Advice to Members

Dear Members,

Next Tuesday the Special General Meeting to amend the EA Constitution to allow for

• the appointment of an interim Board of EA,
• for all Branch and Territory individual members, to vote for future elected Board Members, and
• motions put at Annual and Special General Meetings. (one member, one vote)

The EWA Board has consulted widely with our members and other stakeholders in determining that it will support these changes at the SGM next week.

We would also like to state that the EWA Board commits to NOT vote against proposed changes to the EA Constitution, without the consultation and support of West Australian members.

There is a responsibility to ensure good Governance of our Sport, to provide an equitable voting structure. We firmly believe that the constitutional changes proposed by the Administrators will provide an outcome that will allow for a full review of the structure of EA and the Branches.

For constitutional change to be passed, at least 75% of all eligible members who vote must support the change. Once this has been achieved, there is a second majority required which requires 75% on the Branches also to support the change — in the current structure, this is 5 of the 6 Branches must support the change too.

This second majority is an important safeguard to ensure that the smaller states, a specific discipline or group of members are not disadvantaged.

The EWA Board has been very open regarding this, and we have consistently maintained that when exercising this vote, it will support the views of the majority of the EWA members. We have had strong support for this view from many of our members; however, some are concerned that is providing a power of Veto to EWA. This is incorrect, at least 2 Branches must vote against anything that 75% of the members have voted for (the member vote has to succeed before the Branches being required to exercise a vote at all — and EWA (as has also been indicated by the other Branches) will be led by the voting of their own members when casting their vote.

We look forward to the removal of the Administration of EA and working with the new Board, and our members to undertake a comprehensive review of the structure and management of our sport, and welcome the change and evolution of our sport into the future.