 | Fleet Air Arm |
| Fleet Air Arm |
Meeting held at Nowra, Saturday 29th October 2011
Meeting opened 1007 ESDST
Minutes of the Meeting
Present: Patron, Toz Dadswell
National Executive: Geoff Ledger, National President and Chairman; Dick Martin, National Secretary; Denis Mulvihill, National Treasurer
Division Delegates: ACT: John Schonberger, George Sydney; NSW: Greg Wise, Mike Heneghan and Ron Batchelor; QLD: Trevor Tite; SA: Grant Jesser; TAS: Proxy Votes to National Secretary; VIC: Ron Christie, Mal Smith; WA: Ian Ferguson.
Observers: Neil Ralph, Keith Boundy, Les Jordan, Eric Bruce, Brian Sargerson, Rick Foster, Jim Lee, Paul Folkes, David Farthing, Terry Hetherington and Michael Hough.
Presentation: Prior to the commencement of the meeting, a presentation was made by Mr Brian Sargerson of the Queensland Division to the Association of a framed print entitled "A Birdies Lament or A Submariners Nightmare".
Meeting opened at 1007 ESDST
Welcome and Opening Remarks by the National President: The President opened the meeting by extending a warm welcome to all Delegates and observers. He reminded delegates that, in accordance with the Constitution, only registered delegates are empowered to speak on matters before the AGM until 'Open Forum' starts, after which everyone is entitled to have their say.
Apologies: P Welsh, H Dadswell, T Browning, L Coppins, J Saywell, J & M Douglas, R Harrison, R Ray, B Lister, M Blair, W James, Keith Taylor and J Ikin
Remembrance of Departed Shipmates: A minute's silence was observed for departed shipmates.
Guest Speaker: The President welcomed our guest speaker, Commodore Jack McCaffrie (Ret'd). Commodore McCaffrie (Ret'd) gave the Delegates and Members an informal talk on the Sea Power Study Centre that has its base in Canberra. The main points of which are shown below.
The Sea Power Centre - Australia (SPC-A) was established in the early 1990s to act as an autonomous research centre in order to foster and encourage development of maritime strategic thought by providing intellectual rigour to the public debate on maritime strategy and other maritime issues.
It began as the Maritime Studies Project in April 1990, evolving into the Maritime Studies Program in mid-1991. In January 2000 it became a directorate in the Navy Strategic Policy and Futures Branch in Navy Headquarters, and was renamed the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Sea Power Centre. The title was amended to the Sea Power Centre - Australia (SPC-A) in late 2002, and as of July 2010, it is part of the Capability Plans and Engagement Branch of Navy Strategic Command.
The mission of the SPC-A is:
The role of the SPC-A is to deliver maritime doctrine and concepts, historical studies and contemporary analysis in order to record the Navy's past achievements, enhance the current Navy and shape the future maritime force. The SPC-A thus plays an important role in Navy's capability development process.
In fulfilling its role the SPC-A undertakes the following tasks:
On completion, the President thanked Commodore McCaffrie for his time and the information provided to delegates. Members and delegates showed their appreciation by a round of applause.
All office bearers had previously received copies of the 2010 FCM Minutes and copies were available for members present.
Business arising from Previous Minutes (2010): Williams Foundation - The President informed the members that he had been accepted as a delegate on the Williams Foundation Board
Moved: QLD, Seconded: ACT, "That Minutes be accepted". Carried
National President's Report: The President presented his report for 2011 to the meeting and stated that a copy was available to members present and that it would also appear on our web site (see link below). Moved: VIC, Seconded: SA, "That the President's Report be accepted". Carried
Secretary's Report: The Secretary's report was available to those present, and is also on our Website (see link below). Moved: WA, Seconded: SA, "That the Secretary's Report be accepted". Carried
Treasurer's Report: The Treasurer's report was available to all members present, and is available from the National Executive. Moved: NSW, Seconded: SA, "That the Treasurer's Report be accepted". Carried
Nomination of a Vice President: The NSW Division has nominated Captain M.P. (Paul) Folkes RANR. The Nomination was Seconded by the ACT Division and passed unanimously by the Delegates
The President then welcomed Paul to the position of Vice President and added that he would bring a wealth of knowledge pertaining to the Fleet Air Arm which would be of great value to the Association.
Paul thanked the President and Delegates and stated that information pertaining to his career etc had been published in the last edition of Slipstream and that anyone wishing for further information had only to contact him. He then assumed his seat as Vice President.
Retirement of our Patron and endorsement of a New Patron: At the Federal Council Meeting in October 2010, our current Patron Commodore Tos Dadswell (Ret'd) indicated that he would retire at the FCM in October 2011. The President informed members
"It is with some sadness that we say farewell to our outgoing Patron, Toz Dadswell. Toz has been a driving force behind the FAAA and the Museum for many years. His wise counsel, good humored advice and snappy emails have been very much appreciated during my first year as President, but also during David's time at the helm. On behalf of all members I sincerely wish Toz and Gwen the very best and I am sure I will still be able to get a comment or two from Toz as long as I don't disturb him during his afternoon siesta."
The President then informed Delegates and members that after consultations with all Divisions that the new Patron of the FAAAA would be Rear Admiral Neil Ralph (Ret'd).
Rear Admiral Ralph (Ret'd) indicated that he would be honored to accept the position of Patron and thanked Delegates and members for their support and that he would be available to undertake any task that the Association may require of him.
A. Life Memberships
a. Award of Life Membership to Mr. Aubrey (Tom) Fish (Sponsored by Western Australian Division)
b. Award of Life Membership to Mr. John Selsmark, (Sponsored by Western Australian Division)
c. Award of Life Membership to Mr. Mick Trevor Tite, (Sponsored by Queensland Division)
d. Award of Life Membership to Mr. John Saywell, (Sponsored by the South Australian Division)
e. Award of Life Membership to Mr. Michael Stubbington, (Sponsored by the South Australian Division)
f. Award of Life Membership to Mr. Denis Mulvihill, (Sponsored by the NSW Division)
g. Award of Life Membership to Mr. Barry Simpson, (Sponsored by the Tasmanian Division)
B Awards
a. Award of a Diploma of Merit to Mr. Barry Lord, (Sponsored by the South Australian Division)
b. Award of a Diploma of Merit to Mr. John Siebert, (Sponsored by the South Australian Division)
c. Award of a Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Harley Dadswell, (Sponsored by the Federal Council)
All Life Membership and Diploma of Merit Awards were approved unanimously and the National President presented the Certificates to the recipients. Recipients who could not attend will be presented their awards by their State Presidents on behalf of the National Body.
Slipstream and Wall of Service Reports: Greg Wise, editor of Slipstream, gave a verbal report to the members and asked that members approve a change of Printers for the magazine owing to problems with the current firm (delays in printing causing disruptions to distributions etc) and also the new firm approached were considerably less expensive. (Approved). He also informed members that a new cover would be forthcoming for the magazine in the near future. Greg finished his report by asking for questions from the floor and stated he was available to members most times to do the same.
The Wall of Service Report is attached as an Annex to these minutes.
FAAAA Web Site Report - Web Master Harley Dadswell: Harley's report appears as an appendix to these minutes. He is to be congratulated for the impressive way that the Web site continues to flourish. He encourages Divisions and members to continue to support this medium as a way to get their message out to other members. Harley will be standing down as Webmaster at the end of the year and is willing to assist the new person in a smooth changeover.
Fleet Air Arm Museum: The President invited Mr. Terry Hetherington (Museum Manager) to inform members of the progress of the Museum. Terry welcomed all to the Museum and stated that 2011 had been a year of consolidation for the Museum and that a number of significant Acquisitions had been obtained during the past year. In conclusion Terry acknowledged that assistance of all volunteers that help keep both the Museum and the Historic Flight at such a high standard. Terry's full report is attached as an Annex to these minutes.
Registration Fees, Capitation Fees and Slipstream levy for 2011
It was moved SA, Seconded by NSW, "That the Registration and Capitation Fees should remain unchanged for the coming year." Carried.
a. The FAAAoA (Inc) discontinues the audit procedure that has previously been adopted and there is therefore no further need to have the books audited annually.
Rationale: It is now not a legal requirement for Associations and non profit organisations incorporated in WA that do not deal with in excess of $250,000 annually to have their books audited. Note: the above Notice of Motion would enable the deleting of Para 22 (Auditor) from the Constitution. (Motion sponsored by the NSW Division, Seconded by Qld Division).
NSW Delegate (G. Wise) spoke for the motion stating that it is not now a legal requirement for Association and non profit organisations incorporated in WA that do not deal in excess of $250,000 annually to have their books audited. Thus there would be a cost saving to the association if this motion was passed.
SA Delegate (G. Jesser) spoke against the motion. The SA Division Position is - Apart from other considerations, this motion is not valid and should be rejected as such as it does not include the action required to effect the desired outcome in the wording of the motion! To effect such a change of not carrying out an audit requires a motion to effect a specific change to "Rule 22. Auditor" of the Constitution. The proposed Notice of Motion does not produce a change to Rule 22 and so has no effect whatsoever on the Constitutional requirement for an audit. As presented, the wording of the motion would more appropriately be located within the "Rationale" supporting a correctly worded Notice of Motion.
Following the Notice of Motion identified as "a." there is an incidental "Note" stating:-
Quote, "Note: the above Notice of Motion would enable the deleting of Para 22 (Auditor) from the Constitution. The above Note does not form any part of the proposed "a." Notice of Motion and therefore the motion, as proposed, would not have the effect of removing the requirement for an audit as Rule 22 AUDITOR would still remain in the Constitution as at present, so requiring an audit to be conducted.
It is the SA Division's opinion that a satisfactory motion to remove the requirement for the Association audit should, in the accompanying rationale, identify the specific State Statute and wording therein removing the Statutory requirement. This is essential information to fully inform the Divisions.
Further, the SA Division considers that even if there is no Statutory requirement to conduct an annual audit of the Association that in the interest and protection of the Association Office Bearers and members that it is prudent to conduct an annual audit.
The Statutory requirement for an Association Audit should be reviewed following this FCM as well as considering the Association's prudent requirements. If considered necessary then a correctly worded motion could be put to the 2012 Federal Council Meeting by a sponsoring Division. In such a Notice of Motion it could well be desirable to reword Rule 22 of the Constitution in such a manner that it is appropriate to meet Statutory and the Association requirements so avoiding the need to amend the Constitution as financial situations change.
The SA Division recommends that the FCM rejects the proposed motion and a Position Paper be presented to the Divisions for further consideration.
Further discussion took place amongst the delegates and in conclusion NSW agreed to withdraw the motion to carry out further investigations with the WA Incorporation Board.
b. Amend Para 16-2 of the Constitution to read "The administration and financial management of The Association, and be limited to expenditure on any single item of up to $2500.00 without reference to the Federal Council (Motion Sponsored by NSW Division, Seconded by Victoria).
The NSW Delegate (G. Wise) spoke for the motion stating - This amount was increased from $500.00 to $1000.00 at the 2007 FCM and before the year was half gone there was a possible requirement to outlay more that the $1000.00 amount that was the maximum amount the Executive was empowered to spend. This figure needs to be updated to at lest $2500. If the National Executive cannot be empowered to spend a reasonable amount of monies on necessary outlays, why do we elect them? State Division Committees to my knowledge don't have this restriction.
The SA Delegate (G. Jesser) spoke against the motion. The SA Division proposes that this motion be rejected as the Association has functioned satisfactorily from inception to date with under a $1,000.00 authority limit of expenditure on any single item without reference to the Federal Council.
Rule 16.2 is proposed to be amended by the motion; Rule 16.2 relates to the administration and financial management of the Association. No specific example, except one vague "possible requirement" has been provided in support of the motion to show how the National Executive has been hampered by the present wording of Rule 16.2 and further, the supporting Rationale does not provide any justification to approve the motion.
It should be noted that Rule 16.1 specifically relates to the duties of the National Executive to: "Implementing and executing the decisions of the Federal Council".
The Rationale supporting the proposed motion states that the financial limit, in Rule 16.2 was increased from $500.00 to $1,000.00 at the 2007 Federal Council Meeting and obviously, since then, the National Executive has functioned satisfactorily during the past four years.
The supporting Rationale further argues, Quote, "that before the year had half gone there was a possible requirement to outlay more than the $1,000.00 amount the Executive was empowered to spend." end of Quote. A possible requirement three years ago i.e. Year 2007/2008, is hardly any justification to double the authorised expenditure to $2,000.00 on any single item without reference to the Federal Council. The rest of the argument in the supporting Rationale does nothing to justify the motion, wherein the Rationale, vaguely, continues, Quote , " If the National Executive cannot be empowered to spend a reasonable amount of monies on necessary outlays why do we elect them?", end of Quote.
The SA Division is of the opinion that each individual item to be purchased or paid for under Rule 16.2, in the normal course of events in the administration and financial management of the Association, will, except in rare & unexpected instances, incur an expenditure of less than $1,000.00. Each individual item will have a unique $ value as to what is a reasonable $ value for that item.
The last sentence in the supporting Rationale is based on supposition & not fact and does nothing to support the approval of the motion; in that sentence it is stated, Quote," State Division Committees to my knowledge do not have this restriction." end of Quote.
In the case of the SA Division, for example, all expenditures are approved by the members at a General Meeting of the members of the Division. There is no Carte Blanche limit available to the Committee. Our Division funds are quite limited and need to be treated very carefully.
It should be soberly remembered that the Association is not a BHP Billiton type of organisation and has limited cash on hand at any one time. $2,000.00 represents a significant proportion of our available cash reserve.
If the National Executive meets an unexpected, essential and justifiable expenditure requiring in excess of the constitutionally approved limit of expenditure, then the National Executive should refer the matter to the Divisions for approval with ratification at the next Federal Council Meeting. This procedure has worked well in the past.
The National Executive should be encouraged to produce a budget for each year ahead for presentation and approval at each Federal Council Meeting. This would have the effect of minimizing surprises during the following year. Further, this practice would result in a better match with the requirements of Constitution Rule 16.1 wherein the National Executive duties are stated as:- "Implementing and executing the decisions of the Federal Council."
The SA Division cannot support the motion as presented and asks that the Federal Council rejects it on the basis of the above argument. A Position Paper could be produced at a future date and submitted to the Divisions for consideration if the National Executive considers there is a valid need to effect a change in the $ limit in Rule 22.
David Farthing (NSW) spoke to the motion and stated that in his time as President of the Association there was more than one occasion that the Executive could of used a higher limit on expenditure.
No further discussion was forthcoming. The President then put the motion to the delegates. The Motion was carried 6 to 1 (SA voting against).
c. That the National Executive institutes a form of recognition for National Life Members
And that be within the vicinity of the White ensign Cub/Museum-visible to all Members (Sponsored by the Western Australian Division, (Seconded by Qld Division). "Motion was carried unanimously".
a. RAN Historic Flight Report - Terry Hetherington gave a verbal report on the Historic Flight A/C, stating that work was proceeding on the Gannet. It was hoped that hangar space would become available in the near future to stow both Dakotas.
The President then invited Professor Michel Hough who is the Chairman of the HARS Museum (Historic Aircraft Restoration Society) in relation to the function of HARS and the progression on the subject of the RAN'S Historic Flight Aircraft. Professor Hough's brief can viewed as an Addendum to these minutes.
b. FAAAA Website As our current Webmaster Harley Dadswell is retiring at the end of the year, the Association is in urgent need of new webmaster and divisions were requested to approach any of there members whom they thought may be suitable to take up this position.
The following proposals were made in regard to the Website.
a. Addition of a Welfare Officer to the National Executive. The president informed members that he had requests from some divisions to introduce a formal way of informing members and sending condolences to the next of kin of departed members and to this end he is proposing that a National Welfare Officer be added to the National Executive. He requested Divisional Delegates to take this proposal back to their Divisions for discussion and hopes that it meets with their approval.
b. Grant Jesser (Delegate for SA). Grant informed the meeting that after many years of attending the FCM'S he would be unable to in future as he was moving to Thailand to live and he also stated that he appreciated his time at such meetings. The President thanked Grant for his contributions and wished him well in his home.
c. Greg Wise (NSW President). Greg informed the delegates and members that his division had added all deployed Seahawk Flight personnel to their members list as honorary members and the Division was bearing the costs of sending them our quarterly magazine. In this way they hoped to increase their membership. It was also noted that there would soon be current Fleet air Arm Personnel serving with 808 Squadron in Queensland and that there was also a considerable number of FAA trainees at RAAF Base Wagga.
d. Ian Ferguson. Ian spoke of the need for the association to support other associations in their push for equality of their DFRDB pensions with the rest of Australian pensioners. The Association agreed to do so.
There being no further business the President closed the meeting at 1247 and the next Federal Council Meeting was set down for Saturday, 27th October 2012 commencing at 1000ESDST.
Addendum to FCM 29 October 2011
The President would have liked to raise this at the recent meeting, however he had not checked with the individual concerned. After consulting with the member, it is now proposed that the FAAAA make Commander Benjamin Spurgin RANR honorary Legal Officer of the Fleet Air Arm Association.
Ben has had a long association with Albatross and the Fleet Air Arm going back to 1990 when he was the legal officer assisting the then Commander Ledger who was the Executive Officer. He is delighted to have been given the opportunity to stay in touch with the 'birdies'.
G Ledger (President), R Martin (Secretary)
.See also:
President's Report
Secretary's Report
Wall of Service Administrator
Website Report
Fleet Air Arm Museum Report.
Return to Federal Council Annual Meeting page.