RAAus General Meeting Called

[Captain]

Ah! Turns out the oversight was on my part!"Still grounded" proves one more thing - this isn't solved yet...

That can't be right, Sicky, as the Ex-President said that it isn't a big deal and is being fixed.

 

And the number of grounded members can't have been too bad because the Office was closed for all of the working days between Xmas & New Year, so there was obviously no pressing urgent need to process member's registrations.

 

And don't forget about the poor silly uninformed members, or the factories or the importers who are still waiting to register new aircraft.

 

It's nothing to worry about. RAA is in good hands with this Executive, including an Ex-President, at the helm.

 

 

[cherk]

That can't be right, Sicky, as the Ex-President said that it isn't a big deal and is being fixed.And the number of grounded members can't have been too bad because the Office was closed for all of the working days between Xmas & New Year, so there was obviously no pressing urgent need to process member's registrations.

 

And don't forget about the poor silly uninformed members, or the factories or the importers who are still waiting to register new aircraft.

 

It's nothing to worry about. RAA is in good hands with this Executive, including an Ex-President, at the helm.

the bunny farmer seems to think all's well that ends............http://www.raa.asn.au/2013/01/registration-update-11012013/

 

 

[wanabigaplane]

Who says there was no one in the office between xmas and new year?

 

I went in there to ask about my renewal, and the office was open and running.

 

Yes, I got the political answer as to a possible short delay due to ….etc ..as she had been told to say, and there was nothing to be gained by carrying on.

 

I am not agreement with the confrontational and disrespectful attitude being displayed by some posters in this thread. Some of the board members have been with us a long time, on a voluntary basis, and have in the past fought many battles to bring us to the amazing level we are at today. I would rather we worked with the board on solving these problems. Let those that are not prepared to let go of the old boys club ways not stand for re-election, or not be elected , as per the normal democratic process. We should only bring about this change by better communication with the members and board members.

 

Jack.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

good on you jack

 

 

[fly_tornado]

we should never take for granted volunteers like jack

 

 

[turboplanner]

You're right FT, what a wonderful, caring person he is.

 

 

[cherk]

You're right FT, what a wonderful, caring person he is.

 

[Captain]

Who says there was no one in the office between xmas and new year?

Well Jack,

 

The RAA announced on their website that the Office would be closed (since removed from the News section of the website) and I know that the Secretary has been out of communication range (as advised to me by email by the Ex-President) during his "break" so we can be sure that no aircraft rego business was being conducted.

 

Or are you saying that the Secretary and the temporary Techman were in the office processing grounded member's Rego paperwork?

 

If there was a staff member is attendance, then they need the highest commendation for keeping the doors open to handle contact from members. Perhaps they should be elevated to the Exec.

 

Re you final paragraph, in my eyes any deserving respect went out the window after this Executive have made error after error after mistake after mistake this year. I certainly recommend that all members be civil to them (and definitely so at the Feb 9th meeting), but respect is not automatic and has to be earnt then retained. As much as Steve might want it, RAA members are not in the army & are not required to automatically salute his major-ness when his management of the RAA has been found wanting. Please bear in mind that this Executive have tried to throw the Techman under the bus & distance themselves from him, BUT the Techman reported to the Executive, so Runciman, Middo and Reid are therefore specifically & directly responsible for the errors that lead to the audit failures, for the loss of our CASA charter, and for all subsequent groundings.

 

FYI, I have now seen 4 legal opinions that the Runciman resignation MUST stand, as required by the Constitution and the Legislation, so based on that I conclude that the Secretary's reinstatement of Runciman, to be the leader of the "push" again, was cavalier and that was the final straw for me.

 

Regards Geoff

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Who says there was no one in the office between xmas and new year?I went in there to ask about my renewal, and the office was open and running.

Yes, I got the political answer as to a possible short delay due to ….etc ..as she had been told to say, and there was nothing to be gained by carrying on.

 

I am not agreement with the confrontational and disrespectful attitude being displayed by some posters in this thread. Some of the board members have been with us a long time, on a voluntary basis, and have in the past fought many battles to bring us to the amazing level we are at today. I would rather we worked with the board on solving these problems. Let those that are not prepared to let go of the old boys club ways not stand for re-election, or not be elected , as per the normal democratic process. We should only bring about this change by better communication with the members and board members.

 

Jack.

Jack

 

your approach is indeed a viable alternative however for that to work the people in charge need to accept that they need assistance. So far those that oppose are merely "silly members" and "troublemakers" (their words)

 

We see no sign of that happening and cant rely on normal democratic processes because apathy rather than democratic process is the reality today. To rely on democratic process alone will require an absolute disaster to occur (assuming that the groundings themselves are insufficient). We want to drag out from under apathy and invite people to have a look. If members think its not important in 12months we'll just be that noisy bunch. If it turns out to be important then i'd like to think that in 12months the members have a warts and all view of the good and the bad and have a set of plans for where we are to go and what we are to fix.

 

Right now the focus is on what has been done but before the meeting of the 9th we will have to turn to the future. that is where people care about

 

Andy

 

 

[kaz3g]

Jack had some criticisms in his post #162 on this thread which I would like to respond to:

 

Who says there was no one in the office between xmas and new year?

 

A really confrontational way of saying "I actually visited the office during that period and found staff were working there..."

 

I am not agreement with the confrontational and disrespectful attitude being displayed by some posters in this thread.

 

Many of us here are in strong disagreement with the confrontational and disrespectful attitude being displayed by some Committee members to both other Committee members and to the membership, generally.

 

Some of the board members have been with us a long time, on a voluntary basis, and have in the past fought many battles to bring us to the amazing level we are at today.

 

Those same Committee members have managed to bring a number of this group right down to ground level for months now by their failure to ensure that the core business of the Association -- airworthiness, registration and licensing -- was being conducted in accordance with the Regs... a quite amazing achievement.

 

I would rather we worked with the board on solving these problems.

 

So would we all, Jack, but those same Committee members have proven both unable to do the job and unable to accept that such help is desperately needed. In fact, going by the media statements made by the "President" and other Committee persons last week, they don't even accept there is a problem of any real dimensions to be solved.

 

Let those that are not prepared to let go of the old boys club ways not stand for re-election, or not be elected , as per the normal democratic process.

 

A very large proportion of the membership almost certainly remains unaware of the problems or, at least, the scale of the problems. The stuff in the magazine didn't tell them much, did it? And do we really want to wait for the next round of elections to do anything? My view is there won't be a heck of a lot left unless a huge change in governance abilities and consequential administration abilities occurs, and does so quickly. It seems to me that the current mob is willing to pervert normal democratic processes, anyway, judging from some of their recent contributions.

 

We should only bring about this change by better communication with the members and board members.

 

Unfortunately, you can't communicate with a brick wall. The present problem is that some Committee members can't even communicate (at least civilly) with one another, let alone the membership. This is compounded by the apparent decision of some on the Committee to deny their fellow Committee members information about matters of Association business essential to them carrying out their fiduciary duties. It is not just a recent issue as former Committee members have already made known to us. It is also a blatant breach of rules that apply to anyone performing such work and certainly contrary to RAAus Guidelines for the Committee.

 

Jack, doesn't it concern you enough to want some action now (not in 6 months time) that explains why:

 

• The financial report was incomplete and allegedly in breach of the Act;
   
   
  
• The auditors have been called back in to investigate unknown irregularities in the finances;
   
   
  
• There are extremely large expenditures down against staff benefits that are quite unexplained and for which there appear to have been no budget;
   
   
  
• The membership numbers reported by the Secretary to the AGM were apparently inflated by some 35%;
   
   
  
• The likely impact of the membership numbers on insurance premiums paid/overpaid by the Association on behalf of its members;
   
   
  
• Not just one or two but four successive CASA audits were failed;
   
   
  
• Large numbers of aircraft were/are grounded causing not only inconvenience to private members but significant losses to people whose businesses have been adversely affected; and
   
   
  
• There has been a history of Committee members feeling they have no option but to resign their positions because of their alleged concerns over the standards of governance offered by the Committee and administration of the appointed managers
   
   
  

 

 

There are lots of other issues that I would like to have answers, to, Jack and I won't list all of them here. But I have to say I am really concerned that we have not yet learned the full extent of them by a long shot. I would almost bet we won't know until too late unless some very big changes occur in the manner in which our organisation is run.

 

Lots to think about, Jack... and even though some of us here might seem a tad overly critical to you, at least we are trying to get those answers.

 

kaz

 

 

 

[Guest Error404]

It's all good cficare they have just handed over the process and cancelled the existing adverts.

 

 

[wanabigaplane]

Err no, I did not volunteer my services because my name is on the list of members demanding a general meeting. If this was discovered while I was working in the office as a volunteer I’d be too much like the cat that ate the canary. I learned from a friend , who is a volunteer, that Middo is in there (during the new year), full time, doing just grunt paperwork along with the other staff members.

 

 

[wanabigaplane]

Andy, I am not advocating that we sit back and wait for the normal democratic process to take effect. It won’t of its own accord. It has to be driven.

 

Any management group that has been around for a long time develops cliques and power cells centered around the executive. Beneficial if they are good managers, poisonous if not. You only need one or two alpha characters to set the style of management in the executive, and then the executive maintains the same style of management with the board. If you wade in abusing all and sundry, they will all feel hurt, wrongly accused, and under attack. This will make it even easier for the few alpha characters to circle the wagons even tighter.

 

The few alpha characters have to be identified and exposed, then not elected. The good people we have in there are hopefully not thrown out with the bathwater, and we have a good basis to carry forward.

 

Unfortunately the membership is too widely spread, and poorly informed as to what is going on. Even when I do hear about something and have suspicions, it is very hard to find out anything. I just carry on in ignorance, and when it comes time for voting I’ll read the half page blurb in the magazine and maybe cast a vote if I feel like it. And this situation is compounded by the secrecy. So, when I write “we should only bring about this change by better communication with the members and board members”, I mean we have to do something actively to improve communication so that the board knows we don’t like what is going on, and the members have the information necessary to cast their vote in an intelligent manner.

 

So, how do we go about this better communication? Well, I’m not sure. I’m starting to tread water here. But it is the direction that I think that we should be going in. This forum is a start, but how many people read it?

 

An email newsletter to all clubs? An email list for interested parties? Forming an adversary group made up of previously ejected board members?

 

 

[wanabigaplane]

Crikey, looks like I have to learn type faster.

 

OK, Kaz, I feel we are going in different directions here.

 

I’ve read this list of deficiencies a number of times in this thread.

 

I don’t mean to downplay the seriousness of them.

 

But apart from readers of this forum, who amongst the general membership knows?

 

Lets say you are successful in wading in there and sacking half the board, what then?

 

The membership will have to elect a new set of board members.

 

On what basis does the membership elect their next representatives?

 

You wrote “Many of us here are in strong disagreement with the confrontational and disrespectful attitude being displayed by some Committee members to both other Committee members and to the membership, generally.”

 

You may well be, but I as an ordinary, ignorant member, I don’t know anything about this. I suddenly see your confrontational and disrespectful attitude and think “what a rabble rouser, no wonder the board is ignoring her” You have to play nice to get close enough to kick them in the nuts.

 

 

Jack.

 

 

[Powerin]

You have to play nice to get close enough to kick them in the nuts.Jack.

A very wise and insightful comment Jack

 

 

[AlfaRomeo]

Well said Jack. It is difficult in this two dimensional forum to make yourself properly understood by others. I'm sure now we all appreciate how well you do understand the issues.

 

I contend what some have said above about "democracy". When 300+ RA-Aus members sign a petition to call for the first ever extraordinary General Meeting for RA-Aus it is a good indicator that the membership has been awoken from their apathy by the alarm clock of grounded aircraft. (apologies for the many mixed metaphors)

 

So, I would maintain that a great number of members have taken real democratic action that is allowed under our rules of association (The Constitution).

 

On the issue of secrecy, I despair that the current Board Exec know or can operate any way other than by secrecy and whitewash like Middo's latest epistle on the RA website.

 

The ONLY way to get these people to tell us:

 

• what's going on,
   
   
  
• how we got into this mess,
   
   
  
• how we are going to rapidly get out of this mess and
   
   
  
• how we can set RA up for a much, much brighter future
   
   
  

 

 

is to drag them, kicking and screaming, to a General Meeting and put them on the spot and ask them the questions at point blank range.

 

If you think "kicking and screaming" is a bit colourful, re-read what Middo wrote in his abuse of position piece that accompanied the Notice of Meeting. How inappropriate is it for the Secretary to prejudge the issues to be raised at the meeting and be so dismissive. He's supposed to be impartial as is the Chair of the Meeting. Can anyone suggest to me that Runciman, Middo or Reid could ever be seen as an impartial Chairman of a General Meeting that has been called to review their performance? Will they do the right thing and arrange for a genuinely impartial person to Chair the GM in February? I sincerely doubt that they would give that one moment's consideration.

 

It is really unfortunate that Middo and Reid, who each have very long service with RA-Aus, find themselves under severe criticism for the current situation. But, these were the people who handed the CEO job to their mate Tizzard without it even being advertised or any competitive interviews. And then kept in that job despite his questionable performance.

 

You just can't run RA they way they used to when it was a small club of enthusiasts. This is now a sizeable enterprise and it needs to be run very professionally. Being a volunteer is not an excuse for RA-Aus being put in the desperate situation as it now finds itself.

 

 

[Pilot Pete]

Heard today that a QC is to be involved by the board. Just what are they scared about????????

 

and so much for trying to save money by having the meeting on Feb 9th. I hear Middo has to do a mail out to all the members about some forgotten detail!! What will that cost and who is footing the bill??

 

 

[coljones]

Jack said

 

snip snip snipLets say you are successful in wading in there and sacking half the board, what then?

 

The membership will have to elect a new set of board members.

 

On what basis does the membership elect their next representatives?

 

snip snip snip

One of the problems of democracy is that the voters are entitled to their opinion, in which case the chips fall where they may. The big difficulty is that the membership is faced with a form of corporate silence where there is no indication of the performance of individual Board Members but a general feeling of malaise in the board. The laws of libel in Australia generally preclude combative election statements.

 

Jack's suggestion

 

snip snip snipkick them in the nuts.

 

snip snip snip

may well be the only way to get sufficient rotation on the Board to ensure that new people with valuable skill sets are attracted to nominate for the board and get elected.

 

I once saw a letter sent out by a former member of the board that was so heavily constrained in its wording as to suggest that legal threats had been made to prevent a full and open discussion of board member performance.

 

Inertia and legal threats are becoming the death gurgle of RAAus.

 

cheers

 

Col

 

 

[turboplanner]

Heard today that a QC is to be involved by the board. Just what are they scared about????????and so much for trying to save money by having the meeting on Feb 9th. I hear Middo has to do a mail out to all the members about some forgotten detail!! What will that cost and who is footing the bill??

I hope that's a rumour.

 

A QC is a Barrister, not a Solicitor and the daily cost is horrific. Barristers are normally briefed by Solicitors on an issue.

 

Since this meeting is about the personal actions and behaviour of individual board members, I would expect those individuals to be footing the bill.

 

If this is not a rumour and any board member has committed public money - maybe $5,000 to $15,000 to try to bolster his position then he is going to have to reimburse members.

 

 

[kaz3g]

I hope that's a rumour.A QC is a Barrister, not a Solicitor and the daily cost is horrific. Barristers are normally briefed by Solicitors on an issue.

Since this meeting is about the personal actions and behaviour of individual board members, I would expect those individuals to be footing the bill.

 

If this is not a rumour and any board member has committed public money - maybe $5,000 to $15,000 to try to bolster his position then he is going to have to reimburse members.

If this is true, and not just part of the rumour mill, it will be a very sad day for RA Oz but will speak volumes about where we are at now.

 

Of course, if such a high-priced mouthpiece did front, he would be a witness to any improprieties alleged and would undoubtedly be called as a witness of standing in any resulting court action. Would make for a very interesting cross-examination!

 

kaz

 

 

[Admin]

Heard today that a QC is to be involved by the board. Just what are they scared about????????and so much for trying to save money by having the meeting on Feb 9th. I hear Middo has to do a mail out to all the members about some forgotten detail!! What will that cost and who is footing the bill??

Pete, can you please advise where/how you heard this?...send me a private message if necessary...rumours are not going to help but facts will

 

 

[David Isaac]

If it is true; let them be accountable to the members for the cost and justification. It seems to be an extreme measure ... what have they got to hide? Are they seeking to put a legal opinion in an attempt to justify their stewardship of our organisation at our cost?

 

Is this for the purpose of aggression against the members who have called the meeting as part of a democratic process... all 300 plus of us ... or do I delude myself?

 

As Kaz has said ... indeed a sad day for RA Aus.

 

 

[Spriteah]

Pete bess I too would be interested in your statement. It hasn't been discussed at board level, at least not with me. Pm me if you are prepared to talk further on the matter or call me 0403 228986.

 

Regards,

 

Jim Tatlock

 

 

[Pete Greed]

I think what many members (especially new members to the forum) are now asking is “What is the next step?” Enough evidence has been gathered to encourage the membership to successfully call a general meeting; and for the board to “please explain”. There is also enough evidence to raise serious questions of the Executive and their approach to the governance and management of the organisation, which IMHO is the core, of what is wrong, and what went wrong over a long period of time.

 

These are questions not just for the general membership, who remain largely ignorant of the going-on’s within RAAus, but for the board who have allowed, no doubt under ongoing executive duress, for the hijacking of both their, and our, organisation.

 

Until professional assistance is engaged, and proper governance and management structures are put in place, the chance of history repeating itself, with similar personalities being installed, is a real possibility. Without a drastic change in the culture to our governance and operational structures this whole exercise, of bringing the board to account, will have been wasted.

 

I can also understand the passion and the anger that underpins the responses expressed in many of the posts on this site. However do not turn that anger on those who are also trying to find a way through the mire. They are not the enemy.

 

For this fiasco to be sorted by the board would be a fantastic result. However, from all indications, and from recent communications with our local board representatives, that is going to be a big ask. If the board will not take the initiative who, or what, will? Is the board, as a whole, being encouraged to find a solution, while at the same time being told by the executive that there is not a problem?

 

Already members who cannot attend the Feb 9th meeting are allocating proxies that will be based mostly on trust, for without knowing the motions that might be put; proxy carriers are accepting that responsibility on behalf of other members.

 

We on this forum know what is desired but not so the bulk of RAAus members. An indication of at least some of the scenarios that could be communicated to the wider membership would be helpful in the allocation of proxies. It may be that all the general meeting can achieve is re-setting the strategic direction of RAAus. Any action taken by the executive, such as stepping aside, would be a bonus. One thing is clear however and that is the involvement of professional assistance in bringing the organisation up to the governance and management standards befitting a national operation the size and scale of RAAus. And that is the undisputed role of the board.

 

All of us in our various clubs should now be spreading the word to members. I know within our small club there is very healthy debate. What a pity RAAus has never seen the strength of the regional networks – looking inwards rather than to where the skills, talent and practice of recreational aviation resides.

 

Pete

 

 

[apmurray2002]

Greetings all. I'm relatively new to RA-Aus from GA (about a year and a half now) and have been quietly observing the dynamics. Also did a bit of research into the background of some of the thorny issues. For what it is worth, I'd like to share these thoughts:

 

1. In all my dealings with RA-Aus it has been MUCH better than similar dealings with CASA. There is an inverse correlation between the size of any bureaucracy and the application of common sense. Nevertheless...

 

2. There are obviously some serious problems and they go back some time.

 

3. My direct dealings have been with my state board member, I am quite happy with that interaction and remain confident that he can represent my interests effectively, whatever action is required.

 

4. We now have an emergency meeting imminent, with some confusion (it appears) about what can or might happen there.

 

5. Given the uncertainty and the evident hostility (I make no judgement as to whether it is justified but it does inevitably leads to a narrowing of agenda), I want ANY major decisions taken at that meeting to come into effect only after ratification by vote of the full membership. By all means, fearlessly, persistently and with a courteous and respectful manner seek information but - no major actions please until that information is out there and seen by the full membership.

 

6. As I am unable to travel to Canberra, I will provide a proxy to my board member to reflect the above, i.e., an overiding motion that all other motions involving constitutional or structural change get put to the full membership.

 

7. Internet forums/chats etc can be great for gathering and sharing information, as long as one realises that caveat emptor is liberally applied to any information so obtained. Over the years I've also seen them destroy the democratic fabric of small organisations - often only with the best of wills on the part of the contributors. This is a real risk which I believe we have to keep in mind. It's a powerful weapon and with all power comes responsibility etc etc.

 

End of Polemic.. normal service will be resumed shortly :)