Vote of No Confidence in RA-AUS Board!

[timeflysforme]

Is it just me or do other pilots get the impression that the RA-Aus board are driving the organisation into the ground? We need some NEW blood, YOUNG blood to advance the organisation forward instead of holding it back in the dark ages.

 

 

[kaz3g]

Is it just me...?.

No!

 

Kaz

 

 

[Piet Fil]

It may just be you, the rest of us won't know unless you provide more information rather than just try and bait another inflammatory discussion without providing some actual points for discussion.

 

Phil

 

 

[Riley]

Is it just me or do other pilots get the impression that the RA-Aus board are driving the organisation into the ground? We need some NEW blood, YOUNG blood to advance the organisation forward instead of holding it back in the dark ages.

A rather curious and impetuous title for your thread. You are more than entitled to air your thoughts on the effectiveness (or otherwise) of the Board but calling for a vote of no confidence if you don't have a very well planned and immediately-able-to-be-implemented alternative is tantamount to operational and administrative suicide. If, as a new member you DO have such a plan waiting in the wings then please let all of us who've been wearing the pain over the past couple of years in on it. If not, perhaps you should talk it up amongst your club members and come up with one. We've had a surfeit of 'call to arms and sabre rattling' during the last 18 months but it will take seriously motivated new, young blood ( like yourself?) along with the diehard few on the Board to get us thru this mess. Don't lose your fervour - channel it in the right direction! Welcome aboard. cheers

 

 

[Patrick Normoyle]

Riley, extraordinarily well put, this is a group of folks trying very hard to improve the system whilst keeping the current one running, give them a decent chance to make a difference and if you have the time ( you obviously have the passion ) help out in anyway possible.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Don't know if it's just 'young' help we need, old experienced help goes a long way also....We have plenty of 'young' help as apprentices at work, and their flat out running a standard drill-press, never mind a national sporting orgnization !!! ..................Maj...

 

 

[Bandit12]

Really it is just semantics. "Young" people can have plenty to offer, but "older" people will have as well, and not always the same things. What is needed is "fresh" blood, without as many "old" ties and networks (and that is nothing to do with age either!).

 

I've read of plenty of people who obviously have been putting their heart and soul into improving things, but it seems that there is a lot of skeletons to be unearthed, and a lot of inertia to fight against to really get change happening. In all honesty it is so much easier to stay with GA than become embroiled in RA-Aus at the moment, as long as you can stretch the coin far enough to do so.

 

 

[rhysmcc]

is it not an option to dissolve the board and put all positions up for re-election, those board members who think they are doing a good job and run again, those who think they are doing crap can run against them (or campaign against them in favour for someone else).

 

 

[turboplanner]

It is an option, and given the developments over the past few months, probably a necessity.

 

Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die (Source: Catch 22)

 

As has already been stated, a replacement team needs to be worked out first, but not including those with agendas of gradeur.

 

 

[Teckair]

is it not an option to dissolve the board and put all positions up for re-election, those board members who think they are doing a good job and run again, those who think they are doing crap can run against them (or campaign against them in favour for someone else).

The membership get that opportunity every election but almost nobody even bothers to vote. People say they don't vote because they don' t know enough about the candidates but that is because they are apathetic and don't even bother to try to find out. I can tell you now you can find out about about the candidates just by making a few phone calls. I was talking to one person recently who has been in RAAus/AUF for more than 20 years and he didn't even know who Paul Middleton was. The membership have done this to themselves, if we had an election right now nothing would change because the problem people would get voted back in.

 

 

[facthunter]

That's close to the truth, but for the sake of those who are trying to make something of it , ( the organisation).is it fair to have the thread starter in bold every time someone responds to this thread? Bit like ANOTHER EMU BITES THE DUST .

 

There is NO vote of no confidence in the Raaus. Board. Just as misleading as the MSM papers headlines. Nev

 

 

[turboplanner]

You're right about the thread grammar Nev.

 

Apart from that the members only just need to vote the board members out, and if they wish vote some of them out for life.

 

Apathy will probably prevent that happening.

 

 

[facthunter]

The answer is in the members collective hands ultimately. Certainly what is happening at the moment is as far from satisfactory as I could imagine without it being intolerable. The next person to fall foul won't necessarily get any warning . Meanwhile" time and tide wait for no man". The time you lose can never be had again. Certainty, we don't have and that will take a toll IF it is allowed to prevail. and DAMAGE is done to the potential of the movement that is hard to measure but it's considerable.. We have enough real problems in aviation without shooting ourselves in the foot.. Nev

 

 

[rhysmcc]

I've not been a member long enough to have had to vote in an election yet, however it's clear that neither side have really presented a case on why the board should be removed (or stay). If a particular candidate wants votes, then they need to campaign for them, get out there and share their opinions/direction for the Association and what they can bring to the table better then the guy already there.

 

 

[turboplanner]

If you are a member of RAA you don't have to be told anything - you are one of the owners, you have to FIND OUT what is happening.

 

How ridiculous would it be if you were partners in a business and started getting messages that all was not well, but didn't do anything about it? You wouldn't have a business for long.

 

That's the fundamental RAA issue - it's not a third party you come along and use once a week like a gym.

 

 

[AlfaRomeo]

I've not been a member long enough to have had to vote in an election yet, however it's clear that neither side have really presented a case on why the board should be removed (or stay).

What Turbo said. Ask and you will find out or be passive like 80% of RA-Aus members and this Board will keep you in the dark and feed you bovine excreta. Perhaps 600 aircraft that should be registered and flying but are sitting on the ground gathering cobwebs might just be a clue that all is not well. Four failed CASA Audits, Financial Statements not available at the AGM, breach of CASA Deed of Agreement, breaches of the Corporations Law . . .enough for you to start wondering?

 

If a particular candidate wants votes, then they need to campaign for them, get out there and share their opinions/direction for the Association and what they can bring to the table better then the guy already there.

Quite true. However, this can be an expensive process when you look how big this country is. Even a relatively small state like NSW requires quite a bit of getting around. For example, living say in central (coastal) NSW, you could put in, say, 24 hours in the air plus a few nights in motels just to get around to perhaps one-half of the members. That could cost the individual $3,000 and there is no recompense for that. And then when you get on the Board you face a barrage of ill informed criticism from people like us. And what if you did all that and didn't get elected? Would not feel too good.

 

When every member reads in the SportPilot as to who has nominated for the elections, make a point of getting your club to send an invitation for the candidates to attend a club meeting and put their agenda and answer members questions and listen to members opinions. Then you might get the Board you can respect and that feels accountable to the members. What we have now, largely, are people who have not faced an election - they were either elected unopposed or returned unopposed. Our twice resigned now ex-President had not one vote from a member to put him on the Board. The Presidency had only one candidate and so he got to be President without anyone voting for him . The small number of members in FNQ could not muster a second candidate and thus did not get to vote.

 

Since nobody voted them in why would they feel accountable to the members? They will tell you they behave the way they do because nobody cares. Whose fault is that?

 

 

[rankamateur]

I've read of plenty of people who obviously have been putting their heart and soul into improving things, but it seems that there is a lot of skeletons to be unearthed, and a lot of inertia to fight against to really get change happening.

Lately the really good and decent people seem to get worn away before they actually get to turn the tide. It must be a bit like a political career spent entirely in opposition for them!

 

 

[rhysmcc]

What Turbo said. Ask and you will find out or be passive like 80% of RA-Aus members and this Board will keep you in the dark and feed you bovine excreta. Perhaps 600 aircraft that should be registered and flying but are sitting on the ground gathering cobwebs might just be a clue that all is not well. Four failed CASA Audits, Financial Statements not available at the AGM, breach of CASA Deed of Agreement, breaches of the Corporations Law . . .enough for you to start wondering?

When people start calling to grab torches and pitch folks, I would expect them to be a little more forthcoming with the reasons why? There has been a lot of vague comments regarding disfunction and mismanagement, but when pushed for details to support the case, nothing has been published.

 

You don't need to fly around for weeks to campaign and talk to each person individually (although you'd assume being a member of a flying association you wouldn't mind spending the odd weekend fly-in), there are various forms of communication to get your message/opinion across, such as this forum, email and social media, the magazine that each member gets a copy of.

 

 

[rankamateur]

And if you are Paul Middleton, the R A Aus mailing list, and we pay the postage for him, too easy.

 

 

[Yenn]

Let us know exactly what is wrong with the present board. As far as i can see they are trying to sort out the problems, which all stemmed from poor administration in the past. Give them a chance or state exactly what you would do.

 

 

[TK58]

Let us know exactly what is wrong with the present board. As far as i can see they are trying to sort out the problems, which all stemmed from poor administration in the past. Give them a chance or state exactly what you would do.

How's this for starters:

- Most of them have no idea of the difference between governance (the role of the Board) and management (the role of the hired help)

 

- The majority are content to be a rubber stamp after the event for decisions/actions taken by the Executive

 

- They've allowed a situation to arise (again) where RAAus is days away from being uninsured - the current insurer has rejected the business as have 26 others. Insurers aren't stupid, they know a poorly governed organisation when they see one.

 

- They allow the Executive to keep them in the dark about just about everything

 

- At the very best they were asleep at the wheel in allowing thevregistration debacle to develop

 

I could go on but I won't. Some of the current board members are not a waste of space. Unfortunately they're in the minority so nothing changes. We need to support them so they stay there until some new faces can be elected, altering the balance of power and changing things for the better. Hopefully member apathy (of which I've been guilty too) will be less of a factor in the elections this year.

 

 

[turboplanner]

One of the more serious issues is that those board members have failed the simple test of telling the members exactly what's happening with their money and the security of their investment in flying. They could have, and if they had they would have received overwhelming support.

 

But remember over the coming weeks that they didn't.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Misrepresenting the number of unregistered planes at the EGM was disgraceful.

 

 

[Guest airsick]

Let us know exactly what is wrong with the present board. As far as i can see they are trying to sort out the problems, which all stemmed from poor administration in the past. Give them a chance or state exactly what you would do.

I agree with you to an extent, they are trying to sort out the problem. The issue I have is that they had twelve months to sort it out and did nothing. The audit reports even state that there are issues outstanding from a 2009 audit two years earlier! They blame the CEO, previous Tech Managers and so on. The reality is that they have performed poorly.

 

What would I do? Luckily they seem to have made a couple of good moves. I can't speak with authority but I get the impression that the new GM and Tech Manager are doing good things. I would continue to support these guys.

 

Off the top of my head I would institute a raft of changes:

 

• Design and implement a new governance regime that promotes transparency and communication to members.
   
   
  
• Reinvigorate the need for change in our board structure from one based on popularity to one that recognises the need for professional skills and experience.
   
   
  
• Formulate a strategic vision so we no longer stagnate but instead have a logical approach to the challenges that we face and explore the privileges we would all like to have.
   
   
  
• Implement a series of measures to ensure the performance of staff at all levels so we can be certain we don't get people sleeping at the wheel again.
   
   
  
• Enable and facilitate efficiencies through the use of technology for things like online renewals, member communications, etc.
   
   
  

 

 

 

But first and foremost I would ensure that a more rigourous approach is applied to our insurance problems so we can be sure that we are here to fly another day. At the moment we are under significant threats that member assets will be depleted and there will be nothing left. This threat is real and will be realised within days if we are not careful...

 

 

[rhysmcc]

...But first and foremost I would ensure that a more rigourous approach is applied to our insurance problems so we can be sure that we are here to fly another day. At the moment we are under significant threats that member assets will be depleted and there will be nothing left. This threat is real and will be realised within days if we are not careful...

I'm quite impressed with your ideas/points, however I'm keen to hear more about this last bit (has been mentioned previously with the same vagueness). Does anyone actually have any information regarding said cases being brought against us (RA-AUS), I understand the legality of discussing cases before the court, but surely as members of the association being sued, we are at the very least allowed to discuss/know the charges and damages sort?