National Board & National Council

NEW BOARD AND COUNCIL announced! AGM in July 2023. New elections at last…

NEWS: The Interim Sub Committee (ISC), which had been running since 2021 has been terminated by a recent Special General Meeting (SGM).

Since 27 April ‘23, a properly constituted and duly assembled National Council is now operational.  In accordance with the constitution, the National Council — comprising the National Board and Councillors appointed by each Branch — will hold office until the next AGM, scheduled for July this year.  Members may be aware the AGM is long overdue despite repeated calls to the ISC to establish one.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Your constitution says that if two branches complain, just follow the rules. Like this:

FIRST the National Vice-President Administration received a demand for a Special General Meeting to address motions aimed at the ISC who were acting improperly. The SGM carefully considered and then passed a number of motions including a resolution of “no confidence” in the three members of the ISC. This expels them from the National level of membership*. The members expelled from all National management roles are Ms , Mr , and Ms (just awaiting lawyer’s approval to name people who have been acting inappropriately for the last two plus years). A copy of the SGM minutes, explaining it all, is available to interested members by sending a message request using the link below.

The upheld complaints included bullying other members, entering illegal data on our ACNC record (the ACNC is our National Charity and Non-Profits Commission, which attempts to manage charitable groups like BHA, and we cannot afford to act illegally) and bringing BHA into disrepute and undermining its reputation.

“All this uncharitable palaver has eroded time we should spend looking to our real future…”

BHA is nationally reforming itself to better address how we support our key target audience, namely those of us on their hearing loss journey. And especially the 60% who leave their hearing aids in their bedside drawers! Our brains need input and reducing these sounds by ignoring your Hearing Aids means one less chance of the brain adapting and working for you.

Still, the big question is: Should BHA (Inc.) should become a Company Limited by Guarantee?

The National Council will include this issue on the agenda for the July AGM to ensure all views are properly considered.  Similarly, should BHA (Inc.) be terminated and leave Branches to do their own thing? What useful ways can we re-vitalise BHA as a National group concerned about our Hearing Loss Journey (including integrating technology, auto-captions, smart-phones, lipreading apps etc) to help us manage better, and sharing your Hearing Loss Journey with like-minded people? These are important topics and we need to talk together. Join us as we gently undertake this journey. What else should be on the Agenda? What worries you? Send a message to us.

Here are the members on your new National Council, duly appointed 6 April 2023. They are now preparing for National AGM in July 2023, fresh elections and a new direction without the bullying of the previous years. We can all decide properly how to best move BHA forward with energy and cooperation.

Ms Barbara Alcock	President WA & National Chair
Mr Peter Alcock	WA Branch & National Councillor
Ms Jeannine Asciak	President Central Coast Branch & National Councillor
Mr Ricky Chung	Vice President Canberra Branch & National Councillor
Dr Barnard Clarkson	National VP Policy & Planning
Mr John Harvey	National VP Marketing
Mr Peter Kerley	National VP Administration
Mr William Leane	National VP Promotions
Ms Margaret McKenzie	National VP Finance
Ms Christine Stephenson	President Brisbane Branch & National Councillor
Still awaiting appointment	Sydney National Councillor