CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM GENERAL MEETING: BANKWEST STADIUM. SEPTEMBER 10 @ 7:00PM
A few months ago, I made an impassioned plea for everyone to get behind the constitutional reform meeting that had just been arranged. However, in the weeks or so leading up to the meeting I pretty much lost heart. There was little communication with the club to encourage a mass roll-up and it was pretty obvious we were going to go through ground-hog days and that the Spagnolo/Garrard alliance would block the reforms. I went to vote, as did many of you - but again, getting 75 percent of the vote proved too high a bar.
Today, the club has announced the next attempt at getting the reforms through, and I finally have a bit of confidence that it's being done correctly and that we will actually move forward, in what to date has been an incredibly frustrating process.
When I first met with Max way back at the start of the process to discuss the reforms, I made one key suggestion. Break the reforms into two - have one vote to pass the reforms that no one has objected to, but which are nevertheless important. And then leave the reforms that have been the subject to debate in another vote. That way things like triennial elections, postal/online voting and changing the objects of the club and critically mandating the funding of the Parramatta Eels via the club could get through.
At the next vote, that's finally what will happen. Max will attempt in the first instance to pass the reforms in their entirety, but if that does not succeed the reforms that have not been questioned, through multiple rounds of membership consultation will go ahead. That will include postal voting so the broader membership will finally get to have their vote and say, preventing minorities from blocking reforms out of their own self-interest.
I've also had conversations with people within the Eels, including the chairman, that the football club will finally publicly get behind the reforms and that there will be a proper effort to increase the attendance at the meeting.
Firstly, thank you to all of you who have made the effort to get to these midweek votes. I know speaking to a bunch of people at these events, that frustration is incredibly high. However, can I ask for your support one last time. This SHOULD be the last time you are ever forced to attend in person to have your say, if the second set of votes go through.
Please click here to view the entire email from Max Donnelly
Replies
I will trek down from the coast again to vote. It is imperative that we rid our fine club from the small minded politics of the factions and get some professional people administering our great club.
I assume it will be like last time where people can turn up and vote without staying for the meeting.
Champion John!
Yes, there is still the 3 year qualifying rule but that now essentially only equates to one election loop with the new triennials. You will need to register in person though, Pops, so you can combine a trip down for a game with getting membership. :-)
Fong I went to the last meeting and my take out of it was that the biggest objection is the nominations committee vetting applicants.
Furthermore if they had accepted the new constitution from the beginning we would likely have a fully member elected board by now and Max would have been long gone.
I actually strongly agree. Members should be the ones selecting the board. I wish people would stop lookin out for their own interests and focus their efforts on what's good for the club.
History has shown members are really good at picking the Board
You will have the wrong people if the nominations committee is not in place to vet each applicant.
The independent committee is part of what they are objecting to. Not the only thing of course.
The members will get a say. They will vote 2 in on the first and second year and three the third year. Like I said before if it had been voted in the first time it was put up the board would now be fully elected by the members. Or close to it.
I don't know the ins and outs but I thought whole reason for not electing board in one go was to ensure no factions can rise , hence they get in at different times and re-elections not in one go
In the constitution that will go up for vote, there is no nominations committee. I hope that the issue is reconsidered after we get whatever constitution we get, because there is the obvious danger that you simply end up with all ex football players on the board.
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