces increasing competition for both milk and capital here at home. That all sounds inherently negative, and it's certainly not without risk. But the opportunity for us still absolutely exists. Demand for dairy continues to grow, and in a rapidly changing world, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on any shifts. We have high-quality New Zealand milk, which is becoming more scarce, and most critically, we have scale. That gives us great confidence in the future of our co-op's success, will come by focusing on our comparative advantages, simplifying the business to meet that, and then aligning our people to achieve that singular vision. The second insight we consider is risk. Fonterra is an extension of your farming businesses. It exists to provide certainty and manage risk on your behalf while also maximizing returns via a competitive and sustainable milk price and a respectable return on the capital you invest in the co-op. We govern Fonterra through a set of financial settings and a risk appetite that is now more appropriately aligned to that of our farmer owners. As you've seen from our recent financial performance, this approach has served us well in recent years and has set a strong platform for this next phase in Fonterra's evolution. Fonterra adds value for all dairy farmers by creating stability for the industry and de-risking the on-farm investment. You and your bank manager know that your milk will be collected and you'll be paid on time each month. Not every industry can say that. We add value through the milk price, delivering a return on the NZD 50 billion invested in on-farm capital, and by generating a return on the NZD 12 billion worth of capital you have invested in your co-op. The last piece is central to the conversation on our strategy and the divestment of our consumer business. Right now, we estimate the weighted average cost of capital for a dairy farmer is somewhere around 10%. Consumer businesses are inherently more capital-intensive and riskier businesses to operate. You've seen that play out over time in our own operation. Overlay that with the potentially higher geographic risk in the markets where our consumer businesses operate, and a respectable return on capital for the consumer business should be something north of 15%. Our consumer business had one of its better years in 2024, but despite that, its return on capital was just 6.8%, up from 3.9% in 2023 and 0.2% in 2022. We cannot justify investing your money into a business that generates returns lower than your opportunity cost of capital, whilst at the same time exposing you to more risk. We are better off returning that capital to you, reinvesting it into the parts of our business where we have a comparative advantage or a mixture of both. That might seem like a cold message to the many people in the room that have an emotional connection to those brands. We understand that. Those brands and associated assets that go with them do hold a lot of value, but to the right owner. Fonterra is a farmer-owned cooperative, and the associated cost of capital that comes with that model is not the natural owner of a consumer business. Having reached that conclusion, our focus from here is on running a process that maximizes value in a way that is in the best long-term interests of farmer shareholders. The evolved Fonterra that remains will be a simplified business focused on our comparative advantages. It will be lower risk, be less capital-intensive, and achieve an increased return on capital overall. I hope that's a useful insight into the way the board looks at these strategic choices. Having options is a good thing, and you are right to want more information around these big decisions. Ultimately, this will be a decision for shareholders to make. We will keep you updated as much as possible along the way and then provide you with the details needed to make an informed decision. Miles will give you his perspective shortly, but before we go there, I do need to quickly cover off some other governance matters. Given the heightened uncertainty and volatility I mentioned earlier, the co-op can be proud of the set of financial results it's put up this year. We did have some tailwinds in terms of favorable price relativities, but the team worked hard to take full advantage of those, and our underlying performance has improved significantly through time. The period of relatively consistent performance we are enjoying now is the culmination of a huge amount of hard work put in by everyone across the co-op over a number of years. To deliver consistently strong financial results within our global context is no easy feat. So it's important to acknowledge that effort led by Miles, his management team, and indeed all of the people in Fonterra. In my opinion, the shift in the share price reflects performance and returning confidence farmers have in Fonterra. Over the last 12 months, the share price has increased from NZD 2.18 to NZD 4.93, both of which were post-dividend and capital return. You should have seen an announcement last week that we are moving Fonterra Co-operative Group shares into the NZX Main Board. I want to reiterate that from a farmer perspective, there are no changes to the way you trade shares or who can buy shares in the co-op. This is a simple but important cost-saving exercise that we have initiated and is supported by the Cooperative Council. Lastly, I'd like to touch on the board changes that will come into effect at the conclusion of today's meeting. Last year, just over 88% of voting farmers, that is, supported the recommendation for the board size to reduce from 11 down to 9 directors. At the conclusion of the meeting, we will move to a board comprising six farmer-elected directors and three appointed independent directors. One of those independent directors is Alistair Field, who we welcomed to the board earlier this month. Alistair will address the meeting later as part of voting on the resolution confirming his appointment. Today, we also farewell two of our long-serving directors, Leonie Guiney and Clinton Dines, who are retiring from the board, having both served nine years. Thank you, Leonie and Clinton, for your time and energy over so many years. Your contribution to Fonterra has been significant, but in particular, your focus on risk and balance sheet management has been invaluable as we have reset the business. If the measure of a success for a director is leaving the organization in a better shape than you found it, then you have both unquestionably achieved that. Our co-op is in good health, and the sentiment we are receiving from farmers right now is overwhelmingly positive. There will always be small but meaningful things to some farmers that we don't get quite right, but overall, there's a huge amount of positive momentum in the co-op. Our teams are confident and energized, which is important as we look to lean into increasing competition overseas and back here at home. On that note, Miles, I'll pass over to you. Thanks. Thank you, Peter, and thank you for those that have traveled to be here in the room in person and also those that are online. Today, I'll cover the co-op's performance for F24 and then our plans for the year ahead as we implement our revised strategy. Looking first at our F24 annual results, I'm proud to say the co-op had a strong year and maintained the positive momentum we saw in F23. We delivered earnings of NZD 1.6 billion, which was driven by strong performance across all three of our sales channels. Our Foodservice margins improved, and we allocated more milk to this high-performing channel. Our consumer business also had improved margins and lowered operating expenses also. While our ingredients earnings were down when compared to last year's historic highs, this channel still delivered a substantial proportion of the co-op's earnings for the year. As a result, our net earnings were at the top end of our guidance range at NZD 0.70 per share. This allowed us to pay a NZD 0.15 interim dividend during the year and a NZD 0.25 final dividend. Our ongoing strong balance sheet strength also enabled us to return an extra NZD 0.15 through a special dividend, making the total dividend payment for the F24 season NZD 0.55 per share. When combined with our final Farmgate Milk Price of NZD 7.83, our total payout to fully shared-up farmers was NZD 8.38 per kilogram. Looking at the rest of the year ahead, I'm pleased to say we're forecasting a stronger Farmgate Milk Price. Earlier this week, we lifted our midpoint by NZD 0.50 to NZD 9.50, giving us a forecast range of between NZD 9 and NZD 10 a kilogram. This lift was largely driven by demand out of China, where we're starting to see domestic milk production slow, and we continue to monitor global factors, including the New Zealand milk supply. Looking at our earnings for F25, we have a forecast range of NZD 0.40 to NZD 0.60 per share. This outlook signals another year of stable performance from your cooperative. With Fonterra delivering consistent and reliable results over the last few years, we've seen a steady lift in farmer confidence and sentiment, and it's this foundation that allows us to think ahead and have conversations about our strategy. Recently, we concluded a strategic review, honing in on where we create value today and where we see long-term growth. This has resulted in us focusing even further on Foodservice and ingredients. As Peter has mentioned, the co-op exists to provide stability and manage risk on your behalf while maximizing returns to you through milk price and your capital. By streamlining the business to focus on these areas, we can grow greater value for you, even if we divest the consumer business. As an example of this strategy in action, I want to touch on a recent announcement relating to our Foodservice business. Last week, I was in China for the annual China International Import Expo. It's an impressive event where we showcased our business to customers and stakeholders with lots of energy around dairy nutrition and innovative products. At this event, we launched a new UHT Anchor UHT cream product designed to grow our share of the growing Chinese Foodservice market. We already have a strong Foodservice business in China, primarily targeted at the premium end of the market. This new cream product will target the mid-tier market, the fastest-growing segment in the UHT cream category. Often, to achieve the lower price point needed to access the mid-tier market, products are made using plant-based fats. Using our innovative experience and expertise, we've developed a 100% dairy product with the right functionality at a competitive price point. This move will help us attract new Foodservice customers and consolidate our leadership position in the UHT market. Our investment in our new UHT plant at Edendale site will also support this ongoing growth as we look to allocate more milk into our Foodservice channel. It's examples such as these that give us the confidence in our revised strategy and our potential to create further value for shareholders. At all times, we're committed to maintaining the highest sustainable farmgate milk price. We're also looking to grow returns to you from the capital you have invested, and our revised strategy has allowed us to lift our targeted average return on capital to 10%-12%, up from the 9%-10% previously. We're also committed to returning more of the co-op's earnings to you with an enhanced dividend policy of 60%-80% of earnings, up historically from our 40%-60%. We're confident we can achieve these outcomes while continuing to invest in the co-op and maintaining a strong balance sheet we've worked so hard to rebuild over recent years. We're making choices about what we want to focus on so we can go further faster. This is why we believe that divestment of our global consumer business is in the best interest of the cooperative, and we're proceeding with the sales process. As announced earlier this week, we have assessed both a trade sale and IPO as attractive options and will now pursue both. Your support remains critical, and we will provide you information on those divestment options in due course. Before we do this, we need to thoroughly test the merits of both a trade sale and IPO so that we can hear clearly what you're wanting to approve. I recognize there's a significant interest in this process, and we'll keep you updated as this progresses. This is a pivotal time for the cooperative. We're confident in the strategic direction, and we don't take those decisions lightly. Every choice we make is grounded in what's in the best interest of our farmer shareholders. This is a cooperative, and your cooperative. We're in a strong position today, and we have a strong and bright future. This is thanks to the people who make up the cooperative, the 8,000 shareholder families, and the thousands of employees around the globe. We are the source of the world's most valued dairy. Thank you. Thanks. Miles, we'll now take any questions you have on the presentations we have just given. If you have questions or comments on the resolutions being dealt with later in the meeting or other matters of general business, I'd ask you to wait on those until the appropriate time during the meeting. In the interest of fairness, please keep your comments as brief as possible and do not repeat questions or comments that have already been made. If you're here in the room, please wait for a microphone to be handed to you by one of the team before you speak and introduce yourself when you're handed the microphone, please. If you've joined online, you can submit a question by clicking the Q&A button in the top menu bar. Cooperative Councillor Mark Slee will act as timekeeper. It might be your last act as a Cooperative Councillor, Mark. Big job. In the interest of fairness, I would request that you do not ask more than one question on each subject at the time for each question. As time for each question approaches two minutes, you'll hear a bell. And there he goes. Technology and farmers. Please then return your microphone to the team so you can speak, and then please hand your microphone back, and we'll ask you to do that. Do we have any questions in the room in relation to our presentations that we've just given, please? Oops. Any questions or comments or observations? Down the front here. Yeah. Hi, guys. Charles Whiting from Tirau. With the consumer divestment, why is the business even contemplating an IPO? It feels like a very strange process to be going through in an environment where you're trying to maximize proceeds. You've got a change of control provision with all your brands, which would assume if you went down the IPO path, you could only sell 49%, maybe 50%. And also, the business is tracking at 6.9% ROIC, right? How's the market going to actually assume that you're going to do better when you're going to have to overlay a new governance structure, new board on top of the cost base that's already sitting in that business today? Effectively, it just seems strange that the cooperative's keeping that on the menu of options when you're trying to maximize proceeds and you're going to have to take a discount to a market valuation, which is a discount to a control valuation, technically. So why is it even an option? Yeah. I mean, we believe at this point in time, it's important to keep our options open. You're making some assumptions there around the valuations, which may play out to be true, but our job at this point is to keep our options open, and our advice at this point is to have a look at both the trade sale and IPO. So yeah, we're following the advice of our investment bankers on that one, Charles. There's a lot of technicalities around some of the issues that you're raising, which we're happy to discuss after the meeting. But we have to be prudent and take advice. So at the end of the day, our interest is in the value for our farmer shareholders. So that's our interest. Any other comments or questions? Oh, sorry. Yeah. Andrew Myers from Cambridge. At the last AGM, I think you talked a lot about a desire to grow your innovation spend, R&D. Maybe could you outline some of the projects that you've been working on last year and the success of those? So I referred earlier to that we called EasyBake UHT cream as an example. So as I referred to in the slide, if you want a lower price point to reach a different category of consumers, in this case, Foodservice, bakery sector, often you use vegetable fats as a cheaper option. The work you do at Palmerston North, in particular, to understand how you can use a fully 100% dairy product, which has a very similar functionality but a lower price point. There's some special sauce that goes into that. And so that, for me, is an example of where we're putting our investment in. We also have new functional whey proteins that we've developed again through over many years that we're starting to roll out, both from our facilities here in New Zealand but also our operation in the U.S. as well. You don't just invest this year and get a result either. So R&D management and governance is all about taking a medium to long-term view. And then it's about running a portfolio. So some projects will carry more risk than others with higher potential reward, and others will be low risk with more certainty. So you need to take a portfolio approach through time. The other way to look at that is, of course, as innovation goes right across the value chain. So we often talk about products. But an example, the UHT cream, which is our hero product and returns some very good gross margins, we've doubled the output of our facility at Waitoa over the last five years for no additional kit. So the innovation that goes into our processing is just as important as the products themselves. Yeah. Hi there. Ross Dunlop from South Taranaki. Just congratulations to Chair and Board and staff on your performance. And I'd just like to acknowledge the NZD 150 million that's going into Waitoa. That's a real boost to our local community. And so just acknowledge that. Just also in South Taranaki, we have this little town called Eltham, and it's very much part of the dairy industry and the story going way, way back, and a lot of the stuff that's produced in Eltham is consumer goods. I'd just like to, and I'm not against the sale. In fact, I support what you're doing. But I would just ask you to perhaps consider the history and the story of Eltham and the staff that work there, that in some way that legacy can continue whatever happens in the future. I'd also just like to say the cheese bar there at the moment is absolutely going gangbusters. There's a line of people waiting to get in there, and I think that's something that recently maybe you've done a change in management, but it's fantastic. We're just in South Taranaki and we'd like that to continue. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I you. I mean, maybe just a quick comment. As part of the phase we just announced on the consumer sale, we had a good look, a real look at the parameters that were going to be included or excluded from the original scope. We made two small changes to that. One of them was a manufacturing facility we have in Saudi Arabia. But you look at things like the Eltham site and say how important that is to the consumer business, and it's very important that that will be sold ultimately with that business. I would also say though, across the road, of course, we have two sites in Eltham. You talk about the consumer, but we also have a very, very strong Foodservice part of that business as well, which makes slice-on-slice cheese for the quick service restaurant sector. And that certainly will remain part of the cooperative. Thanks. Any other questions? Charles. Down here. No, use the mic, mate. People online, Charles. Hi guys. Charles Whiting again. Just a question about return on capital targets. I think, look, there's been great performance today. I think 2020, you were about 6.5%. It's now tracking up. I just think we need to be a little bit more aspirational as a business. The targets are 10%-12% until 2030. Holly, your business at Woolworths does 15% and something%. Alistair, yours at BlueScope does 15%. But why should we accept a lower number when other companies who do similar processing raw materials and products at a much higher level? And that's especially when pharma capital's at 10%, right? We should be aspiring to a higher level. And if you do that, you get a material lift in, obviously, your earnings. So is the board prepared to up their targets for return on capital employed? I can't respond directly to that. Are the board prepared to up them? Because we need to have the conversation having been provoked by you. I won't also comment on retailers' return on capital in relation to Woolworths because I won't. And I hear what you're saying. I guess we've got to weigh that up against the risk. The higher the return, the higher the risk normally. So we need to reflect on it. But thanks for that. I think there's also a piece here over time, Charles. So we talked 10 to 12 over time, recognizing that things move around. I mean, we operate in a global context. And so you would have seen the last couple of years we've been through the top end of that, which we're really proud of. But there will be times maybe you push the bottom end. But we're talking about through time. So yeah. Yeah. I think that's an important point because through time, there'll be times when we don't hit the target and there'll be times when we overachieve. And we know in farming, take a medium to long-term view. And as long as we're on the curve or heading in the right direction, I think it's something we need to be really careful and really mindful of. Yeah. Maybe the other point, I mean, the metrics that we talk about for the cooperative, but Peter referred to the NZD 50 billion of capital that's invested behind the farm gate, which is significantly more than what's invested in the cooperative. And so the most important thing we can do is give you also a long-term sustainable milk price. And so we talk about the earnings over and above that, but we also have a significant role to play to drive efficiency to give you a better milk price also. Yeah. Yeah. Noel Caskey, Stratford. Congratulations to the cooperative, to the board, and management on an outstanding result. It is a great time to be a Fonterra shareholder, I believe. And thanks for your opening address, both of you, on the sale of the consumer business. I guess I might put the category of those that's slightly emotionally attached as some of our brands, and I'm quite open about that. Can you talk to us a little bit? You've been at pains to point out that it's subject to a shareholder vote. Can you talk to us a little bit around what plan B is around the performance around the consumer brands and what work has gone on behind the scenes to improve that performance? And what will it entail to improve that performance should the shareholder vote fail? Thanks. Yeah. So you've touched on an important point there. I mean, we're not a foreseller here. We believe that there is a different natural owner than the cooperative, hence the reason we're going down this path. But part of the process of getting the business ready for a sale is the separation process and untangling the businesses that exist in most of our markets, in fact. In the New Zealand context, it's relatively straightforward. Takanini in South Auckland is more or less assigned to consumer, and you've got Eltham, as we've already heard about, the consumer business there. But when you get into the offshore markets, most of the offices are combined. They share resources and the like. So that untangling is taking place as we speak in preparation for a sale. But the plan B, as you say, is if we're not a foreseller here, if the decision is ultimately made to retain either the decision that management come to or, of course, the vote that you may not support in time. Our job is to then understand exactly what our consumer business looks like once we've decoupled it from the rest of the cooperative. And then how do we structure that business to ensure that it can deliver the results, the returns that we ultimately would seek? But the first part of that is decoupling and separating the businesses as we speak. Over the last couple of decades, consumer businesses around the world, their margins have decreased by around 8% on average. And it's not lost on us that at the same time, retailer margins have increased by 8%, which might flow into return on capital over there, Charles. So these businesses, so what we're seeing is big consumer businesses are buying more brands to get market power to then face into that challenge. So plan B would look like us investing more capital, more M&A activity, increased investment in A&P and R&D through time. You can't run a consumer business and be in and out of it and be transactional. You've got to be there for the long haul, and you've got to double down when the going gets tough. That doesn't really fit in a co-op in terms of the sources of capital in a co-op, which is your money. So that's a lot of the thinking behind it. I hope that gives you a few more insights. Do we have any questions online? Yes, we do, Peter. We have one, which I'll read now. What was the forecast gross margin percentage used to model the future ingredients income streams? I couldn't tell you that off the top of my head because it ranges across all our products in different markets as well. So whoever that person is, we can make sure they get the information they need afterwards. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. We'll now on to the business of the meeting. Voting in the Directors' Remuneration Committee and the Cooperative Council elections and on the annual meeting resolutions is one of the fundamental rights we all have as shareholders. The resolutions to be considered have been set out in the notice of meeting. Each resolution will be by way of a poll. Postal and electronic voting was approved by the board for these resolutions, and electionz.com Limited, was appointed to receive and count these votes, which will be included in the poll. Each ordinary resolution must be agreed by a majority of 50% of the votes of shareholders entitled to vote and actually voting on that resolution for it to be passed. Each special resolution must be agreed to by a majority of 75% of the votes of shareholders entitled to vote and actually voting on that resolution for it to be passed. Each shareholder with a voting entitlement has received a voting paper and their notice of meeting pack. The resolutions are all set out in the notice of meeting and will be taken as read. Each resolution will be moved and seconded by a director, a member of the Cooperative Council, or a member of the Directors' Remuneration Committee who may speak briefly to that resolution. I'll invite comments and questions on the resolutions. I'm aware of time, so I may have to limit comments and questions to six to eight per resolution. Hopefully, some of them have none. Again, as the time for each question approaches two minutes, you will hear a bell. I would ask that you return your microphone to the team. When you're asked to vote, if you're here in the room, please place a tick in either the for or against box alongside the relevant resolution on your voting paper. If you've joined online, you may vote by clicking on the voting button in the top menu bar. Please complete your voting on all resolutions before you click submit. The scrutineers from electionz.com Limited will treat non-compliant votes as invalid, so please take care to follow the instructions. For those of you here in the room, we'll collect the voting papers following the voting on all the resolutions. The results will be posted on the Farm Source section of our website, not your website, NZX and our My Co-op app as soon as possible later today. Let's move to the resolutions. Resolution one, oh, I don't need to read that, but resolution one relates to elected directors' remuneration. Our constitution requires that Directors' Remuneration Committee bring recommendations to shareholders on the remuneration of elected directors and cooperative councillors. I'll ask Conall Buchanan, chair of the Directors' Remuneration Committee, to propose the motion on the elected director's remuneration and speak to the committee's recommendations. Once it has been seconded, I will open the motion for discussion. Thank you, Peter. In July this year, the committee reviewed remuneration practices in New Zealand and Australia. We considered where the current remuneration levels were appropriate to ensure highly skilled directors were attracted and retained on the board, noting the substantial director workload. We agreed that small incremental annual increases in fees continued to be our preferred approach rather than having periods of no increase followed by large uplifts. We discussed the appropriate level of an increase in the current environment and considered that this was approximately 3%. We therefore recommend that shareholders approve an increase of NZD 14,000 per annum being 2.89% to the remuneration of the chair. This would take the chair's remuneration to NZD 498,000 per annum. An increase of NZD 5,500 per annum being 2.8% to the remuneration of each elected director. This would take each elected director's remuneration to NZD 202,000 per annum. An increase of NZD 1,500 per annum being 2.91% to the additional amount paid to the chair of the Audit, Finance, and Risk Committee. This would take the additional amount paid to NZD 53,000 per annum. An increase of NZD 1,500 per annum being 4.05% to the additional amount paid to the chair of each other permanent board committee. This would take the additional amount paid to NZD 38,500 per annum. And an increase of NZD 50,000 per annum being 33.33% to the discretionary pool, taking this to NZD 200,000 per annum. Accordingly, I move resolution one. Thanks, Connell. I understand that Ellen Bartlett will second the motion. Yes, I second the motion and fully support. Thank you. Thanks, Ellen. I'll now open the resolution for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room on this matter? No. Do we have any questions online, Andrea? No, Peter. Okay. This is an ordinary resolution requires 50% support. I'll now put resolution one, which has been moved and seconded. For those of you here in the room, please complete your voting paper by placing a tick in the appropriate box for resolution one. If you've joined online, please vote by clicking on the voting button in the top menu bar. If you have any difficulties, please raise your hand and someone will assist you or click on the help button in the online meeting platform. Now we move to resolution two. I'll ask Conall to move resolution two and address the meeting on the recommendations for cooperative councillors' remuneration. Thanks, Conall. Thanks, Peter. The committee also considered councillor remuneration in July this year. As with director remuneration, we agreed that small incremental annual increases in fees continued to be our preferred approach. We discussed the appropriate level of an increase in the current environment and considered that this was also approximately 3%. We recommend that shareholders approve an increase of NZD 4,000 per annum being 3.23% to the remuneration of the chair. This would take the chair's remuneration to NZD 128,000 per annum. An increase of NZD 1,250 per annum being 3.14% to the remuneration of each councillor. This would take each councillor's remuneration to NZD 41,000 per annum. We recommend that no changes are made to the discretionary pool of NZD 100,000 per annum. Accordingly, I move resolution two. Thanks, Conall. I'll now call on Ellen to second the motion. Yes, happy to second again. Thank you. Thanks. I now open the resolution for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room? Any questions online? No, Peter. Okay. This is an ordinary resolution requires 50% support. I'll now put resolution two, which has been moved and seconded. Please place a tick in the appropriate box on your voting papers or complete your voting online. Again, if you have any difficulties, please raise your hand for assistance or click on the help button online. Thanks, Conall. Okay. We now move to resolution three. I'd like to ask Leonie Guiney to move resolution three and to briefly address the meeting on the recommendations for the remuneration of the director's remuneration committee. So the board met to consider and recommend to shareholders the form and amount of the remuneration to be paid to members of the director's remuneration committee. The board noted that the DRC members' honoraria was last increased in 2021. So the board recommends that shareholders approve an increase of NZD 500 to the remuneration of the chair. This would take the chair's remuneration to NZD 3,000 per annum. An increase of NZD 300 to the remuneration of each member of the DRC. This would take each member's remuneration to NZD 1,800 per annum. Accordingly, I move resolution two. Thanks, Leonie. I'll now call on Andy Macfarlane to second the motion. Thanks, Peter. I'm happy to second the motion and fully support it. Thanks, Andy. I'll now open the resolution for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room? Any questions online? No, Peter. Okay. This is an ordinary resolution requires 50% support again. I'll now put resolution three and ask you to complete your voting by placing a tick in the appropriate box on your voting papers or by voting online. Let's move to resolution four. I'll ask Brent Goldsack to move resolution four, the resolution regarding the appointment of the auditor. Before this, I'll invite Bruce Hassall to speak to the motion. Bruce is an independent appointed director and does not have a shareholding entitling him to move or vote on the resolution. However, in his role as the chair of the Audit and Finance and Risk Committee, it's appropriate that he shares a few comments in relation to the auditor. Thanks, Bruce. Thanks, Peter. The company's act requires Fonterra to appoint an auditor and provides that fees and expenses of the auditor appointed at annual general meeting can be fixed in a manner determined at the meeting. KPMG has audited Fonterra's financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2024. The board recommends that KPMG be appointed as auditor for the coming year. The board also recommends that shareholders authorize the board to fix the auditor's remuneration. As I'm not a shareholder, Brent will move the resolution. As a proud shareholder, I do move the resolution. Thanks. Where am I? Thanks, Brent. I'll now call on Cathy Quinn to second the motion. Thank you, Peter. I second the motion and fully support it. Thanks, Cathy. I now open resolution four for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room? Is there any online? No, Peter. Okay. This is an ordinary resolution [that] requires 50% support. I'll now put resolution four and ask you to complete your voting. Now we move to resolution five. Resolution five seeks ratification of Alistair Field's appointment as an Appointed Director. I'd like to call on Alison Watters to move resolution five, please. Thank you, Peter. It is my absolute pleasure to speak to Alistair's appointment as an Independent Appointed Director. Alistair has been appointed to the Fonterra board since the 1st of November. Alistair is based in Australia and has 30 years of experience in the mining, metals, manufacturing, and logistics sectors. Alistair is currently a non-executive director of BlueScope Steel Limited and Alcoa Corporation and previously served on the board of Alumina Limited, which is now wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation. Prior to commencing Alistair's governance career, Alistair held a position of chief executive officer and managing director of the ASX-listed Sims Limited, based in the United States and in Australia. Prior to joining Sims Limited, Alistair held a number of senior leadership positions, including director of Patrick Terminals and Logistics Division at Asciano Limited and as chief operating officer of Rio Tinto's Bauxite and Alumina Division. Alistair brings a wealth of international mindset and extensive operational, corporate, and industry experience to the board. He has a deep international experience, including markets that are strategically important to Fonterra, like China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Alistair also has significant exposure to initiatives that enhance sustainability and commercial productivity or commercial outcomes in our production-type industries, all of which is very relevant to our co-op's own pathway and to the commitments we've made in this area. Accordingly, I move resolution five. Thanks, Alison. I'd now call on John Nicholls to second the motion. Yeah, thank you, Peter. I second the motion and fully support it. Thanks, John. I'll now invite Alistair to make a few brief comments. Thanks, Alison. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm seeking your support to serve as an appointed director of Fonterra Co-op. I'm based in Australia in the Northern Rivers, just outside Byron Bay. As Alison mentioned, I've worked across numerous countries and lived and worked in Canada, Saudi Arabia, and recently in the USA. As an introduction to my work experience, I've spent the last 30-odd years mainly in heavy industries in senior leadership roles, in particular the aluminum business, running both bauxite mining operations and alumina facilities, logistics, Patrick Terminals in Australia. And then finally, my last part of the career was ferrous and non-ferrous global operations and recycling in all the markets Alison mentioned. So all of these roles covered quite a wide spectrum of issues from safety, sustainability, governance of running of a global company. And as mentioned, my last executive role as CEO of Sims was the largest listed recycling company in the world at the time. So I've moved on from there to now currently sit on the boards of BlueScope in Melbourne, in Australia, and Alcoa in USA. I can assure you as shareholders that I have the capacity to carry out these duties, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Fonterra board and management team. So I'd like to seek your support to continue on the Fonterra board and working in your best interests. Thank you. Thanks, Alistair. I now open the resolution for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room? Are there any online? No, Peter. Okay, thanks. This is an ordinary resolution requires 50% support. I now put resolution five and ask that you complete your voting, please. Resolution six seeks the approval of amendments to the constitution related to permitted transferees. I'd like to call on Cathy Quinn to move resolution six, please. Thank you, Peter. Under flexible shareholding, ceasing farmers can transfer their shares to permitted transferees as a new type of shareholder. The constitution provides that these transfers can only be done within certain timeframes. However, feedback received since implementation is that the default one season from ceasing rule for permitted transfer applications to be completed is insufficient time for ceased farmers to make decisions on the longer-term structure of their affairs and for the parties to complete the necessary steps to enable share transfers to occur. The board recommends the constitution is amended to remove the timing requirements for permitted transfer applications in favor of these operational requirements being maintained within the rules for shareholding. The amended rules for shareholding will extend the timing window for permitted transfer applications, enabling these to be completed within three complete seasons from ceasing, alongside a new ability for the cooperative to apply discretion in extenuating circumstances. The rules for shareholding may be amended from time to time by the Board in consultation with the Cooperative Council, including to reduce the timing period for permitted transfer applications. As the proposed amendment will alter part A of the constitution, the approval of the amendment by a majority of 50% or more of members of the council was required, and this was received on the 7th of October. If resolution six is passed, the constitution will be amended as set out in the notice of meeting. I now move resolution six. Thanks, Cathy. I'll now call on Leonie Guiney to second the motion. Thank you, Peter. I second the motion and fully support it. Thanks, Leonie. I now open resolution six for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room? Any online? No, Peter. This is a special resolution. It requires 75% support. I now put resolution six and ask you to complete your voting, please. John Stevenson will now present the Cooperative Council Chair's report and then propose resolution seven, which relates to the approval of the Cooperative Council bylaws and resolution eight, which relates to the approval of the Cooperative Council program and budget. Welcome to the stage, John. Thank you, Peter, and good morning, everyone. Tena koutou katoa, Tenei te mihi, Ki nga iwi o Taranaki, Tena koutou, Kairumataka, Naapa Manga, Kairumahanga, Te Atiawa, Nataratahi, Ahau, Ko John Stevenson, Ahau. As Peter mentioned, my name is John Stevenson, Cooperative Councillor from the Wairarapa and Chair of the Cooperative Council. I started today by acknowledging the local mana whenua. I'd also like to acknowledge the members of our cooperative present, Peter and his board, and Miles and his management team. In particular, I'd like to acknowledge retiring directors Leonie and Clinton and retiring councillors Mark Slee, Andrew Hardy, and Kevin Dixon. Our cooperative is a better place for your contribution. It is a privilege to be able to report to the Fonterra annual meeting on behalf of the cooperative council. Today, I will speak to four matters as required by the constitution. First, council's activities during the 2024 financial year. Then, council's view on the alignment of Fonterra's strategy and performance to members' expectations. I will present the Milk Commissioner's report for the 2023-2024 season. And finally, I'll present council's work program and budget for the 2025 financial year for your approval. Regarding council's activities, our role as your council is to represent you. Our vision is that through effective representation, you feel heard, valued, and connected to your co-op and also have confidence in its enduring success. One of our key functions is to report co-op member feedback and sentiment to the board. Fonterra has performed well for us farmers and owners over the last 12 months. We have seen the continuation of strong returns to shareholders alongside a reduction in debt. These returns have been appreciated by shareholders as in our own businesses, we have continued to face a variety of challenges. We have reported to the board these challenges, and our feedback has also included areas where farmers seek more information or support. These include information on the strategy reset and potential divestments, on tools to support farmer decision-making on matters relating to Scope 3 on-farm emissions impacts, and indications of the value to Fonterra and its farmers from Fonterra being a leader in sustainability. Another function is to understand and represent to the board the expectations of our co-op members, which we primarily do through our letter of expectations that is delivered to the board each year. In developing that letter, council commissions an independent research firm to conduct an annual survey of Fonterra's members. This year, responses from just under 900 Fonterra owners and suppliers made up the survey, and that provided a representative and robust representation of your views. We consulted with all co-op members on a draft of the letter before finalizing it and sending it through to the board. Council also forms a view on the extent to which it considers that members' expectations are being met, and I'll speak to this shortly. During the year, council sought to foster member engagement with our cooperative. Council facilitated one understanding your cooperative program. Councillors held meetings in the awards, and councillors jointly co-hosted two regionally based Beyond the Farm Gate events alongside our farm source team. Council has a number of guardianship functions under the Fonterra constitution, and this year, a joint working group of directors and councillors completed a review of Fonterra's cooperative philosophy. This comprises our purpose statement, cooperative principles, and values. All co-op members were consulted as part of this process, with feedback being incorporated into the refreshed cooperative principles. Council also performed its usual roles in relation to the Fonterra director and Directors' Remuneration Committee elections, as well as making two key appointments on behalf of members. These were the reappointment of our incumbent Milk Commissioner, Miriam Dean, as well as a new appointment to the Milk Price Panel, Fonterra farmer shareholder Andrew Baylis. I would now like to speak to how council holds the board to account on behalf of all cooperative members. This is done through council seeking board explanation of and responsibility for the company's strategy and performance. We report our areas of focus and questioning to the board in our quarterly updates so that all co-op members have transparency, and council also commissions independent analysis from Northington Partners on your behalf. This year, as well as reviewing the 2024 financial year performance, we asked Northington Partners to comment on Fonterra's change in strategic direction and potential divestment of some or all of our co-op's global consumer business together with Fonterra Oceania and Fonterra Sri Lanka. We also asked Northington Partners to analyze the changes in farmer shareholdings relative to milk supply, as summarised in Fonterra's reporting of flexible shareholding metrics since 1 July 2023. I do encourage you to read Northington Partners' analysis, which is available on Fonterra's website and to a large extent reproduced in our council annual report. Moving on now to council's view on the alignment of company strategy and performance to members' expectations. Our letter of members' expectations to the board categorises members' expectations under five headings: culture, performance, capital allocation, pride in our co-op, and an enduring cooperative. In terms of culture, this year, Fonterra's lead audit partners commented to council that they had seen a significant and positive change in Fonterra's culture since their audit appointment commenced in August 2019. This reflects council's own observations. Council continues to see examples of good culture in Fonterra's interactions with members and council's interactions with the board as well. Our April 2024 survey results again showed that members consider transparency around decision-making and strategy as the most critical activity for strengthening and maintaining Fonterra's cooperative spirit. Members report that they have seen improvement in Fonterra's transparency, which is really pleasing. However, there's also a gap between members' expectations and members' appraisal of Fonterra's transparency and the genuineness of its consultations. Council encourages a drive for continued improvement in this area. We do have some big decisions to consider ahead of us regarding the potential divestments. Regarding Fonterra's financial performance, it is important to acknowledge the excellent FY24 earnings results for our cooperative. It is council's views that business performance for FY24 meets the expectations of us as members. In relation to the price we are paid for our milk, the 23-24 season milk price was within the board's key performance measures. However, it was below the DairyNZ Econ Tracker break-even milk price and also below the 10-year average Fonterra milk price calculated on an inflation-adjusted basis. In terms of allocation of farmer capital, Fonterra has shared its resource allocation framework, maintained the enhanced level of reporting around capital investment, and it has given additional visibility by reporting return on capital by channel. However, the degree of transparency that council and some members seek in terms of investment outcomes and return on capital does not sit comfortably against commercial sensitivities and confidentiality constraints faced by board and management. Council does understand the dilemma that Fonterra faces. However, we also believe there's always scope for further disclosure and transparency, and we make no apologies for continuing to seek this. Regarding pride in our cooperative, for the first time since our annual survey commenced in 2021, descriptions of what belonging to Fonterra Cooperative means to co-op members trended positive. Council commends Fonterra on this positive turnaround. However, council does have some concerns regarding the continuing decline in Fonterra's share of New Zealand milk collections and the decline in farmer enthusiasm for Fonterra's environmental focus, as was evidenced in our 2024 survey. Council firmly believes that more work needs to be done to demonstrate and clearly communicate to members the value of on-farm regulatory and customer-driven requirements. Fonterra's revised strategy describes six strategic choices to create a pathway to greater value creation. Council believes members' expectations are largely reflected in these choices. Council also has not formed a view on the announced potential divestments. This is reflective of the stage in the process that Fonterra is currently at and that no proposals are sitting before shareholders to make a decision. Finally, our board set 11 key performance measures for the 2024 fiscal year. These are set out in the board's integrated scorecard. Council was really pleased to see that seven of those measures were achieved. The measures not achieved were the target for Fonterra's share of milk collected, the delivered and full on-time target, and Fonterra's efficiency metrics. Council believes that Fonterra has adequately explained why the DIFOT target was not achieved. However, council is concerned to see further decline in Fonterra's share of New Zealand milk collected to 78.1%, below the 79% target set in the scorecard. Council sees retention of milk as a key measure of success of the introduction of the flexible shareholding capital structure and Fonterra's revised strategy. Council also had some disappointment that Fonterra did not meet both of its efficiency targets, and council will continue to monitor Fonterra's efficiency with real interest. Moving now to the Milk Commissioner's report, Miriam Dean was first appointed as Milk Commissioner in 2018. The Milk Commissioner's annual report is published each year in council's annual report, and this year, Miriam has commented on the Milk Commissioner dispute resolution process. She has made some observations that it can be hardgoing for farmers in terms of paperwork and stress. In light of Miriam's comments, council intends to look into how the process can be improved so it is less of a burden and stress on farmers and results in a more timely resolution of disputes. Further detail on the matters I've discussed this morning, as well as everything else council has done on your behalf, is contained in our annual report. You should have received a copy of it via email earlier this month, and we do have printed copies here for you today. It is your report written for you. I encourage you to read it. In summary, over the last year, our cooperative has served the interests of our farmer owners and suppliers and their communities well. Council considers FY24 to be a job well done by Fonterra, but we also note that the job is not finished. Looking forward, both Fonterra and its farmer owners and suppliers will continue to face change and challenges. As farmers, we will continue to look towards our cooperative to help manage risk on our behalf. To help us navigate future challenges, it is imperative that we maintain a culture within our cooperative that fosters and enables open and constructive dialogue, as well as respect for differing views. It is this that will continue to make us stronger. The Cooperative Council looks forward to continuing to represent your interests. I'd now like to speak to resolution seven, which is to approve the proposed amendments to the bylaws of the Cooperative Council. The Cooperative Council recommends that the bylaws are amended to provide that if a casual vacancy occurs within six months of the annual Cooperative Council election cycle, then the Cooperative Council has the option to decide not to hold a special election or make an appointment, but to fill the vacancy through the annual election cycle. This will avoid additional costs arising from holding a separate election, or if no separate election is held, it means that shareholders will elect the ward representative rather than an appointment being made by the Cooperative Council. Additional amendments to the bylaws are also proposed by the Cooperative Council as set out in the notice of meeting. These amendments are for clarification. They provide consistency in approach or reflect changes that have already been made elsewhere. Accordingly, I move resolution seven. Thanks, John. I'll now call on Andrew Hardy to second the motion. Thank you, Peter. I second the motion. Thanks, Andrew. I now open resolution seven for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room? Yeah. Yeah, Mark Hooper from Local here. Just wondering why the six-month time constraint on that will not make it more open-ended. I think the six-month time period is in recognition that the role is there to represent farmers. I think in any situation where a casual vacancy arises, council will look at that and consider it. We certainly don't want shareholders to face the additional cost of going through an individual election cycle unless it has to be done. But I take your feedback, but six months is a decent period of time for a ward to be without representation. Any more questions in the room? Any questions online? No, Peter. Thanks. This is a special resolution, and it requires 75% support. I now put resolution seven and ask you to complete your voting, please. I'd now like to speak to resolution eight, which is to approve the Cooperative Council's program and budget for the financial year ending 31 July 2025. This year, Council is seeking shareholder approval for a budget of NZD 2.505 million for Council operating costs and NZD 865,000 for other costs contributed to or met by Council, giving a combined total of NZD 3.37 million. Based on last season's milk volumes, this equates to 0.2% per kilo of milk solids supplied. It's important to note that Council was very respectful of the funding provided by farmers. Our work program is designed to deliver our responsibilities and meet farmers' expectations. We are focused on managing our costs while being realistic about what's needed to deliver the work program prescribed by the Fonterra Constitution and the financial markets research and analysis required by the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001. The budget will enable Council to deliver the work program outlined in the notice of meeting, which includes allowance for further independent advice in connection with the potential divestments. Accordingly, I move resolution eight. Thanks, John. I'll now call on Andrew to second the motion. Thank you, Peter. I second the motion. Thanks, Andrew. I now open resolution eight for discussion. Do we have any questions in the room? Charles. Yeah, hi, John. Charles Whiting from TRI. Just a question related to your budget and doing these reports, right? So the Northington report came out with a desktop valuation of greater than NZD 3 billion for consumer. Is it actually helpful for the council to opine on the valuation of the business? And was this actually a really detailed valuation that was undertaken? And could you actually be incorrectly setting expectations for shareholders? The valuation of the business was rumored to be NZD 2 billion in the Australian newspaper last week. So it feels like you're quite out with what's been printed in your reports. And so continuing with the theme of the budget, why should we approve the budget when we're getting stuff like this as part of it? Yeah. Thank you for the question on that. In terms of the work that Northington Partners do, we're really happy to stand behind the quality and the depth of their insight and analysis. We've heard very clearly from farmers right since the review of council in 2020 that they expect a degree of independent performance analysis from Fonterra. I'll also note that following the introduction of flexible shareholding, one of the requirements from the government around that was that Fonterra commissions independent analysis on behalf of its members. They do that through the cooperative council. So that's why you see that in-depth report. In terms of the content around Northington's, when you're talking about valuations, that figure that you mentioned is not out of line with other domestic business analysts when they've looked at the business. We certainly didn't give Northington's guidance to go and look and provide a figure, but with respect to them to provide a fulsome performance analysis and a review of what's sitting in front of us at the moment in terms of the information that farmers have, their view was that to do so, that's what they thought was really important. We'll also note that within those figures provided that there are some assumptions that the analysis calls out in terms of Fonterra's seasonal working capital requirements, Fonterra's proposed CapEx, as well as the importance of Fonterra keeping key ratios like debt to EBITDA in line in view of the credit agency. So I'm really comfortable to stand behind what's there. Farmers have asked us for that. We have to under DIRA, and we've also heard individually from farmers that they want to see an independent view on what's sitting in front of them. I think the key message that I hear from farmers is that it's one of the biggest decisions that we will face as farmer shareholders. Sounds like you're talking it down, Charles. But I'll just make a comment. It does carry risk, and every man and his dog's going to have an opinion on this. But at the end of the day, it'll be a willing-buy, willing-seller, and the market will determine the value of the asset. So we can have all these sideshows in the media and other bits and pieces, but we've just got to be mindful that the process will run its course. I know. It does carry some risk, so yeah, for sure. Are there any other questions for John? Are there any online, Andrew? No, Peter. Okay. This is an ordinary resolution that requires 50% support. I'll now put resolution eight. Please complete your voting, and thanks. Thanks, Peter. Thanks very much. Voting is now closed. For those in the room, collection boxes will be passed around. While we are collecting the voting papers, we will play a short video that Miles and the team have pulled together as a nod to farmer pride in the cooperative. So we'll collect the papers, please. Hold on to me as we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road. Although this way is stringing us along, just know you're not alone, because I'm going to make this place your home. Just know you're not alone, because I'm going to make this place your home. Just know you're not alone. I'm going to make this place your home. At this point, we'd like to provide an opportunity for shareholders to question, discuss, or comment on the management of the company or raise any items of general business. We'll first go to those questions and comments in the room and then take some questions from online. I'll invite Miles to join me. Thanks, Miles. I guess my opening comment would be, it's good to know that we'll never meet farmer expectations, John. I've been around a long time, and good enough never is. But also, if I think we've got there and arrived at the destination, then it's time for me to go. So it's just a relentless focus on getting better. So I also want to acknowledge Wayne Langford here today, President of Federated Farmers, who puts in a big effort on behalf of farmers. So welcome. And thanks. Questions or comments or statements? There's one down the back. Thank you. Yeah, Mr. Chairman, I'm Rob Thwaites. We've got a dairy industry that's shrinking by approximately 2% each year, year on year. I think it's absolutely vital that new land or previous land is allowed back into dairying. I don't think you would be asking the government for a favour. I think it's just in the interest of Fonterra, the dairy industry, and New Zealand as a whole that we stop this decline in the size of the dairy industry. And I'd just kind of finish by saying, under the previous nine years of a national government, we certainly weren't shown any favours at all. And I refer specifically to changes they made to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone want to comment, Miles? Yeah, I mean, firstly, your comments are very well noted. For us to have the ability to have a conversation with whoever it may be in Wellington or wherever about a growth opportunity, we've got to be seen to be doing the right thing as an industry. And I think we've proven that in the last few years as an industry, as all of us collectively. And it gives us the ability to have those conversations now. And so on behalf of management, what you farmers do behind farm gate has given us the ability to start those conversations. So they're very much there. And it aligns very clearly to the government's ambitions to double exports by, I think, 2035 was their ambition. And so the conversation that we have is that you can do that by supporting alternate industries, but at the same time, you've got to back your winners. And there's no one better to back than the dairy industry. Yeah, thanks. Over here somewhere. Thank you, Peter. Gerard van Beek from Whakatāne, I'm quite often referred to now as the lactose man. I've been to 23 or 22 of the AGMs in my lifetime. This year, I have a slightly different message I'm going to give. Reserved congratulations to the board for finally announcing that lactose is going to become a parameter of the milk payment model. It's reserved because I have to wait another 18 months. But I'm really, really pleased that this time the board has taken an economics approach towards the valuation of lactose. The last two reviews that I've been participating in, this has been a genetics debacle that has been led by farmers and breeders. And this is not where it should have come from. It should have come from the economics and the true value of lactose. Lactose makes up literally 45% of your income from reference commodity products. At 45%, it cannot be ignored. Anyway, management in Fonterra, let me talk to a few guys who I'd really like to thank, Richard Allen, Richard Whiteman, and Nick Cameron. They had a very open and trusting discussion with me over the value of lactose, and they also separately and independently came to the same conclusion that lactose does make an economic difference to the value of our milk solids. People often say that lactose reduces the size of the milk pie, and what I'm fighting for is how that pie is divided. It will be very difficult to explain to everyone here that lactose actually does increase the milk pie. A kilogram of milk solids that was supplied to Fonterra in 2001 is actually economically more valuable than a kilogram of milk solids supplied to Fonterra today, and it's not because of the change of the composition of milk solids. It's the loss of lactose that has occurred over those last 20 years. I don't expect that to be reversed tomorrow, but I do think that it will curb the loss that we've been seeing over the last 20 years, and so I hope that now we won't have the response I had 20 years ago, that the only thing that management knew about lactose was lactose intolerance and all the fart jokes that came with that. Lactose ignorance, I think, might have been a better word to use then, and I think lactose intelligence is the right word to use today, so thank you to the board. Thank you to management. Thanks, Gerard. It's an interesting topic, and no doubt there'll be someone on the other end with a completely polarized view to yours, and I thought perhaps we should send you and him into the back paddock with a Jersey bull and a Friesian bull and let you sort it out together, then come and give us the answer, so thanks. Thanks for your persistence, and hopefully you feel respected through the process. Great. Shane. Thank you, Peter. Welcome to Taranaki, Peter, Board, Miles, management team, John Stevenson, shareholders, council, and the team, to the true heartland of the dairy, of course, and the birthplace of it. I'm looking to you, Mr. Goldsack, for some support on this, so obviously the home of the dairy industry. Peter, you've had a pretty tough couple of years, and Miles and the team, thank you. You've come through it. I think there's more confidence in the industry now than probably what there's been in the last five years. But there's still a hell of a hole to fill. There's still a lot of young people that have got a big gap, a lot of backfilling to get back up on top again. And it's with that that I have my question. I think we have managed things well with a focus on governance, which has been essential and absolutely would fail without it. But we haven't managed the politics quite as well at the farm gate, Fonterra into reaction. And so you've got a group of younger farmers now who are the future of Fonterra, if we're forward-looking, with high debt, aggressively going forward in the industry. The people you want, actually not the old co-op's own myself in the room here now, the next generation of farmers who feel as though they are a bit disenfranchised, and so the way I sum that up, the analogy I use, is the conversation that might take place in the coffee room at Fanshawe Street versus the conversation over the sausage sizzle at the hall school café, and there's a hell of a disconnect, and you can't go into the room and hear that conversation, Miles, because they won't talk when you're there in the way that they would when you're not, so someone needs to bridge that political divide, and the declining milk supply, which has been much talked about, is a real threat, so what are we going to do to attract that next group of young farmers, and the economics, I think you've nailed it. We haven't got the politics right. So in terms of capital structure, that was a big part of it. Yeah. I'm going to actually ask Brent to make a few comments if he will, because he always looks sideways when I ask him to comment, which it's probably because I'm the youngest on the board. Usually I don't have to ask him to comment. I always have to ask him to stop talking. But I just think in terms of we do have a strategy around young farmer engagement. And I know John in particular, Andy and the farmer directors, Brent and the others, we make ourselves available to first farm owners, sharemilkers, and contract milkers. We've opened the room to all of them to also attend any farmer meeting. So in the past, you had to sign at the gate and get in, and you had to be a shareholder. We've changed all of that. And we've had some really good engagement around the country. Brent, you just want to share on part of that that we're trying to do? Yeah, absolutely. And thanks, Shane. Look, it is a key priority. Key priority for us as dairy farmers, not just Fonterra. This is an industry issue. I respect that we're the processor, but we have a real role to play in this. So there is a team, in fact, Lisa Payne, that a number of you know, is leading that in relation to the next generation. We struggled even with the name about future farmers and young farmers and all these sorts of things. When actually they're great farmers, but they are the next generation. And so how do we connect? How do we connect them with markets? Back in the day, we had market trips, all those different points. So what are we doing about this? And how do we really bring them in and give them a voice, make them feel like whakapapa, belonging, connection? And we have had a lot of meetings around the countryside just with farmers, below 40, often pizzas and beers, often in a golf club or a rugby club, and just talk about the things they want to understand, which is often around things like milk price, things like sustainability and government and all of these things that, look, we are interested in as well. So I think opening our ears to those and listening is really vital. I think how do we actually make the dairy industry an industry that's a vocation that people want to come into? It is different from when we all came through or a number of you came through. But we've got to create those pathways because without the future, then yeah, milk's our scarce commodity. That's true, our scarce resource, but where's the people? So it's alive and well. We all need to put our shoulder to this wheel. It's also a hazard for directors to do this, pizzas and beers. So maybe that's another reason for me. But yeah, we take it seriously. Peter, just one brief comment perhaps to add to Brent is that we've had a philosophy historically that you had to buy land first and shares second, or you bought cows first, land second, shares third. And now with the change of approach there, one of the ways into the industry is to be able to buy shares first. And that gets you involved. And that's quite important. But our key job was to make sure the shares were good value for money and gave a return on capital that was commensurate with the risk. So that's what we've tried to do. Thanks, Andy. Any other questions? There's one down here. Yeah, hi here. Andy again from South Taranaki. Great place that we've heard about. It's pretty hard to turn on the news at night and not see some comment going on about the environment and the climate and all this bloody blah stuff. And what we have is basically a process to do with all this carbon that seems to be coming back to us as a cost to farmers now. It seems to be that even in Fonterra, there's a big emphasis on this. And basically, we're pouring millions of dollars into it, along with the likes of Silver Fern Farms and all the other businesses that are associated with us. And those millions are turning actually into sort of billions at the end of the day. And those are all dollars that are not coming back to us as farmers. Now, I'm logical enough to realize that, yes, we have markets overseas that are very sort of tied into this idea. And I'm personally very skeptical about a lot of the science and a lot of the facts that are supposed to be brought out that are behind it. It's a bit of a bugbear when we sort of see this being brought out all the time as like justification for a new change of things in a factory is going to take 30,000 cars potentially sort of out of the system. Every day I drive on the road and see more and more cars going on. We see no justification for the dollars that are actually being poured into making all these changes. I know it's a bit of a toss-up about the whole system. To me, as a farmer, I sort of see a lot of money being poured into this. Like I say, I'm very skeptical about the end result, about what it's going to be. We see things that are going to change around the world, particularly in America, where there's going to be quite a different outlook. And that's going to be one of the three major economic countries that are actually taking no notice because they haven't even turned up, along with China and India, haven't even turned up at the COP29 conference. And even an interesting thing that came out from the country that it's being held in is that the guy sort of says that basically fossil fuels are God's gift to the land. Now, where are we going to go with all this stuff, basically? Do you want to make a few comments in a little while? Yeah. I mean, we ultimately have a choice. And as the Chief Executive of your cooperative, we have to make choice. And my job is. I'm here for a relatively short time over the history of the cooperative. And if we look forward another 150 years, and you do have a choice. You can say, "We're not going to undertake this," what customers and markets are demanding from us but you don't get the results that we've seen here the last couple of years without going and leaning into this because this is what customers and consumers are demanding and the question I always have is, well, and because I've had this conversation many times in the farmer meeting where the sausage rolls are served, where they do talk to me sometimes, Shane, is, well, let's flag that customer. Let's not worry about that customer and let's go to the next one well what we don't understand is we're in the next customer and we're in the next customer and we're in the next customer. If we don't want to play in this game, as you call it, then we go to customers in countries we can't understand. We can't pronounce the name of them. We're not going to get paid. That's a choice that we have. And I believe it's the wrong choice for the cooperative not to participate and lean into this because that's what our customers and consumers are demanding. So I'll look at it from a different approach. So by legislation, we have to remove coal from our supply chain by 2037. But more heightened is energy security. And we're in energy heartland right here. So gas availability is becoming a real issue for us. So it's not just about reducing emissions. It's much bigger than that. It's legislative, but it's also about managing risk. The other big, most important thing I think is that we think we play solitary in New Zealand and the world owes us a living. It doesn't. Market access is critical. Absolutely right at the heart of this. This is a carbon race. Our competitors are heavily subsidized. They have access to technologies that we don't have. We can sit here and go, "We're the best in the world." Our boat hits a marker buoy and sinks. I'm really hot on this. It's all about competition and market access. They will go past us, I believe, if we don't get on and start doing some stuff about this. Now, this is real. Now, we can have different perspectives around all of that. Regulators globally and sources of capital, including your bank, are driving this. What we're trying to do is get alongside you and partner you and help you on this journey and give you a sustainable future in real terms in terms of monetary sustainability. That's my perspective on the topic. That's a challenging topic. Yeah. Yeah, Trevor Hamilton. I too am concerned about Fonterra's milk supply. It wasn't so long ago the shareholders' council came out a few years ago and said they didn't want milk to drop below 85% in New Zealand milk. Set a target of 79%, now at 78%. My question is, is Fonterra being too rigid around the way it both sources new milk and retains milk? And on the retaining milk thing, I know a couple of very large shareholders that ex-directors have taken milk from Fonterra on various lines that Fonterra has put in the sand. We're going to have to pick up a lot of young farmers to replace this milk. I think there needs to be more urgency on retaining milk. And if you look for an example of that, you don't have to look far to what's happening at Synlait currently. I just think there's got to be greater emphasis on retaining milk because not to have milk is like having a petrol service station without petrol. If you can't put that milk down the pipes, you're in critical danger. So I just think probably question really, Peter, are the rules for retaining milk and attracting milk just too rigid compared to the competition? The other factor is with The Co-operative Difference, it's taken off the milk price. I always said that was a stupid move because you have to actually earn back your farmgate milk price. No other processor has that. I think that's detriment to Fonterra milk supply. That's my view. Okay. Thanks. Do you want to make a brief comment? No, I mean, I acknowledge your points clearly. We've got to do something about this. I mean, to be fair, the legislation that enabled us to happen was set up to enable this to play out, unfortunately. We believe there is a conversation that needs to happen in Wellington as well, that dairy has run its course. We'd argue it has, but at the same time, farmers will make their own choice, and I'd go as far as to say they had probably reason to leave previously. The comment made earlier around return on the capital you invested in the cooperative, you had reason. Hopefully, we've proven that we can turn that around and farmers have a reason to stay, but ultimately, farmers will make their own call. We believe that we have a huge part to play in removing and eliminating risk for farmers on your behalf. That's a risk I think farmers are prepared to take with a single processor in one of the islands across the country. Thanks. Harry Bayliss from Farming in South Taranaki. I I hope you've been living up here now. First of all, in terms of the sale of the consumer assets, I hope your investment bankers in their advice are highlighting the heightened risk of an IPO and particularly the ongoing heightened risks of an IPO as opposed to a trade sale. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't be looking at it. But in my experience and my view, it is significantly more risky to go down an IPO route than an absolute sale. Absolute sale is clean and there's no ongoing risk. So I hope you take that into account. I just want to push back swapping now to the sustainability thing. I just want to push back on Fonterra's view on emissions. Can I ask, do you accept the claim that pastoral farming is responsible for almost 50% of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions? I don't measure that. So I don't really have a choice on that. Well, that's what your Fonterra executives are saying. And I believe it is a crock of something that smells. Every atom of carbon that is emitted by our cows as carbon dioxide and methane comes out of the atmosphere within 60 days of it being emitted. I think Fonterra, and probably more particularly, I think DairyNZ has been absolutely asleep at the wheel for the last 10 years on this issue. I think Fonterra is asleep at the wheel as well. We believe as dairy farmers, you should be looking after our interests and pushing back on the rubbish that's coming out in this area because it's just like 30 years ago, people were saying, "Milk fat kills people." Where is it today? And it will be exactly the same thing in 30 years' time. But in the meantime, you've actually been costing farmers not only a huge amount of money, but you're affecting them in their heads significantly. So I think you need to actually review how you're actually handling that issue, please. Thanks for your comments. We don't set global standards for emissions, be it GWP* or GWP100. Global Dairy Platform as a group, which has dairy companies all around the world, do invest in research to push back on the very things that you're raising. Okay? But we're bound by regulation. We can't just stand up there and say, "We're going to ignore this stuff." You know what? We would fail you if we did, in my opinion. We would fail you as dairy farmers if we just said, "No, this is all a crock of shit. We're not going to do anything about it." So I'm happy to have a chat later, Harry. But it's a challenging topic. It's challenging for all of us. But it's something we have to actually lean into. And it's change again. And for our generation, it's tough. We're used to a piece of number eight wire and all this stuff is coming at us. And it's incredibly challenging. And it's a generational issue as well. So I accept your concern, but I don't have the answers for you right now in relation to how I can satisfy your concern. Andrew Hardy, Hawke's Bay. One comment I'd like to make is we've really appreciated the extra NZD 0.50 to milk price the other day. My question is, how robust is that? It's going to be really difficult taking that money back if we have a really big blip. And I feel that the world economy is maybe getting a little bit frantic post-Trump. And maybe there is a bit of frantic buying before other things come into play. So it's really great having an advance to NZD 8. And I'm not worried about getting the money early. I just don't want that taken off me. So I want the robustness of that decision and going forward be really good. Yeah. Thanks, Andrew. Our job is to give the best view of where we see the market in the short to medium term. And hence the reason we still have a range there, the NZD 8-NZD 9. We have narrowed that range by NZD 0.25 either side. NZD 9-NZD 10. NZD 9-NZD 10, sorry. We just changed that last time. I was just checking. Sorry, there's a few numbers in my head today. But that's the best view we have of the market. And to your point, I see people out there doing some panic buying ahead of the market global slowdown, potentially. But we're through the peak of our sales book now. So we've sold the peak of our book. So if that happens, we may see that next year. But at this point in time, we feel comfortable with our NZD 9 midpoint. NZD 9.50. Okay. It's called inflation. Any other questions on general business? Are there any online? Andrew? Yes, Peter. I have two questions. Expectations are being set that a sale of consumer business will result in a capital return to shareholders. Are there alternative opportunities for investment that are being investigated for the use of sale proceeds that may improve the co-op's return on capital? Should more time be spent investigating this before capital distribution is indicated? Now, the simple answer is yes. We do have opportunities for use of that capital, but at the same time, it also helps when you earn. And the last couple of years of strong earnings also help us to invest in future growth opportunities. And there was a comment made about the Fonterra Cool Store announcement, a UHT plant in Edendale, a protein facility in the central South Island. These are things that we've been able to invest in on the back of our strong earnings. But absolutely, we have a resource allocation framework. If the sale process was to go through, the decision ultimately the board will make what goes into which category. Some back to shareholders has been signalled. What gets reinvested? Yeah. It's also a function of balance sheet strength. So currently, year-end, our balance sheet was around 24% net debt. So that also comes into our thinking. And then in terms of our policy that we put up before, in terms of our debt range and our risk appetite, clearly, any capital distribution, we would be thinking this may well be the last capital distribution. So we would be slightly more conservative. And we wouldn't want to be turning up asking co-op members for cash because we know we won't get any. So all those factors come into play. Also, tax efficiency is a thing that we need to consider as well. There's a bunch of stuff in there. It's pretty complex. Is there another question online? Yes. Another question. What is your commitment to holding the government to regulations that protect me and my neighbors from GE ryegrass and milk supply chain contamination costs? Our position on GE is that we're taking a cautious approach. We're looking to understand the potential risks that have been raised online. At the same time, New Zealand's position on GE is inherently more conservative than our major trading partners are. We also acknowledge that organic farmers operate in jurisdictions where GE is available. The other comment I'll make is that 87 products come into New Zealand now that go into our supply chain: food, insulin for diabetes, and a number of other things that are GE, Gene Edited. Okay? And so we need to have an open and honest conversation about what's here in our supply chain now and think thoughtfully about the process. The other challenge that we have is in relation to the challenge around climate change and the challenge around predator control in our environmental estates. That tool can help us meet our obligations, potentially. So people talk about reducing emissions or stopping climate change. The big deal for me is adapting to climate change. So we'll be thoughtful and careful about how we approach it, for sure. Okay. Are there any other questions? If there are no further matters for discussion, we'll now bring the meeting to a close. Thank you very much. Before I close the meeting, I'd like to acknowledge the recent Fonterra director election results. On Tuesday, it was announced that John Nicholls and I had been re-elected to the Fonterra board. There's nothing like losing a one-horse race. So thanks for your support. On behalf of both of us, I'd like to thank you for your continued support. And we certainly felt that over the years. As I mentioned earlier, Clinton Dines and Leonie Guiney will be leaving today. The board would like to take this opportunity to further acknowledge their contributions with a small token of our appreciation. You'll be pleased to hear that last night we presented our Aussie mate, Clinton, with his very own All Black jersey. Now, if Taranaki had won the NPC, he might have got one of those as well. But anyway, here we are. Please join me in thanking Clinton and Leonie. So I've got a nice bottle of red wine for Clinton. He got a lot of Greenstone Mere in an All Black jersey last night. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. Leonie, I'm going to actually give Leonie the last say today. Thanks for everything, Leonie. We have valued your contribution deeply. It's been great. I just want to hand you these flowers on our behalf. Thank you, Peter. No. Oh, thank you, Brent. It was the privilege of steering something that is, well, contributing to steering something that's so important for outcomes for New Zealand farmers. That's the main thing. New Zealand. I've only had that privilege because you, the farmers, and I speak to any online as well, from Northland to Southland, and specifically in Taranaki, there's some of you in this room, you know who you are, who backed me and trusted my intent all the way. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will also miss every one of my colleagues, every one of my colleagues. And I'm just so happy for Fonterra that I can say that now because it speaks of a culture, Peter, that will keep delivering for all of our stakeholders. Fonterra is in a good position. I don't use superlatives. We're in a good position. Not an amazing position. We're in a good position. The growing confidence in Fonterra that I observe from farmers and the business community, I actually consider to be well placed. It's been a journey to get Fonterra to that place. And it's imperative that Fonterra has learned where we went wrong in the past. A focus on the appearance of value at the expense of actual value was at the root of a lot of our poor past outcomes. Add to that, too, a strategy that was misaligned from what is our core advantage. And the absence of risk-adjusted thinking in a lot of our investment made for some extremely expensive errors. Most businesses will make some poor decisions. Good governance owns its own errors in a timely manner. And that's what minimizes further damage to shareholders' equity. Fonterra did not do that in the past. And that was a governance failure that we cannot repeat. Now, the core role of governance is to clarify what business you're in, understand your core comparative advantage, employ the right CEO to deliver on that, and hold that CEO to account. And the language I hear from you Miles now assures me that a mature understanding of Fonterra's why and of where value is actually to be extracted is finally in place. We have better aligned our balance sheet to the commodity exposure we will always have. We'll always be exposed to cycles, and our risk appetite and strategy are better aligned to our strengths, our Fonterra strengths in our location, and the risk appetite also of our owners. That has improved one of the core advantages of a co-op. That is the loyal supply that comes from trust. We have a focus, too, now on building our talent within, and I thank you for that, too, Miles. It's critical. The combination of listening while leading, financial discipline, and strategic clarity has changed Fonterra. I'm under strict instructions not to compliment the chair because he hates it. So I'll give credit where credit is due to the one who enables the chair. Thank you, Linda McBride. I want to thank my colleagues for the stimulating and respectful debate that I so enjoy and for your friendship. Clinton Dines is the only one who's been on the board for as long as I have. Clinton, you have made a truly independent and effective contribution to Fonterra and to our new respect for the balance sheet position. Fonterra is now, sorry, for the position that we're now in. I want to thank Miles and your team. Again, you have been open and candid with your analysis of our strengths and the true economic performance of our channels. You've made really tough calls to recommend exit where you don't have a competitive advantage or a core competency. You've been open about that. I admire that. I support the strategic direction. I will flag a risk. Both board and management, sorry. I will flag a risk to both board and management. Recent performance has been very good. Often, success is the hardest thing to manage going forward. And the day any of us considers ourselves individually responsible for good outcomes, we risk running aground. The Bible puts it better in Proverbs 15:33, "Humility, not pride, comes before honor." Domestic competition shouldn't distract us from a focus on our global exposures and our opportunities. The competition will eat our lunch if our overheads aren't further reined in in Fonterra. And if farmers don't retain their ability to ride the cycles with a competitive position on the global cost curve, we all have responsibility. But enough good brains with business acumen and experience and the right reasons for being there, which I firmly believe is to serve, will help management get the most important decisions right for the co-op and for our owners. To that end, I encourage the next generation of farmers to step up and be there to lead in future. Fonterra's future is dependent on its business-savvy suppliers with skin in the game being prepared to determine our own future. So I'm not worried about Fonterra's future, not in this wonderful temperate climate that enjoys outstanding comparative advantage in the production of the highest quality sustainable protein. It's complemented by our share-milking system, which attracts the entrepreneurs to our industry, and our scaled co-op with genuine advantage in ingredients innovation and Foodservice and market access. And I'm personally so very happy to be a New Zealand dairy farmer. Finally, the most important thank you. In 2010, I arrived home after yet another late farmer meeting. I was chairing a meeting, actually seeking a second vote in Canterbury, chairing a meeting in Canterbury for a second vote on TAF in those days. I arrived home late at night to a note on the table, and it said, "Mum, we love you." It was written by my four children and my husband, but we are sick of TAF, and it was entitled "Petition." Sadly, my children under 10 knew what a petition was in those days, and it was signed by all five of them, including my rock of a husband, Kieran. If only you had known then what was to come after. Seven years later, he would still be backing me as we campaigned from Northland to Southland for my re-election after being one of the only incumbent directors in Fonterra's history to ever be removed by any means other than a farmer vote, which is actually anti-constitutional, and to the last day, here he is in support, despite our own daughter last weekend, this Saturday, being in Dublin, based in Dublin, at the Ireland All Blacks match. My husband's from Cork, for anyone that doesn't know. She was drinking Guinness with our Rahotu locals, Donald and Marie Anderson and Smiley Barrett. And my loyal husband is instead present here at the Fonterra AGM, so thanks, Kieran, for competing with my other love, which is the absolutely unmatched New Zealand dairy industry, and it's essential scaled co-op with Fonterra. May God bless all of you, all of your families, all of our staff, and all of your endeavors. Thank you so much. Thanks, Leonie. I'd like to thank you all for attending today and to invite those in the room to join us for lunch, please. We'll share the results of the votes as soon as they are possible, as soon as that's possible. That concludes the business of the annual meeting of Fonterra. I'd like to ask Mitch Crossfield to now close our meeting with a karakia. Thanks, Mitch. Thanks, Peter. And I'll quickly remind you that Taranaki is home in the room fully shielded at the moment, Peter, in case you forgot. After a deep clean from the Hawke's Bay, I might add. Which half of it? Not the Hawke's Bay half. The other half. On a serious note, kia koutou, ngā oranga o te motu, hapori, to all of you who are leaders of this great cooperative, tēnā koutou, I acknowledge you all. He karakia whakamutunga, karakia to finish our hui today. Ka au, ka au, ka tau, tātou, whakakōrerorika uta, Haumi e, Hui e, Tāiki e. Thank you, yeah. Kia ora koutou. Thanks so much. Thanks, everybody.