Chairman of the New Zealand Shareholder's Association Bruce Sheppard has dedicated his latest blog to Tuesday's Hanover meeting and vote to allow the company to continue to be run by "the failed managers who put it there." In the post, he said he was "out of helping those that are beyond helping themselves" - a stab at the elderly investors who in his mind were too fearful of more knowledge on the issues surrounding Hanover. Not one to hold back, Sheppard's frustration, anger and sentiment to the overwhelming yes-to-Hanover vote made by the company's primarily elderly investors underpin his post. Sheppard said he feels he is "waisting his breath" in trying to help the "fearful and resistant" old. Sheppard had supported the receivership option for Hanover and asked during the meeting to be allowed by those present whether he could ask more questions to the Hanover panel than was allowed by the Chair. In a quick show of hands, his request was overwhelmingly turned down. Here are a few passages from Sheppard's piece. For the full blog see here.
While I understand why they did it, the complete resistance to more knowledge on the issues is incredible... Each year I spend time, quite a lot of it, talking to community groups. A number of these I have pre-committed to in the coming six months. They are all cancelled. The only groups I will talk with in future are those that include the young. They are our collective future... The old unfortunately are so fearful, resistant and so past their point of economic impact that I am wasting my breath on them... So you have handed over Hanover and I am out of helping those that are beyond helping themselves.
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