Welcome to you all to Meridian's 2024 Annual Shareholder Meeting. I'd imagine to those who are joining us today, both in person at our offices here in Wellington, and also to those of you online. I welcome to the meeting Anthony Smith and Daniel Lock from our auditors, Deloitte, and Ian Beaumont from our solicitors, Russell McVeagh. For those of you here in person, in the unlikely event of an emergency, please follow Meridian staff instructions. If a fire alarm sounds, our emergency exits are located to the rear of this seated area, down the stairs, and the way you entered the building. Please do not use the lifts, and our staff are certainly here to help to show you the way. Our fire evacuation point is on Customhouse Quay, across the road on the footpath outside Pravda Restaurant. In the event of an earthquake, please drop, cover, and hold. Please follow all Meridian instructions once the shaking has stopped. The bathrooms are by our reception area where you arrived today. Meridian staff are here to guide you. I declare the 2024 Annual Shareholder Meeting open. The meeting has been duly convened, and the quorum is present. The minutes of last year's meeting have been posted on our website and are held by the company secretary. Today's meeting is being held both in person and online via Computershare Online Meetings platform. This allows shareholders, proxies, and guests who are not able to travel and attend the meeting to attend virtually. All online attendees can watch a live webcast of the meeting and read the company documents associated with the meeting. In addition, shareholders and proxies can ask questions and submit votes. For those of you who are attending the meeting virtually, if you have a question to submit during the live meeting, please select the Q&A tab on the right of your screen at any time. Type your question in the field and press send. Should you require any assistance, you can type your query, and one of the Computershare team will assist via the chat function. Alternatively, you can call Computershare on 0800 650 034. Please note that whilst you can submit questions from now on, I will not address them until the relevant time in the meeting. Your questions may be moderated, or if we receive multiple questions on the same topic, we might amalgamate them together, and finally, if we do run out of time to answer all your questions at the meeting, we're happy to answer them by email. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. To provide all attendees with enough time to vote, I will shortly open the online voting for the one formal resolution to be considered today. At that time, if you are eligible to vote at the meeting, you'll be able to cast your vote under the Vote tab. Once the voting is opened, the resolution will allow votes to be submitted. To vote, simply select the voting direction from the options on the screen. Your vote will be cast when the tick appears. To change your vote, you simply need to select Change Your Vote. You can change your vote up until the time I declare that voting is closed. Persons attending the meeting who are not shareholders, proxy holders, or corporate representatives of a shareholder may not vote, and that includes bondholders. Voting is now open on all items of business. The resolutions are now open in the Vote tab. Please submit your votes at any time, and I will give you fair warning before I close the voting. I'll begin my address by introducing the Meridian Board and some of the management team. This year, the meeting notice invited you to join in person or online. You'll note that our management team and the board have followed this approach as well. Meridian Board members present at our Wellington office with me today are Committee Chairs Julia Hoare, Nagaja Sanatkumar, Tania Simpson, and Director David Carter in front row. Meridian Board members joining the meeting online are Michelle Henderson and Graham Cockroft. Also present with me today are Chief Executive Neal Barclay, Chief Financial Officer Mike Roan, and General Counsel Jason Woolley. The rest of the Meridian executive team are either in the room or online. Meridian's purpose of clean energy for a fairer and healthier world underpins every action that our company takes, and an all-encompassing focus on climate action guides our strategy. Whilst our operating result for the last financial year was strong, the operational environment has shifted dramatically late in the financial year, and this will have flow-on effects for the current financial year ending June 2025 Significant and inadequately signaled gas shortages, combined with particularly low inflows into the hydro catchments across the country throughout the winter, together with unseasonably low wind, caused wholesale prices for electricity to lift materially during June, July, and August this year. The situation was managed well, and there was little risk of an energy shortfall, and the market did respond to these high prices by delivering physical responses that ensured energy security was maintained while exerting downward pressure on prices, and then, as Murphy's Law would have it, the rain came, lake levels rose again, and wholesale prices fell to relatively low levels, and this is the very nature of our electricity system. The weather plays a huge part in the makeup of generation at any point in time and on wholesale spot prices. The fact is the wholesale electricity market has delivered good outcomes over decades for New Zealand. This has been verified by customer pricing comparisons taken across the OECD, and it's important to note that the wholesale market is largely just that. It provides wholesale inputs for industry participants, with very few industrial customers choosing to take some spot market risk. Meridian customers were not affected during this period, and that was something we were able to facilitate as a vertically integrated business, being both a generator and a retailer, and while wholesale market volatility is a known and expected part of the system, we expect that in the long term, average wholesale prices will continue to soften as the cost of new renewables continues to fall and more renewable projects are built and integrated into the system. You can be assured that we understand and have genuine empathy for the impacts of pricing on our customers and for the implications for the economy through the transition. While we know that the energy mix is evolving to be even more heavily weighted to renewable sources, we'll continue to rely on gas, in particular as a backup fuel for some time yet. The decline in domestic gas as a backup fuel when hydro inflows are low is a relatively new issue, and it does need to be addressed. In response, the government and the sector have moved to look at options, including the importation of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to ensure New Zealand is less exposed to future gas shortages from domestic production. In addition, our regulator, the Electricity Authority, and the Commerce Commission have, together with the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, set up an energy competition task force. This group, along with ministers separately, are reviewing and looking to recommend other ways to potentially improve electricity market performance. Meridian is participating in both these initiatives, as you would expect, and we're happy to play our part to increase Aotearoa's resilience to the fuel shortages that we've seen this winter. We do take our role in the sector very seriously, and we know it's important that we act responsibly. In that regard, last year, an industry framework was developed among all major players to work through the issues and priorities that will need to be addressed around the energy transition. However, the best thing that Meridian and all other generators can do is to get on with and accelerate our renewable build programs so that all New Zealanders benefit from energy efficiency and the broader initiatives renewables will facilitate for the economy. Despite the recent events, our business has had a very successful last financial year. The most significant achievement was the groundbreaking deal that we struck with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, or NZAS, in May of this year. This 20-year deal, which was several years in the making, has removed considerable uncertainty for the sector and, importantly, for the people of Southland. It has also allowed Meridian to reset both our dividend policy, which I will talk to later, and underpin our confidence to invest in our ambitious renewable energy program. Although the industry has collectively invested NZD 10 billion since 2010, largely replacing aging fossil fuel plants, the NZAS deal has given the sector the certainty it needs to accelerate investment in new renewables. We certainly want to thank the smelter owners for showing the way. What they've done largely displays how large industrial businesses can thrive in our country, leveraging our highly renewable electricity system to create low-carbon, sustainable products, high-value jobs, and enable economic growth, all the while playing a significant part in delivering the energy system flexibility through what is known as what we call demand response, which is, in effect, reducing consumption. Arrangements like this will be increasingly required as part of the transition to 2050. Electrification of transport and industrial heat remain the best ways for New Zealand to combat climate change, particularly given these sectors are responsible for almost a quarter of the country's gross carbon emissions. We expect that by 2050, New Zealand will require around NZD 30 billion of investment in new renewable generation. And assuming we're to invest relative to our market share, that's NZD 10 billion, of which is Meridian's share and what we have in our minds. Electrification of the scale needs significant capital investment and for that investment to be supported. Our TRI must have an enabling resource management framework, especially when it comes to consenting. Consenting authority must be able to balance localized environmental impacts and community views with the imperative to reduce emissions through large-scale renewable energy projects. Most ambitious large infrastructure projects create an inherent tension between the localized effects of the projects and the national priorities and economic advantages they create. Our experience at Meridian tells us clearly that the current resource management system has become far less efficient in the past decade or so and burns a lot of unnecessary time and money. So while we note very credible public concerns about the new Fast-track Approvals Bill for new infrastructure, we do need to see a more efficient decision-making process. We believe that the bill the current government has introduced can deliver a more efficient process while still ensuring adequate and community safeguards. The overarching imperative for New Zealand to achieve net zero carbon by 2050 will not change, nor will the fact that renewable energy is the largest single enabler of the climate-related transition before us. So we're confident that our strategy to focus our efforts on climate action is sound. We have lodged our reconsent application for the Waitaki Hydro Scheme. This will be the most significant consent ever granted under the RMA in this country. To give you some perspective on that, the Waitaki Hydro Scheme consists of eight power stations from Lake Tekapo to Lake Waitaki, providing around 18% of the country's total electricity needs and around 60% of our country's national hydro storage. There are tens of kilometers of canals, roads, and civil works, and Meridian owns six of these stations and operates those stations, making it a seriously vital part of the system. Because we applied to Environment Canterbury to reconsent the scheme in July last year, the current conditions of operation, which are due to expire in April of next year, will remain in place until our application is granted and any appeals have been determined. In our application, we're asking for the same operational flexibility we currently have. In preparing our application, Meridian and Genesis sought agreement from several parties. These included the three: Ngāi Tahu, Waitaki Rūnanga, Moeraki, Waihao, and Arowhenua, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the Department of Conservation, Waka Kotahi, and Fish & Game New Zealand, all of whom share interests in this important catchment. These agreements set out plans for us to work together in supporting the long-term operation of our country's largest hydro scheme and achieve meaningful long-term and cultural environmental outcomes for the whole catchment for the next 35 years. The collaboration has been valuable in building rapport and aligning interests. We must address the key aspects and impacts of the scheme and grow our relationship with iwi communities and other stakeholders from a strategic perspective to ensure that it does remain a cornerstone of the country's electricity system well into the future. Just briefly on the Southern Green Hydrogen, or SGH, project, we've faced some headwinds with global inflationary pressure, increasing capital costs of building a facility in Southland. These factors put pressure on SGH economics and are pretty consistent with the challenges that other hydrogen projects have been experiencing overseas. Markets have been slow to resolve the significant gap between the cost of producing green hydrogen and the potential customer's willingness to pay for the green product. As a result, at the end of the financial year, we decided to put the project on hold. We've also agreed to conclude our partnership with Woodside. But from here, Meridian will continue to actively monitor our target markets as we do believe that SGH remains well placed to be a competitive green product opportunity into the future. In terms of board changes, we continue to champion a balanced and diverse set of views around the board table in order to oversee our strategy and guide the business through the years ahead. We were pleased to welcome David Carter as a non-executive at our last annual meeting. Tania Simpson, who has been a director of Meridian since 2021, is standing for re-election today with the unanimous support of the board, and we'll cover her re-election in the formal part of the meeting a bit later. I will conclude my opening address by speaking to our shareholder returns. We do understand that you, our investors, are happy for us to continue to invest in both existing and new assets on the understanding that we will continue to provide you with appropriate returns. On the back of a very strong cash operating result, the board has declared a final ordinary dividend of NZD 0.1485 a share, which brings the total ordinary dividends declared in the last financial year to NZD 0.21 a share. The board also approved a continuation of our dividend reinvestment plan at a 2% discount. While we had a strong operating result for the last financial year, as I mentioned earlier, the operational environment has shifted dramatically during June, and an extended drought did occur. As a result, our current financial year looks to be challenging much more significantly from a financial perspective. Despite all this, we do have a strong balance sheet, and Meridian is confident that we can continue to play our part in the decarbonizing program whilst continuing to deliver to you, our investors, over the long term. Meridian has been listed for 11 years, and since 2013, we've invested NZD 2 billion in new and existing assets that have provided a strong foundation for the next period, which is quite ambitious in growth terms. Nevertheless, we thank you for continuing to invest and support our company. And I'll now turn to Neal, our Chief Executive, and ask him to address the meeting. Kia ora and tēnā koutou katoa. Neal Barclay, tēnā koutou. We continue to have a stable and experienced and highly capable executive team at Meridian. There was only one change to the team in the last year, and Nick Kennedy resigned as CEO of Meridian's subsidiary, Flux Federation. And Meridian's Chief Information Officer, Bharat Ratanpal, has been seconded as interim CEO to lead Flux through the next phase of its development. We'd like to acknowledge Nick's hard work in getting Flux to this point. And while Bharat works with the Flux business team, Edna Beddoes, one of our ICT team leaders, has stepped into Meridian to lead Meridian's ICT team. Mark touched on the recent issues facing the electricity sector, and clearly it has been a challenging time. The issues, and in particular the high wholesale prices experienced in July and August, were driven by a combination of low hydro inflows. In fact, the inflows into Meridian's catchments from May to the end of August were the lowest on record. Unseasonably low wind played a part, and most critically, the gas supply shortages were a large feature of the last few months. But the high spot prices in the market structure did facilitate a series of physical responses, and those ensured tha t the system remained secure and helped moderate high wholesale prices. Meridian played a key part in the market response. Specifically, we work with the system operator and the regulator to improve the rules that gave Meridian and the sector confidence that contingent hydro storage would be accessible if needed. We incentivize NZAS to reduce demand and make that energy available to other users. And while Meridian didn't purchase gas directly from Methanex, we did underwrite that transaction by procuring electricity from Contact, and that was enabled by the Methanex gas contract. These actions were necessary and came at significant cost. All up for Meridian, that cost was around NZD 200 million. That's a lot of money, but it is what we plan for when we experience very severe and relatively infrequent droughts. And clearly, since late August, nature has played its part, replenishing all the hydro catchments across the country and adding significantly to the snowpack in the Southern Alps, which will turn up in the southern hydro lakes and the Clutha. As of today, hydro storage is well above average for this time of year, and wholesale prices have reduced to more normal levels. But in the very short term, the hedge costs from the drought are weighing on our financial performance. While the rapid return of wet conditions is welcome, high inflows into our Waitaki catchment with its limited storage has meant that we've had to clear a large volume of water through the wholesale electricity market at relatively low prices. This is evident in both our monthly operating report released this morning and the Electricity Authority's public margin reporting. Generation numbers, hedge, and demand response costs all reflect the impact of the huge swing from very dry to very wet conditions and our relatively light financial performance this quarter. It goes to show how important it is for a business like Meridian to have a strong balance sheet so that we can manage the ups and downs of the weather upon which our business is so reliant. During the high price event in July and August, Meridian also supported our large commercial and industrial customers who were rolling off their existing contracts by offering to extend their current pricing through to 1 November 2024. At the time, we didn't know when the heat would come out of the wholesale market, but we felt that it was the right thing to do for our customers. This is a good example of the value that a vertically integrated generator retailer like Meridian can offer, as we can insulate our customers from wholesale price volatility. As Mark mentioned, the decline in domestic gas availability is a source of real concern, not only for consumers who use the product directly, but also for the electricity sector that relies on gas to fill the gap when hydro storage is low. It was frustrating that from June to August, whilst hydro storage was being depleted, much of the country's gas generation plant was standing idle or partly idle due to a lack of fuel to run them. Ultimately, our country's future is renewable. We expect to burn less and less gas as more renewables are built, but gas is needed as a backup fuel for the foreseeable future. And flexible gas will help ensure electricity in New Zealand becomes even more renewable whilst remaining reliable and affordable. To that end, the government is doing its best to re-incentivize investment in domestic gas production, but there is a degree of risk that domestic gas will not recover to meet the needs of gas users or the electricity system in the future. Meridian, along with others in the sector and with the active participation of the government, is now looking at how the country can improve its overall energy resilience by creating an LNG import facility. A number of scoping studies are underway, and they will be released in the next few months. And these studies will inform us if this idea has legs. Now, to discuss the year that was, I believe the financial year to June 2024 was a milestone year for our company. We made significant progress on our strategy and achieved several key goals, the first of which was securing the groundbreaking contracts with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, or NZAS. And Mark has talked to the impacts of this, but I will talk to a couple of the key elements of the package. First off, the long-term fixed price contract for wholesale electricity and a demand response agreement. The core fixed price energy contract will reduce in stages from a net 472 megawatts to 377 megawatts as of January 25. NZAS negotiated directly with two other parties to meet the remainder of its energy needs. The pricing in the contract is sustainable and allows for price escalation in line with the Consumer Price Index if the international market for aluminum also escalates. The demand response element of this new agreement is groundbreaking, and it's already proven how valuable it is. It provides new levels of flexibility to support the electricity system when the country's hydro storage is low. Now, when we signed this demand response agreement with NZAS in May, we did not expect we'd be asking them to reduce the electricity consumption by the maximum amount under the agreement just one month later. And the team at the smelter certainly weren't expecting it either. So I would like to acknowledge the NZAS team because operationally, it is a considerable task to turn off an aluminum pipeline. They managed it well and safely, and in fact, they managed it faster than was contractually required. Now, obviously, we don't want to make a habit of this, but this is a great example of the value that well-organized and well-compensated demand response can bring to the market. This arrangement makes financial sense for the smelter as they are compensated for the reduction in demand in the electricity they don't use. It makes financial sense for Meridian because it provides a form of hedge against very high wholesale prices, and it makes absolute sense for Aotearoa and the electricity system as it reduces reliance on fossil fuels and improves system security, and we are talking to other large businesses about similar arrangements to continue to add flexibility to the system. Pleasingly, and despite many challenges, including a couple of cyclones, Harapaki Wind Farm became fully operational in July. The 176 megawatt wind farm located in the Hawke's Bay is the first of Meridian's seven-in-seven projects. We are aiming to develop seven new grid-scale renewable projects in the next seven years. Meridian's 100 megawatt peak and 200 megawatt-hour grid-scale battery energy storage system at Ruakākā Energy Park near Whangārei is expected to come online by early 2025. Its introduction will support stable grid operations by enabling us to store energy during low demand times of the day and then injecting it back into the grid at peak demand times. We have a range of other wind, solar, and battery projects at the advanced stage of design and close to being consented. This is important because for Meridian to meet our share of the country's renewable energy needs by 2050, we estimate that we will need to build the equivalent of 20 Harapaki-sized renewable generation assets. And that's a huge but very exciting challenge for our business. What we have achieved so far in our renewable development program and what we have ahead of us, I believe, is possible due to the strength of Meridian's development and construction teams and the many other teams across Meridian who support their work. I do believe we have a competitive advantage in the quality of our people. Alongside our renewable development program, we've been making important changes in how we operate our generation assets. We've increased peaking capacity at both Manapōuri and Benmore stations, giving us around 65 megawatts of additional capacity available to support the electricity system over daily peak periods. We're also changing our maintenance regimes to, whenever possible, avoid outages over peak periods of the day and minimize outa ges over winter. As a country in pursuit of decarbonization, we must ensure the transition does not further disadvantage those people who are struggling with Energy Hardship. We're committed to supporting our most vulnerable customers, and this year we continue to expand our Energy Wellbeing Program beyond its initial pilot stage with the goal of helping 5,000 households out of Energy Hardship. This followed the board signing off a NZD 5 million investment to assist those who are finding it difficult to pay for their power and heat their homes, and at the end of the financial year, this program had helped over 1,400 households. As the electricity system evolves to be even more renewable, wholesale prices throughout the day or over a season are likely to become more volatile, not less. I've talked about the value of seasonal demand response like NZAS are providing, but also intraday volatility will create the opportunity for customers to extract value by being able to move energy use out of the peak periods and into the lower demand periods of the day. Importantly, where customers can be flexible, they can also be financially rewarded, reducing their overall energy costs. We're putting a lot of effort into introducing a new retail operating model that will help speed up delivery of innovative products that create value for our customers. We're in the thick of these changes right now, and I am confident they will help us deliver tangible results for our customers and support our aim to put customers truly at the heart of our kaupapa. Industrial use of fossil fuels, particularly for processed heat, remains a significant contributor to the country's greenhouse gas profile. Fortunately, more and more companies are making the commitment to decarbonize through electrification. A great example is Meridian's partnership with Fonterra, announced in January earlier this year. That agreement will assist Fonterra to replace a coal-fired boiler with a 20-megawatt electrode boiler at their Edendale site in Southland. All up, our processed heat electrification program exceeded targets again this year, with 525 gigawatt-hours per annum of processed heat conversion from fossil fuels to electricity now fully committed. The pipeline for further conversions is substantial, and by 2030, we expect to support enough electric conversions to remove around 140,000 tons of CO2 annually from the environment. This year, we set targets to reach net zero by 2050, and we've sought independent verification of this goal from the Science Based Targets i nitiatives. This target is consistent with our purpose, our strategy, and our focus on doing our part to limit global warming. While a challenge, the commitment is a natural extension of our half-by-2030 operational emissions reductions target. Meridian has also made a commitment to strive for nature-positive outcomes in all that we do. This commitment will guide us to better articulate our impact on biodiversity and explore areas where we can increase our positive impact. Pleasingly, Meridian was again included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index. This provides independent validation of our performance as it relates to environmental, social, and governance matters for investors and other stakeholders and helps attract a cohort of international investors to our share register. We've embarked on considerable operational change at Meridian over the last couple of years. We've reshaped the operating model of our generation business. And as I mentioned earlier, we're currently moving to a more agile operating model in retail. The change does create uncertainty for people, and we have a lot of it ahead of us. So it is very pleasing that in the year completed, staff engagement continued to trend steadily upwards. That reflects our focus on creating an inclusive, high-performing, and safe work environment for our people. Now, to the numbers. Meridian reported operating cash flows of NZD 667 million for the year ended 30 June 2024, and that was up from NZD 509 million the previous year, with net profit after tax up from NZD 95 million to NZD 429 million. Now, the growth in net profit after tax was influenced significantly by net gains on hedge instruments of NZD 249 million. In the prior year, the company recorded a net loss on those hedge instruments of NZD 351 million. Quite a swing between the years. EBITDA was up 16% to NZD 905 million, and underlying net profit rose 14% to NZD 359 million. Now, both of these are non-GAAP measures, but arguably provide a better insight into Meridian's actual business performance. The strong and improved operating result was driven by higher customer sales and positive wholesale trading results. At the same time, the company invested NZD 349 million in new and existing generation assets. As I mentioned earlier, the 2024 financial year was a milestone year for our company, and while the start of FY24 has delivered a challenging operating environment, that will settle down, and the outlook for growth looks exceptional. The future is undoubtedly electric, and I would like to thank you all for continuing to support our business so we can continue to deliver on our purpose of clean energy for a fairer and healthier world. Thank you. Thanks, Neal. We now come to the part of the meeting where shareholders have the opportunity to ask us questions, which we are happy to do. I'd ask you to reserve any questions, if you have any, in relation to Tania's reappointment until we address that issue in the formal part of the meeting, and otherwise, what I'm going to do is ask for questions from the floor first, and then I will take any questions from shareholders who are attending online, so are there any questions? Yes, sir. We have one there. Your large power generating scheme illustrated. What happens when the unit has to be serviced and you have to change the blades, for instance? Are they recycled at all? I'll get Neal to answer the question about recycling, but we have a very well-developed schedule for what we call scheduled outages, which is where we take equipment out and get it serviced, basically, or if necessary, replaced. We also have unscheduled outages, which is where, for example, at Manapōuri, we've had two transformers out, and we've had discussions with the manufacturers about what to do about them and indeed, yesterday, signed off on potentially getting replacements for those two to reinsert back in the system, but we manage that. That's an active consideration that's managed across Neal and his team, particularly the generation team. That's also done in coordination with Transpower. It's a system operator who's overseeing the whole system and can see what outages are scheduled and how to manage the overall system. It's something that's worked in coordination, but in effect, without talking to our competitors, has worked very well for a very long period of time. As you can imagine, we're doing our best to operate, having as much plant available and with the opportunity to earn some returns off as we can. Should I talk to the recycling? Oh, yes. We dispose of when we decommission a bit of plant, we dispose of it in the most environmentally friendly and sustainable way. We haven't actually decommissioned the wind farm yet. The first Meridian wind farm that will be decommissioned is the Te Āpiti wind farm, probably scheduled for decommissioning in about a decade. Now, we are working with various suppliers around enhancements to recycling methodologies so that the blades at that stage can be either recycled or decommissioned and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. That is a very important part of how we're thinking about repairing these sites in the future. We're still probably 10 years away from having to deal with that issue specifically as it comes to wind blades. So effectively, they're not recyclable at this point in time? Technology is not quite there yet, but we hope that within the next 10 years, that will be available. Yeah. Sorry, sir. I should have asked your name for the purpose of recording in the minutes. Mr. Vaughan, thank you, and if I could ask any other shareholders to tell us their names again for the purpose of recording. Yes, sir. Sure. Look, the thing is, I'm a gas user, and a commercial gas user. Are you going to be taking on any new customers? Like some of the other companies are not taking on new gas customers? Gas is not a fuel that we've offered to our customers in the past, and we don't have a current intent to offer it in the future. Sorry, your name? Sean. Sean. Thank you. Other questions? Yes, sir. Peter Millen. Peter Millen. Yes. You mentioned during the meeting that the hydro storage balances off the variabilities of the operation of solar and wind power. At what point is that likely to saturate in the system, and what would be done at that point? I'd be an amazing soothsayer if I could determine exactly when that was going to happen. What we are fully expecting to see is that over time, hydro systems will be kept more and more in reserve for situations when it's needed. To the extent that it can be, we'll be holding it back more, and as will other hydro operators in the country. In a sense, the assets actually become more valuable. I'll just add, as we build out more and more wind and solar around the country, it's in far more distributed locations. And the diversity that brings to the overall electricity system makes it more reliable and less volatile than what we have today. We're just going through an awkward transition period, but renewables are the future to a more stable grid. Yeah. Yes, sir. Adrian, I just wondered what Meridian's position is on things like the hydro battery storage, like on-site. Do you see a place for that in your generation? Well, I mean, pumped hydro might have its place, but we're always skeptical of the idea of putting a massive pumped hydro asset in the Deep South, where most of the demand issues are in the North Island, has to be transported north. There's transmission loss whenever you transport electricity. Massive cost. It would be a net consumer of energy until it was built. So, we weren't big fans of that particular project . Pumped hydro could well have its place if there was a site, for example, in the North Island, maybe for a smaller operation. So, we're not against the technology per se. But in effect, the battery project that we have at Ruakākā, and indeed our existing hydro lakes and those of our peers, are batteries in their own right, if you think about it. Yep. Any other questions from the floor? Yes, sir. Just. Mr. Vaughan. In terms of growth in customers and your turnover, is it the growth of customers that has increased the turnover, or is it more to do with the price that's now being paid per unit? Do you mean in terms of our financial results? Yes. It's a mixture of both, as always. I mean, we're a generator. We sell electricity into the wholesale market. We're also a taker of electricity out of the wholesale market, and we make a small margin of our retail customer base. But we do make generally a margin off them as well. Yeah, I think if we look over the long period, so the last seven years, we've increased the size of our retail customer base by around 60%. So, that has been the underlying feature of the profitability growth in the business. There have been some price increases along the way, but I think one of the charts we showed in the presentation, electricity prices in New Zealand have not increased at the rate of CPI over the last 10 years. So, yeah, there are price increases occurring, but at relatively modest levels compared to all other inputs into our economy. Yes, sir. Sean. Are you going to be factoring in since Karioi went under and like that, but they were using roughly about NZD 700,000 of electricity a month, and they were getting priced up to roughly about NZD 3.5 million per month of their electricity usage goal was during that spike period. How many more customers are we going to lose due to those variations of the spiking of that electricity because they are unsustainable businesses nowadays? I think you have to look at a range of factors as to why an individual customer, and we're not familiar with them. They're not a customer of ours, I don't believe, as to what factors lead to them closing. I think you have to look at the industries that some of these customers that you're talking about are involved in and whether electricity is one of or a key determinant as to why they're not successful or not. We also can't see what they're doing on an individual basis to hedge their own cost or whether, in fact, they are just actually, in effect, running naked with exposure to the wholesale market. It's a pretty difficult question to answer on a one-off basis. I think it is important to note too that, and certainly in Meridian's case, that more than 99% of our customers were not exposed to those price spikes. They buy energy from us at a fixed price. We manage that volatility for them. When parties do decide to buy their energy directly from the wholesale market, it's because on the whole and on the average over time, they're likely to get a cheaper price. But with those long-term average cheaper prices comes some price spikes that you need to be able to manage through. So. Heightened risk. Yeah. Quite a lot. Yeah. Yes, Mr. Millen? With respect to your Southern Green Hydrogen project, you were saying there was little take-up, and you are abating that. The reason I'm asking is that in Germany, they've just got a hydrogen-powered train on track and commercialized passenger service. It would seem that perhaps it's a good growth likely of hydrogen power. Which is one of the reasons why we looked at investing in the technology in the first place. I mean, we can see that in the future, there is a real possibility that the economics will marry up such that the production of green hydrogen is going to be acceptable at a price acceptable to those that want to purchase it. But we know we're not alone. Origin in Australia recently just put on hold a project that they were considering in Australia. We do expect or are hopeful that in the fullness of time, there will be a place for hydrogen, but it's not there yet. The economics are just not such that you can find customers willing to pay the current price that would make an investment for us or anyone else who's producing it economic. Thank you. Right. Okay. I'll go to the first online question, which has come from Gillian King. What are the implications of Meridian buying gas for electricity generation for our greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan? Given our commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions, why are we buying gas for electricity generation instead of pursuing other options for quick supply like batteries? Look, it's a very good and a very fair question. As we've tried to indicate through our addresses, gas is required as a transition fuel as we move to more and more renewables. You'll be aware that we've invested in. We've got a battery currently under construction. We've pioneered, I would say, in the sector demand response to get the contribution from our customers, particularly larger customers who have the ability to switch off some or all of their load for periods to assist. So, we're doing what we can in the most environmentally friendly way. But gas is still necessary as a transition fuel if you don't want the lights to go out. It's as simple as that. And it's cleaner than coal. So, hopefully, that answers that question. Where's the next one? Elizabeth Hill. Was it necessary to pay NZD 180 million to Ngāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation to get resource reconsent for the Waitaki Hydro Scheme? Look, payments made to interested parties in resource management processes is incredibly common in New Zealand, and indeed, it's efficient. It's an efficient way to actually try and streamline consent processes. I'm not confirming any figure around the amounts. The amounts that were paid are confidential. They're bound by we have obligations in that regard. But I can say that we're comfortable with the payments that we've made. It's very important to us for the sustainability of the catchments, such as Waitaki, that we have good relationships with our partners, and it makes strategic sense for us to have arrangements with them. I think I'll just add to that that there is a cost when you dam up a river system, and that's an environmental cost. There's cultural costs. There's social costs, and I think as a company, we're just trying to make sure that we actually do a fair job of mitigating those costs over a long period of time, 35 years, so as Mark said, we're pretty comfortable as an organization. We're doing the right thing by all the stakeholders in the region to support the reconsent of that scheme, which is fundamentally important to the New Zealand electricity system. Okay. Interesting question from Stephen Mayne. The ASX is currently in the midst of an unprecedented deluge of takeovers that have contributed to listed entities falling by 170 or 7.4% to 2124 listed entities. This is in Australia since June 2022, including 20 straight months of declines. There have been 27 major takeovers above $200 million completed so far this year. There's clearly mispricing between public and private markets. Why is the public market not valuing ASX and NZX listed companies like ours more highly? What special protections do we have to avoid being taken over? If AGL, Origin or Woodside bid for Meridian, what regulatory or legislative approvals would be required? Does the chair agree that the thinning out of these markets is a problem for both nations, particularly with so few new floats replenishing the ASX? Thanks, why is this happening? I certainly agree that having vibrant capital markets is essential for our economy. I'm not going to speculate on various investors' views on valuation, only to say that our job is to actually create a strategy that investors believe in and value to the highest possible level and therefore back us to do so. From an ownership perspective, that's an easy question for me to answer in terms of why we can't be taken over. We have a 51% shareholder. And so, I can't see anyone having a crack at us anytime soon. But regardless of that, we absolutely operate on the basis that we actually don't have that defense, as it were. It is our job to maximize returns, and we're examined on it every day. Might just point out that last time I checked, I think Meridian's a larger business in both AGL and Origin, so maybe if there's a takeover, it'd go the other way. I'm not saying we are, though. In fact, we're definitely not. Gillian King again. Our commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions is very welcome. It's particularly pleasing to see the ambition of halving total emissions by 2030 from a 2021 baseline. Yet, why is the time ambition for stopping the other half so slow? That is over 20 years, especially given that what we're already experiencing is an unfolding and accelerating climate emergency. Well, the target for the 20 years beyond 2030 is an extension, if you will, from where we get to at 2030. And inevitably, in these situations, what you find in any similar sort of exercise is it's easier to do the first round of emissions or the earlier years, and then it gets a lot harder, particularly when we're endeavoring to reduce Scope 3 emissions. That's always a challenge. That's about our suppliers. Even our access to their information is a tricky thing. You will find that all companies are experiencing this at the moment, which is why relevant ministers are actually looking at how we, again, manage a transition to make it possible for or easier for people. But I'm sure you will appreciate we've always regarded Meridian as being at the forefront of these challenges. It's something that the board has set for the team, and we are committed to making a difference. We care about our children and grandchildren too. Right. Sorry, I take. Mark, can you all use the microphone because those online can't hear the questions being asked? Oh, good point. Sorry. Yes, sir. Would you like to come up and if you could come up to the microphone, please. Thank you. Good morning. Peter Mossburger, small shareholder. I'm interested to know what proportion of the total energy in the past year generated by us is attributed to gas consumption. Generated by Meridian? Nothing. We don't generate anything other than renewable electricity. So, you're talking about gas consumption by Meridian. What's the? In order to satisfy our customer base at particular times, like recently, we have to buy electricity from the wholesale market. And that can be from other sources. And at times when there is, as we've just experienced, the drought, plus times where there's no wind blowing or no sun shining, it's not hard to imagine that the remaining fuel is coming from gas-fired plants. Which is a contractual thing that we have to provide them with energy, which has been generated by others using gas. Yes. Using whatever fuel is available. It's a financial arrangement we have, which is a hedge arrangement. I think the important thing, though, is if you look at what's occurred in the electricity system over the last 10-15 years, it's gone from about 70%, early 70%, maybe 75% renewable to around 90% renewable today. So, there will be the odd year where we have droughts and there's less hydro energy available in the system. And you'll see a bit more gas and a bit more coal burn. But on the whole, the trend is heading towards an even more renewable system. And I think we'll be at about 95% renewable on average by 2030. The interesting thing about gas, and we're talking about it strongly because we're saying it's necessary as a backup for when the hydro fuel doesn't turn up. But less and less, we're going to use it as a base load fuel in this country. So, as I mentioned in my speech, as a country, we're going to use less of the product, but when we need it, we really need it. And by having that flexible gas available, it allows us to build out more renewables. It keeps the price at a reasonable level. It makes the whole system more reliable. And that in itself fosters a more renewable system. Okay. As a company, then, we're stuck with gas or coal as a fuel? As a transition fuel. I think, like I say, by the end of this decade, 95% of everything coming out of the grid will be renewable on average. And then that'll trend up to close to 100% by the middle of next decade. Thank you. Question from Manorane Pty Limited. Mr. Ryan, what were the physical responses that ensured the system remained secure and moderated wholesale price spikes? This is during the drought. Was it principally the demand response that we exercised from the smelter? What a thought, Neal. Yeah, it was primarily our request of the smelter to use less electricity and that electricity was effectively made available to other consumers. So, you take away demand. The system has to match all the time. You imagine electricity. Supply and demand are totally in alignment 100% of the time. If we don't have enough hydro generation, we can either take away or bring supply to the table or take away demand. In this case, we incentivize the smelter to use less electricity. That was the main physical response. The other one was, and it was talked about widely at the time, but Contact and Genesis bought some gas off Methanex. So, they were able to get some of the gas-generating plant that was sitting idle operating. So, that was another physical response. They brought supply to the system. And between those two features, I think that largely resolved the issue at that time. And then, of course, the most important thing that occurred was it rained. And it rained lots and lots. So, the lakes have largely got back to where they should be at this time of year and a bit. Okay. Stephen Mayne. In 2019, ASX listed Treasury Wine Estates voluntarily moved to annual elections for directors in line with practice that occurs in both the U.S. and U.K. Dual-listed companies like News Corp and Rio all do this due to the laws in the U.S. and the U.K., and BHP has continued doing it even after its UK DLC ended in 2021. Can the chair and the only director up for election today, Tania Simpson, comment on whether we will follow this lead and voluntarily move to annual elections of directors at the 2025 AGM, particularly as given there is only one item on today's agenda that's for shareholder vote, which is a thin agenda, to say the least. No, there is no plan to move to annual elections. A three-year rotation, we think, is appropriate. It's important to have continuity. It's also important that these roles do attract people that want to undertake oversight of what is a fairly significant company from the point of view of the overall New Zealand economy. I certainly don't think it's in our interests to move to a shorter term. As I say, we're up for regular rotations anyway. I'm not going to ask Tania to answer that question. I don't think it's a question for her, frankly. It's a question for me and for the whole board. Mark, I think there's a gentleman. Oh, sorry. I didn't see your hand. Please. Just trying to get my head around the challenges ahead of electrifying New Zealand. I was quite interested the other day to hear a director of a large processor that uses an awful lot of energy being quizzed by a shareholder where the future energy is going to come from. His reply was that with heat pumps drawing the heat out of the environment, plus he said a 1,500-hectare solar farm is equivalent to one Manapōuri. The whole job's quite simple. Would you agree with that brief overview that he gave? Do you want to answer that? Yeah, I agree with that. I'm not sure I agree in terms of it being that simple. Conceptually, it's simple. It's a lot of hard work. And we've got to get a sweat up to get all the renewables and all those solar farms and additional wind farms all delivered and built over the next 30 years. But that is the solution. More diversified renewable energy spread around the country. It's the advantage we have in this country. And it can actually, I think it's a competitive advantage for our country as we move into the next couple of decades because most other countries in the world do not have that level of renewable resources. They don't even have a larger renewable electricity grid today. So, we're in pole position. We've got to make the most of it. The good thing is the government gets it and has been moving to try and accelerate the consent processes, but without trampling over the very necessary considerations of local and other stakeholders. Mr. Mayne again. Which of the major proxy advisors, ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS, and the NZSA produced a voting report ahead of today's AGM? Do they even bother with one item on the agenda? Thank you for disclosing the proxies early with the formal addresses lodged to the ASX. Will you voluntarily put the remuneration report up for an advisory vote at next year's AGM to comply with Australian law? Which is best practice? And why didn't the CEO's incentive grants shares get put to shareholders today? Firstly, Glass Lewis, ISS are the proxy advisors that wrote reports on us. They always write reports. They did confirm a positive vote or support for Tania's re-election, as did the NZSA. We're not intending to voluntarily put the remuneration report up to next year's AGM for an advisory vote. We are very transparent in our reporting. And it's obviously quite possible for shareholders to access more than sufficient information about what we pay and why we pay what we pay when there are incentives involved. And so, one thing we are very focused on is just absolutely being at the forefront and leading in relation to the manner of our disclosure and making it as full as possible. So, hopefully, that answers that. Is that it? Yes, sir. David Begg. Beagle. Hi. You talked about maintaining good relationships. I'm just wondering what you do about developing your relationship and improving it with your 51% stakeholder at the other end of Lambton Quay, in particular some of the scathing comments during the drought that one particular minister made and perhaps some comments about the Electricity Authority and what you do regarding that relationship too and keeping them onside. Yeah, I'm certainly not going to sort of thank you, but I'm not going to respond to any individual comments. I can confirm that we have regular meetings down at the other end of Lambton Quay with shareholding ministers and others. Neal has very regular catch-ups with the Minister of Energy and the Minister in charge of Infrastructure, Chris Bishop, as do I. So, we have pretty good relations generally across the spectrum, including with all parties. So, we have good dialogue regardless of where people's views are coming from or how they're expressed. And the. Pardon? The relationship with the Electricity Authority. Oh, sorry. Again, we have very good relations with the Electricity Authority at a number of levels, including at board levels. We have semi-regular catch-ups with their board. We're aware of any correspondence that goes to Neal in the context of issues that they are looking at. As I said earlier, we're participating fully in the task force review that's underway. And you'll find Meridian people scattered through the work groups that underpin the work that the Electricity Authority does. We've always found that they've been very receptive to our views. They're good listeners as well as checking on what we're doing and monitoring what we're doing and making sure that they're satisfied with the responses. Okay. All right. Hopefully, this is the final question from Gillian King. Thank you for answering part of my first question. Would you please answer what are the implications of Meridian buying gas for electricity generation for Meridian's greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan? Well, I thought I had answered that. We purchase that electricity when we need to. That's produced using gas to manage periods of drought. It's something that we have to manage in terms of our emissions plan within the context of our long-term aim of being a net-zero business by 2050. So, there are going to be fluctuations through this transition is the simple fact. Hopefully, Julia, that makes it a bit clearer. Okay. All right. Sorry, I've got one more online question too in the meantime. The note to shareholders on the director fee pool allocation document shows 151,000 sitting in the unallocated pool for the period prior to FY25. Why wasn't this already allocated to the Cybersecurity Committee? What work has this committee done without any funding allocation? Well, the committee has only recently been established. It was established because we're very conscious, A, of our position in the whole system and the importance of Meridian generally in terms of energy security. And we decided that was a particular risk that was worthy of separating out and covered separately. The fee allocation has been made subsequently for members of that committee. I can't remember offhand since October of this year. So, their work is funded. It's not a huge impost. I can't remember offhand. I would certainly be happy to come back to you separately post the meeting and outline what the fees are for both the committee chair and the two other members of that committee. Sorry, sir. I interrupted you just before. Thank you. Neville Watkins. Watkin. Just a question about sort of changing trends in electricity consumption. I noticed that in North America, particularly, they're noticing in recent years that electricity consumption has always been increasing over the summer period more so than what they expected, and this has been put down to the likes of heat pumps being used for air conditioning purposes and so on. We here, of course, we enjoy our large hydro baseload capacity, and traditionally, in the good old days, and I remember the good old days quite well, we had the advantage of summer for our hydro lakes to fill themselves up again, ready for the big demand in winter. Now, if the trends in America happen here, and I'm sure they will because a lot of people have installed heat pumps for winter heating, and I'm sure they're going to want to use them for air conditioning in the summer as well, have we done much analysis on the future impacts of that scenario where perhaps our hydro lakes, we will be using that energy for extra consumption that we don't necessarily expect to happen coming in the summer months? Well, I'll get Neal to answer what is, in effect, you've asked a very multifaceted question, which there are impacts of hydrology. And due to the changing climate, what does that mean? What does it mean for wind production, but also in terms of electricity consumption? People's houses are more heavily insulated than they used to be. There are all sorts of efficiencies coming into play as well. But. Yeah. We consult with climate scientists to try and understand what the future could look like because it's important in terms of when we make investment decisions around the assets. At this stage, we haven't seen a discernible change in the demand pattern in New Zealand other than the fact for the last 14-odd years, there has been no demand growth overall. The actual usage pattern is still very much winter-weighted in our country, and the climate is likely to change and will influence that, but we're not seeing it at this point. We still think as that evolves, so will the system, and so, wind, solar, and various regions will become more economic depending on how the climate and how demand actually starts to change over time. We do have the systems in place to monitor that sort of phenomenon? Yeah. Absolutely. Oh, yeah. We look at demand over the 95 years since we've been measuring it. We compare it with previous years and previous ranges of years. And as I say, we do engage with climate scientists to try and get a read on what we think the future might look like. But it's still very uncertain. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Ryan, Liam Ryan, battery storage appears to make up a small component of the forward strategy. Why is this in the face of recent climate and supply disruptions? I've indicated we have got our first grid-scale battery under construction at Ruakākā. And we have a number of battery development prospects in the pipeline. Most importantly, it's easy for people to forget, but we have the lake system at Waitaki, which I referred to earlier, which is the biggest battery in the country. And we are very focused at maximizing what we can out of that particular battery, if you like, which is a natural one, which we're very happy to have. So, I would say that there is appropriate focus. You've got to also bear in mind that obviously, we look at our pipeline and also consider what other players in the sector are doing to make sure that whatever we are doing makes perfect sense, is consistent, and complementary. Okay. Mr. Mayne, Stephen Mayne. Meridian completed the sale of its Australian operation, Southern Hydro, for AUD 1.2 billion to AGL in November 2005. With the benefit of hindsight, did the chair and CEO agree this was a great price for those assets and that AGL's share price would be higher today if they hadn't overpaid? Could AGL director Graham Cockcroft provide an AGL perspective on this question? Does he agree that it grossly overpaid? Well, I'm not going to ask Graham to answer that question because he's being asked in his capacity as a director of AGL. It's not appropriate for us to have to answer in that sense. In terms of what was paid at the time, it was before my time, possibly. Yeah, it was before my time. Yeah. So, I'm sorry. We don't feel able to comment. And it is a piece of history. And we're now in 2024, and we're focused on the future. What I can say is we sold our second Australian operation in 2021 for, I think, it was AUD 750-odd million. And we think that was a fair price. And we made a reasonable profit on that too. So, Meridian's been reasonably successful over the years in Australia. Yeah. Mr. Mayne, again. What has the change of government meant for our business? Is it good having a former company's CEO as Prime Minister, given he understands the challenges we face as a public company and he's taking a more pro-business policy approach? And speaking of government, the Australian opposition is p ushing for Australia to develop a government-supported nuclear power industry. What do we think of that? Is nuclear a viable option? Even Microsoft signed a power agreement to reopen the controversial Three Mile Island nuclear facility in the U.S. As I've said earlier, we feel as though we've got a good relationship with the current government as we did with the last. We're finding that they're good listeners, the current government. And we have good engagement. As to the question around nuclear power, well, I think to a large degree, we don't have to answer that because we actually don't need nuclear in New Zealand. Even if it was considered, there'd be a real question about the sense of it, given the size of our country versus the scale that would be required for an asset like that. Yeah. Our view on nuclear is it would be massively expensive in the New Zealand context. It's far more cheaper and safer options called wind farms and solar farms. And I think just on the government side of things, it's important to note that Meridian, we make investment decisions that go out for at least 30 years and beyond sometimes. So, we're looking beyond any particular government. And so, it's important that we have good relationships with all sides of the political spectrum because those investments need to stick and see through the test of time. And a final question from Mr. Mayne. And he's promised it is his final, so credit to you, Mr. Mayne, for that. Thank you for offering shareholders a hybrid AGM this year. Will you commit to keep doing this in future years to maximize shareholder participation? What was the experience like from your end? Also, is the split between Australian and New Zealand shareholders worth 44,000 retail shareholders? And how many shareholders bothered to vote by proxy? When disclosing the outcome of voting today, could you please advise the ASX how many shareholders voted for and against each item, similar to what happens with a scheme of arrangement? This will provide a better gauge of retail shareholder sentiment on all resolutions. And this was a voluntary disclosure initiative adopted by the likes of Metcash, Dexus, Webjet, Tabcorp, Myer, Qantas in the ASX itself over the past three years. You've got the data. Why not let the sunshine in and confirm how pathetically low retail shareholder participation actually is? Well, we're certainly happy to offer shareholders the opportunity to join online. Our investor relations manager tells me that 7% of our free float, that's the listed portion that's traded on the exchange, is held by Australians. And we're happy to take your points on board and consider what you've said about how we disclose the way the voting has been cast. Okay. Right. A question from Oliver Krollman and Hildegard Krollman. Are there opportunities to add a pumped hydro component to the Waitaki scheme? No. There's a simple answer to that. And if we were to try, I'm not even sure the topography would allow for it, but it would be incredibly inefficient and uneconomic. What we can do and what we are doing is considering how much more capacity could those lakes hold, which ends up to the same outcome if you think about it. It's a way cheaper sort of option for us and for New Zealand to consider. Okay. Right. Certainly, if there are any more questions that come through, we're happy to answer them directly offline. But before, I'll sort of now we'll move to the formal part of the meeting. The formal resolution is set out in the notice. And I'll again just quickly outline today's voting procedures. For those of you online, you'll note that a new icon has appeared. Selecting the icon will bring up the resolution and present you with voting options. To cast your vote, please simply select one of the options. There's no need to hit a submit or enter button as the vote is automatically recorded. For those present with us today, please cast your vote and place your voting form in the boxes located at the back of the room. People attending the meeting and who are not shareholders, proxy holders, or corporate representatives, you may not vote, and that includes if you were here attending as a bondholder. Many shareholders who aren't present at the meeting have already voted, but at the request of the New Zealand Shareholders Association, the announcement of the proxy count will be deferred until the formal resolution has been considered by the meeting in a minute. It's my pleasure to introduce and move the resolution to re-elect Tania Simpson as a director of the company. Tania joined us in 2021. She is chair of the People Remuneration and Culture Committee and also serves on the Safety and Sustainability Committee. The board considers her to be an independent director and unanimously recommends that you vote in favor of her re-election. And Tania, I'll now invite you to address the meeting, please. Tēnā koutou katoa. Weiwei Mainei te naira. Greetings again to all of you who've joined us today, and thank you for the opportunity to address you. It's been an honor to serve you on the board of Meridian Energy for the past three years, and I now respectfully ask for your continued support for my re-election to the board. For those who don't know me, I'm a descendant of Ngāpuhi, Tainui, and Ngāi Tahu through my mother's ancestry, and I'm a descendant of Scottish and English immigrants on my father's side. My early career was in public policy in the areas of housing, forestry, and Māori development. I established a policy consulting company initially in Wellington and then later in the Waikato. I transitioned into governance, serving as a director of Mighty River Power, now Mercury Energy, for 14 years from 2001 to 2015, including during the period of partial privatization of the government's energy companies. I've served as a director and deputy chair of the board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for seven years. I'm currently a director of Auckland Airport and Waste Management New Zealand. I'm retiring from the board of Tainui Group Holdings in a few weeks' time. I have a strong interest in commercial development, environmental management, and the sustainable use of natural resources, and this fits well with the Meridian approach of working collaboratively to ensure that the waterways and resources that Meridian uses will endure well into the future, serving all of those communities who live in the vicinity and underpinning the positive returns for both the current and future generations of Meridian investors. During my time as a director, I've had the privilege of working alongside a talented team who are leading Meridian's commitment to supporting the energy transition, sustainability, innovation, and renewable energy. As you know, there are many challenges and opportunities ahead, and we're well positioned to continue to grow the business. I currently chair the People Committee. It's a fundamental element of the business that we can recruit and retain talent and a diverse workforce that is future-fit, inclusive, and innovative as we engage with our customers and communities to deliver clean energy for a fairer and healthier world. We've continued to evolve our remuneration disclosure to meet the expectations of our shareholders and current best practice. I note the feedback that some shareholders would like to see more disclosure around our STI metrics. And this is something that we'll take account of moving forward. There are interesting times ahead of Meridian as we evolve with changing policy practices and technologies. I hope that my experience both on this board and in governance across other sectors gives me the insight and capability to contribute meaningfully to the decisions and actions that we need to take moving forward. Meridian has a strong history and a long future. It's part of the bedrock of New Zealand's energy sector. It's uniquely placed to continue to grow and develop sustainable options for New Zealand's energy future. With your support, I'm confident that we can achieve these goals and create an even brighter future for all. I thank you all for your ongoing support of the company, Meridian Energy, and I ask for your support to continue to serve you as a director of the company. Thank you for your trust, your engagement, and your continued belief in Meridian Energy. I'm excited about what lies ahead and would be honored to continue serving you on the board of directors. Ngā mihi nui. Thank you. Thank you, Tania. Is there any discussion in relation to Tania's reappointment? Nope? Thank you. I move that Tania Simpson, who retires by rotation and is eligible for re-election, be re-elected a director of the company. I've moved the resolution. I now put the resolution. Shareholders should complete their voting for this resolution. I will now pause to allow you some time to finalize your vote. Okay. That's probably sufficient time. Shareholders, thank you very much for your attendance to the resolutions and attendance at the meeting. As advised to you earlier, many shareholders have voted by proxy before the meeting, and at the request of the Shareholders Association, we did delay the announcement of the results until after the consideration of the resolutions. As shown on the screen now, I can advise that just over two billion votes, representing 80% of the shares on issue, were lodged with the share registrar Computershare 48 hours before the meeting commenced as required. That concludes our discussion on all items of business. I will allow you one final little gap just in case people haven't committed their pen to paper or clicks online to voting. Okay. I now declare that voting is closed. Once all votes have been cast, they'll be counted by Computershare, and that count will be scrutinized by the company's auditor, Deloitte. The results will be advised to the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges later today. We thank you for attending our annual shareholder meeting. I now declare the meeting closed. Thank you.