Alex van der End

Well that should've gone without saying... but yes I see your point!  Hence, a vote for an independent Director is what is needed... I'm here to put myself forth as such.

Hello Alex, thanks for registering on this forum.

 

One of my major concerns are the constant membership and rego increases.

 

Not much individually but very consistent. (Death by a thousand cuts)

 

We seem to have had good membership increases (more revenue) but the management of this monopoly can't seem to leave it alone.

 

Over the last 10 years it has consistently gone up in multiples of the inflation rate.

 

Oh I hear you and agree whole heartedly.  It seems that everything and everyone is looking for more money from me.  Insurances, memberships, Council rates etc.  It is assumed that a small increase will not be noticed, but I don't know about you, but I'm not in a position to always be handing over more money everywhere.  This is one of the main reasons for seeking election to the board.  If I'm going to be a member of an organisation, the least I can do is ensure the finances are handled the best way possible, so that I do not have to spend more each year.

Having only joined RAAus this year, I can only go on the Annual Reports and the information provided therein.  It seems that the organisation is certainly heading in the right direction financially, however, I believe that there is always more that can be done.

I also know from my experience as one of the Directors of the Massage Association of Australia, that it is important to have good solid cash reserves.  There is however, no reason why the Board can not look at "other options" for raising funds, (within the parameters of the the RAAus Constitution), that will support members and prevent them having to pay more each year.  This is something I'm really good at and will explore with earnest desire.

Not necessarily; a neutral position implies someone who, when they are elected, and have ALL the facts including the internal ones we never see, will look at each item of business on its merits and vote for the best outcome for the shareholders - you.  If that's what he intends to do, that's the very best outcome members could wish for.  Someone with a fixed "platform" can hold an organisation back for years.

 

Hi Alex.

 

I'm confused. If you're standing for election on a 'neutral' platform  and essentially supportive of current board direction, why not just put your support behind the current board team and candidates? 

 

Seeking election implies you feel you have a contribution to make that will  somehow strengthen the board. What changes would you want to see to make the board better than it is now?

 

Best of luck

 

Alan 

 

Hi Alan,

It is clear that there are some strong views about the current board both positive and negative.  My default position is that when it comes to me having to spend money to be part of an organisation, I'd better be making sure I get bang for my buck.  The best way I know of to insure that is for me to be part of the solution and not the problem.  I do not agree that a neutral position reflects support for the current board.  If that was the case, there would be no point to stand.  I can make myself busy in plenty of other directions. 

@turboplanner has accurately summed up exactly why I am standing.  Also, this election allows you to vote for "up to three" people.  A single vote for me is all that would be required to get unbiased and fair representation from me on the board.

I feel strongly that RAAus should be championing  safer "air-lanes' for VFR  to be allowed to fly high enough to have a glide to safety, at least in the most common routes. 

 

The most impressive thing the old RAAus achieved was being able to head off to Tasmania and not be forced to fly at the dangerously low height of 5,000 ft.

 

 There is much work to be done to extend this win to the rest of us. Gosh I hope you agree.

 

I definitely agree with you there.  I have family that live in Tassie and have been thinking about the challenges of flying to there and seeing the challenges to other parts of Australia too.

OK, I’ll pose a couple of serious matters you may wish to comment on, or not depending on your view of where RAA should be heading:

 

1.  The decision to release private information to AVDATA without consent and the reason for doing so.

 

2.  The submitting of the Tech Manual to CASA without approval of the then board, later authorised by the defacto board of 3.

 

Certainly matters of credibility discussed amongst member I speak to. 

 

Good questions to raise...

Firstly, I am not aware of these particular issues you've mentioned, having only joined RAAus in April this year.  So it would be unwise for me to provide any specific responses since I am not aware of the details of these items you raise.

However, I am aware that RAAus has a Privacy Policy Statement (see https://www.raa.asn.au/storage/pol-2017-20-privacy-policy-18.pdf)

Not wanting to either defend or discredit any actions of the board previously, I can only assume that the release of private information was in line with this policy, from which I note the following: 

4.2.2. Sales, events, products

... In addition we collect your personal information so that we can carry out the following actions:

• to provide you with products and services that you have requested from us

• to provide your personal information to third parties that assist us in providing products and services you have requested, such as delivery service providers and fulfilment managers and staff.

5.3. Use and disclosure of personal information

...There are certain limited circumstances in which RAAus may use or disclose information for a different purpose (a secondary purpose) without consent, such as where the secondary purpose is:

• required or authorised under an Australian law or has been ordered by a court or tribunal

• for the purposes of collecting fees associated with airport use and access.

If RAAus uses or discloses personal information for a purpose other than what it was originally collected for, RAAus will keep a written notice of that use or disclosure as required by the APP.

8. Making a privacy complaint to the RAAus

An individual may complain about the way RAAus has handled their personal information. Complaints should be in writing and sent to the CEO Office using the contact details provided: [email protected]

The complaint should provide sufficient detail so the issues and concerns can be investigated.  Notification of an outcome will be provided as soon as possible and individuals will be kept up-to-date as to the progress of their complaint.

If I am elected, I will work to ensure our privacy policies are strictly adhered to and people with any concerns have them addressed officially by the CEO as per the policy.

Thanks

I’m standing for election on a neutral position. I’m not saying that things need fixing or not. I see the Board work can be improved on and that is where I think I will be helpful. 

Perhaps you can be more specific about what you believe needs to be fixed?  I could then respond specifically to address that. 

Hi,

Thanks for your question.  I have no special agenda or plan in mind to change anything in particular. I’m all about creating value and efficiencies for all members. Like everyone else, I’m a paying member and hate to see my money wasted. Hearing about the independent report on directors was a little concerning and to shows the need for new/better directors.  Hopefully I can be part of the solution. 

So here I am to answer any questions you may have in regards to my running as a candidate for the upcoming Board Election.  Very simply put, as you may have gathered from the writeup in the magazine, (see attached), I present myself for service to the membership without any specific "agenda" or aim in mind.  I simply am seeking to get the best bang for our bucks as a member and believe I have experience to offer the board to help them achieve the association's goals.  Feel free to post your questions below, and if you are another candidate, Out of courtesy, please feel free to also ask me questions too, however, please utilise your own thread to promote your own positions.

RA Aus Board Nomination.pdf

Professionals getting on the board and in management like to talk about organisations they have been a part of and think the larger the organisation they have been a part of, the more credibility they have.

 

However, bad and expensive decisions can be hidden/written off against a large membership base without much notice.

 

FYI, all previous boards I have been on have been small and service membership of between a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand members.  None of the positions I have served on have been in any paid role and my service on these boards have been to further to objectives of the organisations.

Please feel free to ask me any specific questions you may have in regards to the election and what you expect from RAAus.

In the past I have found it frustrating that I had no idea of how our elected representatives were performing, and if it was worth re-electing them.  The election statements, naturally, would say "Hey, I'm a great guy" but are they really worth my vote?  Fortunately RAAus paid for independent consultants to do a review of the Board performance (Sept 2018) and published this.

 

From the 24 page report (plus attachments)

 

As noted at the outset of this report, an overriding theme of the board evaluation was that the board is currently factionalised.  Other themes relevant to board dynamics included that:

 

• the level of contribution to the board’s work is not equally spread with some directors seemingly having no real engagement in the board’s work other than being physically present at board meetings

 

• some directors are not asking questions in a constructive way, and

 

• it is queried whether all directors are acting in the best interests of RAAus (Page 16)

 

 .. struggle to engage several members as they do not respond to emails, return phone calls and so forth. Alan Middleton often criticises the engagement of board members but fails to return calls and takes an aggressive tone in email (on one occasion I called him 4 times in relation to some out of session matters with no reply). Rod Birrell and Eugene Reid are similar.

 

Alan is not up for re-election but appears to be diametrically opposed to the Board.  With only 7 on the Board RAAus cannot afford to have 3 who are not fully contributing.

 

Kirk Sutton has been a "thorn in the side" querying the finer points of the Constitution at RAAus meetings and on this forum.  You can see his previous by searching here.  My feeling is that he will engage with the Board, not just ignore or have a hissy fit and take his bat & ball away.  He has his own thread, where you can ask questions of him.

 

I have sent an invitation to Alex and Tapan to join this forum and contribute their thoughts.

 

I am not endorsing any candidate.  Please VOTE!

 

Wow, that is an interesting way of putting things.  To be clear, I am running because I believe I have skills that can benefit all members.  I have no agenda expect to further the goals and objectives of the organisation for the benefit of all members.