Pt 1. AGREED. In fact not even abstaining—there would no vote...

Pt 1. AGREED. In fact not even abstaining—there would no vote recorded for you at all. If you DO vote, the proxy is whoever you nominate on the form (but make sure it is someone who will turn up at the meeting!)—or if you don’t nominate anyone, it is the chairman of the meeting (usually but not necessarily the chairman of the listed body). The most important point in any case is to tell your proxy what your vote is on the form (for or against) on every resolution. i.e. don’t leave it “open”. That way the proxy has no discretion to vote your shares/units in any other way, so it then doesn’t matter who is your proxy.

Pt 2. The court held today that the notice of meeting was invalid, so the meeting is off and the prefs will convert on 3 January.