Dear Friends,
My wife and I are members of both Birds Australia and BOCA. We have been working for over 20 years to preserve some bush on the Inskip Peninsula immediately south of Fraser Island in Queensland. It is an area the Birds Australia list as an Important Bird Area and contains a substantial population of Black-breasted Button-quail amongst others. The 200 hA area has not been substantially changed and is largely original bush.
An urban development of 6,500 is proposed for an area. My wife and I along with Coastcare, Fraser Island Defenders Organisation, the Department of Environment and Resource Management, Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula and other individuals are opposing the development in the Planning and Environment Court.
When I contacted the President and CEO of Birds Australia about the matter they promptly asked for more details. I sent multiple copies of a multipaged color presentation for the Council of Birds Australia to consider and asked for assistance. I was ignored for several months. Eventually the CEO refused any assistance and refused to give me information on the rules of the organisation or ways I may use to contact members.
BOCA has published an excellent article about the matter and this assistance has been very valuable.
I have come to the conslusion that we need BOCA and that the proposed amalgamation is more like a takeover with the CEO of Birds Australia in charge. The failure of Birds Australia to support pensioners and community organisations in a long running fight for the future of birds makes BOCA’s independent survival more critical.
I apologise for the unsolicited email but ask you and your members to vote against amalgamation.
Reg Lawler Chairperson Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula PO Box 9 Dagun Qld 4570 http://www.inskip.org/ ===============================
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Hi Grahame,
I wasn’t going to keep going as I really would be more usefully employed working on the court case.
You say that BASQ discussed it yesterday. No one talked to me. I am a party in the court case where you say that was unsuccesful. I wish it were so. We are fighting the case desperately. The Council has now supported the developer. For the last two weeks I have been making trips to Brisbane to fight the preliminary details. For those who wish to check the details it is in the Planning and Environment Court at Brisbane and it is Rainbow Shores v Gympie Regional Council and Others (No 2768 of 2009.) We are the Others. I have to prepare to go down on Wednesday for a hearing in preparation for a trial in June. There is a mountain of stuff to do.
Cheryl Cole provided Greg Wood with a statement. He is a separate party to the appeal and is not a member of BA. I can access the material but BA gave me nothing.
If anyone wants to have a look at the report of Dr Justin Watson I’ll post you a copy on a CD. Read it yourself before you tell me what is in it. I’ve read it.
Dez Wells, convenor of BASQ, did not offer to co- sign a letter to the court. Such a letter would be of no value anyway. They want scientific evidence, not letters of support. I think perhaps Dez may be confusing a contact I made with him over a year earlier. The only contact that I had with Dez about this matter was before the development was rejected, before the court case and before I contacted Dr Hamilton. I asked for a responsible authority to verify the evidence of BBBQ in a different area that was under threat. I asked Dez for this. The best that he could offer was a joint letter to politicians This was letter to politicians was confirmed in a previous response from Dr Hamilton. So your story is starting to wander.
Your letter demonstrates the incompetence of BA, their failure to deal honestly with members, their failure to protect birds and why we need BOCA to continue independently.
If you want to help contact me and offer help. I really have to get back to doing the court work to protect the BBBQ. The case definitely has not been won as you say.
regards
Reg Lawler
07 54843273
A pointless exercise as whichever way the vote goes we will never know what would have happened if it went the other way. I am of course biased as a BOCA Board Member, but I see a much rosier future for all birders – and the birds – in 2016 with a stronger merged organisation than without it.
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It will be interesting to have another look in 2016 to see how many of these good intentions are actually being realised. Or not.
Tony
Hi
The Proposed Merger Information Pack that was mailed to both BA and BOCA members is available for download from http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/homepage-news/dial-m-for-merger.html
Regards Grahame Rogers
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Dear all,
It is with dismay that I read your posting, Reg. I too, am a member of both BOCA and BA.
A major point of fact that some people have overlooked is this: BOCA approached BA to form an amalgamation, NOT THE REVERSE! It is obvious that the CEO of the merged organisation will be the current CEO of BA. The current CEO of BOCA is presently working as a volunteer (my belief is that this is to ease some financial pressure on BOCA – I could be wrong).
However, the governing board of the merged organisation, BirdLife Australia, will not be dominated by BA, but will be drawn from both organisations, and will change following a prescribed formula, over several years headed up by an independent Chairman, Gerard Earley. Formal elections will not take place until this transition period has passed, i.e. 2015. Both BOCA and BA are very sensitive to the many issues that will have to be resolved, in the event of a successful merger.
It is in the interests of both BOCA and BA.to create a stronger united body that, it is hoped, will also have a louder voice on conservation issues. So, Reg, I urge YOU to reconsider your position and post a “For” vote for the merger.
Regards Shirley Cook (yes, Secretary/Treasurer of Birds Australia – Northern NSW)
Tony
The BOCA papers on the merger that went out recently with the invitation to vote are not on http://www.boca.org.au, presumably because they are private.
Anyhow it is clear that BOCA would have to change substantially if the merger does not go ahead. The Plowrights’ letter on the home page gives you some idea of the situation.
As to implications for the management of BOCA in a merger, Richard Hunter has been nobly working on as CEO for some months WITHOUT PAY to avoid cuts elsewhere in BOCA.
Michael Norris
I hope for their sake that BOCA members have considered all the longer term implications of being subsumed by a larger organisation ? One should carefully review the historical outcomes of corporate mergers, amalgamations, and takeovers. I’ve been through a few and it’s rarely advantageous for the ex-management of the smaller organisation. But then I’m no longer a member of either in this case so have no particular interest in what happens.
Tony.
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Thanks so much Bob for passing on Graeme’s side of the story! Reads very differently doesn’t it 😉
I don’t think you’ve done your cause any favours at all Reg. I love Inskip Point too but trying to divide your support base in such a way does more harm than good to me. I certainly fail to see why we should all vote against the merger – especially when BOCA also WANT to merge.
David Stowe
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The Birds Australia Southern Queensland Committee yesterday discussed Reg Lawler’s attitude to the amalgamation of Birds Australia and Bird Observation and Conservation Australia, and the reasons he has given for it. We can only assume he is unaware of significant facts or has misunderstood the situation.
Some background.
When the Qld Government refused planning permission, the developer appealed the decision.
Cheryl Gole, Manager, Important Bird Areas Project for Birds Australia, provided Reg Lawler and Greg Wood of the Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula with a conservation statement about the Cooloola and Fraser Coast IBA (this report is available off line) for use in the court case. She also provided mapping of the IBA region.
The report prepared by environmental consultant Justin Watson focussed on the biodiversity values of the area. (As you will be aware, developers are required to pay for any Environmental Impact Statement required by the legislation, but such statements are prepared independently. )
Dez Wells, Convenor of Birds Australia Southern Queensland, made the offer to Reg Lawler that BASQ would co-sign a letter to the court. The offer was never followed up.
Graeme Hamilton, CEO of Birds Australia, repied to Reg Lawler. See below.
The dceveloper’s appeal was unsuccessful.
BASQ supports the approaching merger between BA and BOCA and is working with BrisBOCA and other BOCA branches to look at ways in which branches and regional groups can work together under the new entity Birdlife Australia.
Grahame Rogers Deputy Convenor Birds Australia Southern Queensland for the Committee.
Hi to all
I was wondering why Reg had not yet posted his views to Birding-aus – so now he has. To help allay people’s concerns and offer the other side of this story, I therefore am happy to post below Graeme Hamilton’s response. As Graeme is happy for his response to be widely distributed, I thought it appropriate to send it to everyone who has received Reg Lawler’s email. My own opinion is that BA has handled this matter appropriately and that Reg Lawler is, at a very “politically sensitive” time, pursuing a personal agenda rather than one aimed at serving the interests of Australian birds and birders.
Apparently the BASQ committee is also in the process of considering this matter.
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Grahame and all,
Here is my response to Reg Lawler’s email.
In mid 2010 Reg Lawler from “Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula” contacted Alison and me to raise his concerns that a Birds Australia Councillor, Dr Justin Watson, was being employed by the developer of the proposed Rainbow Shores residential development on Inskip Peninsula. Mr Lawler considered this engagement of Dr Watson by a property developer to be incompatible with his position as a Councillor of BA. Alison and I called Mr Lawler for more information and we feel we gave him a good opportunity to fully raise all matters of concern with us. Mr Lawler also asserted that Dr Watson was scheduled to appear in court as an expert witness for the developer. Unfortunately, very soon after Alison and I spoke at length to Mr Lawler and reassured him we would take up the matter, he went public in the Brisbane newspapers with his assertion that BA was not actively opposing the Rainbow Shores development because of the involvement of Justin Watson.
Justin Watson works as an Enviromental Consultant and so it was no surprise to us that he had been engaged by the property develop to undertake faunal surveys and to report to the developer on the environmental and conservation values of the site. A priori there was no reason to consider that the nature of this engagement per se presented any conflict of interest. As an Environment Consultant Justin is engaged by developers, governments and conservation NGOs alike to provide them with objective, scientifically-based reports which must be able to stand up to the scrutiny of expert opinion often in the courts. Environmental Consultants who are too willing to tailor their reports to support the case of their patrons very quickly are tainted with that reputation, and we can name a few examples. Justin and the business he works for do not have that reputation to my knowledge.
Alison and I raised the matter with Justin who explained his involvement with Rainbow Shores, there appeared to be nothing that would be of concern to BA Council. He also clarified the situation with his court appearance where in fact he was required by the Court itself to appear as an expert witness and was not appearing on behalf of the developer. Justin offered to stand aside or stand down as a Councillor if this matter caused a problem for BA. Alison and I concluded this matter did not provide Justin or Council with a conflict of interest that had to be managed. The proposed Rainbow Shores development had not been discussed at Council nor was it likely to be as there was already considerable opposition from a large number of conservation groups who with the Queensland Government and Local Council were opposing the proposal in court. The oppostion was well supported and the matter appeared to be well in hand, and there seemed to be little additional BA could contribute at that time. I was also mindful that this was a matter for our Southern Queensland Regional Group not National Office or Council and I was aware BASQ was discussing appropriate survey methods for Black-breasted Button-quail specifically with Inskip Peninsula in mind. Additionally, as Inskip Peninsula forms part of an Important Bird Area I contacted Cheryl Gole our IBA Project Manager who informed me she had been assisting Greg Wood from “Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula” with information about BirdLife International’s global IBA program, and the Cooloola & Fraser Coast IBA to help bolster their case against the development. Such information proved very useful in halting the Ralph’s Bay development in Tasmania.
By January 2011 Mr Lawler thought that BA had not done enough and wrote to me saying he wished to inform all BA Members of his grievance. He asked for copies of our Constitution and By Laws, a list of all members and their contact details, and an outline of how members could express their views about the proposed merger with BOCA. I responsed to him on 21st January that the Constitution and By Laws were silent on the matter of members raising their concerns and that I could not release member contact details to him for privacy reasons. I informed him that the most appropriate way for a member to raise their concerns was via their Regional Group and made sure he had the contact’s for the BA Southern Queensland Group Convenor Dez Wells. I informed Dez of the issue and forwarded all of the correspondence to him in early February. I also informed Mr Lawler that letters to the Editor of Wingspan and BA’s E-news were available if Members had a particular concern they wished to raise including concerns about the propsed merger with BOCA. It does not appear that Mr Lawler has pursued any of these avenues to have his concerns raised and properly aired and dealt with, nor to seek our Regional Group to become directly involved in opposing the Rainbow Shores development. He is now saying that I refused any assistance which is simply not true. I made him aware of the direct avenues of communication open to him in particular through the BA Southern Queensland Regional Group.
Mr Lawler is now urging Members to vote against the propsed merger with BOCA. He is entitled to come to his own conclusions. For my part I can only reiterate the principles on which the merger is based which include: that it will be treated as a true merger of two organisations not a takeover, and that both parties recognise and value the history, culture and values of the other party. That these principles are being followed should be clear to all from the make up of the Merger Working Group and its sub-Committees, the joint communications from the Presidents to Members, and the balance of the proposed Board of Directors of BirdLife Australia. It has been well communicated that if the merger proceeds I am proposed as the CEO, though this would be a decision for the new Board. I should point out that this was proposed by BOCA and was not imposed, required or even suggested by BA. The final point I’d make is that the BOCA Board and BA Council unanimously support the proposal to merge as being in the best interests of both organisations and in the achievement of our common objectives. This is their view after almost 18 months of active investigation, consideration and consulation with Members.
I hope this response covers the matter and am happy for it to be more widely distributed if we feel Reg Lawler’s recent email requires a formal response.
Cheers
Graeme
Dr Graeme Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer g.hamilton@birdsaustralia.com.au
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Bob Cook
spanda8@bigpond.com
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