australia papua new guinea business council one hundred and fifty ...

AUSTRALIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA BUSINESS COUNCIL
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIRST EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
AGENDA ITEM 8: OTHER MATTERS.
A. AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS (ABV).
The Annual General Meeting of ABV will be held in Canberra on Monday 19 November 2012.
Copies are attached of the notice of AGM including proposed constitutional amendments.
There have been significant changes to the structure of ABV over recent years, and the
Councils’ role as members seems to have been significantly reduced from the days when
senior Business Council representatives were on the ABV Board including as Chairman and
Deputy Chairman. Gayle Carrick has been an APNGBC nominated member of the ABV Board
representing the Councils for the last four or six years, and will be standing down at this AGM.
Following Gayle’s retirement the Councils will not have any representation on the ABV Board
for the first time in at least a dozen years.
There is a proposed constitutional amendment to the Board up for consideration at the AGM
which will reduce the number of board members from nine to six. In itself, that is not
necessarily a bad thing. But under the proposal three of the board members will be elected by
members, and the other three will be appointed by the Board itself. The idea that there will be
an equal number of board members appointed by the board as are appointed by the members
does not seem to be good governance.
There appears to be no election of board members at this AGM, presumably because the
reduction of number of board members means that the number of six is reached as a result of
retirements. Again, is this good governance? Would it not be better governance to spill all the
board vacancies and elect all six.
The committee is invited to express any views on the proposals in the agenda papers, and
whether the Councils’ should exercise their voting rights at the AGM either by proxy or
attendance, and by whom. And if so, what voting instructions should be given to the proxy
holder or the attendee?
Also attached is an e-mail received, purportedly from ABV, seeking a country manager in
Papua New Guinea.
Attachment:
ABV Notice of AGM.
25 October 2012 E-mail from ABV.
B. PACIFIC ISLANDS PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANISATION (PIPSO)
The PIPSO newsletter “Pasifika Business Watch” Volume 1 Number 1 July to September 2012
is attached.
Attachment:
Pasifika Business Watch” Volume 1 Number 1 July to September 2012
C. COMBINED BUSINESS COUNCILS’ WORK PROGRAM 2013
A schedule is attached of the dates of planned activities by the Australia Fiji Business Council,
the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Council and the Australia Pacific Islands Business
Council. Executive members are asked to record in their diaries events which may involve
them. Executive committee support is crucial to ensuring events arranged by the Council are
successful.
Attachment:
Combined Business Councils Work Program 2013.