I am a primary contact for The Bush Dancers display group,
an activity of the MFS. We value our autonomy and cultural ownership of our own
activity. We promote bush dancing based on collected Australian music and
dance, and reckon we do a pretty good job of it. Have a look at http://canberradance.org/tbdeventpics.htm for a bit of an idea of what we do.
I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories, but I am very
concerned that MFS Committee have failed to disclose what our insurance
coverage is, and have kept their meetings, agendas and minutes a closely
guarded secret. What are they hiding? I have just written reminding MFS
Committee of my emails dated 9 April, 9 May, and 13 October requesting the
public liability insurance conditions. I have not yet received the requested
documents. It is now two months since the AGM and there has been no
consultation with members on matters to be discussed by the committee, nor any
notification of agendas etc.
I am worried about the decline in MFS member numbers and in
member commitment to the MFS, and, based on various statements, I am concerned that our insurance may not be suitable for a
decentralised conglomerate like the MFS.
We don't want the MFS to end up like a knitting circle or
something similar, small enough for the
MFS Committee to micro-manage everything. The MFS is a free association
of autonomous activities and that means MFS Committee have to delegate
responsibility to well-defined organising teams, and hold them accountable for
results. If you can't delegate you can't manage.
The good news is that proper division of responsibilities
and business-like relations are easier for all concerned. No second-guessing,
no impasses, everyone taking care of their own business to achieve the results
they want. The MFS Committee needs to take a strategic leadership role,
consider reports, make important decisions that affect the whole society, and
attend to their own details like insurance and consolidated accounts.
Obviously an organisation of delegated managers is
insurable. No-one would expect the Board of Woolworths to tell the meat manager
when to put out more chops, or tell the baker how many rolls to bake. They
tried centralised planning like that in Russia and it was never going to work.
There are many layers of delegation of responsibility in any successful
organisation. Decisions are made and implemented at the right level to achieve
the right results.
The question is, how can MFS event organisers achieve
insurance of their activities under their own existing good management, if the
policy taken out by MFS Committee is unsuitable? And how can we find out
whether it is or not?
I would love to hear your comments, either by email or right
here.
Cheers
Lance
IN CASE YOU ARE NOT AWARE...
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the long and tedious AGM I voiced my concern about the need for transparency in administration - in a show of hands nearly all attendees agreed that the committee should publish on the Members website the following:
1) TREASURER'S REPORT. NOT POSTED.
(There was a protracted argument as to whether the Treasurer's views on the handling of the insurance issue should be accepted/ made public. It was such a fiasco that I'm still not sure of the outcome.)
2) REPORTS FROM SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS. NOT POSTED
3) MINUTES OF THE AGM NOT POSTED
4) MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS NOT POSTED
But then again they have only had SEVEN weeks to do this.
To me this demonstrates either INCOMPETENCE or DELIBERATE OBFUSCATION to cover up incompetence.
Furthermore the committee said that MEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND COMMITTEE MEETINGS and that they would advise when & where these would be held.
There have been TWO committee meetings since the AGM and there has been no notification to anyone outside the committee.
So much for the promise of openness to the membership
The issue of insurance was so major that the Treasurer's assessment of its handling was noted in his report and seemed to upset some people mightily. However the committee still has not made available to the members the conditions of the policy. The committee seems uncertain as to who is currently covered - any attempts by members to find out whether they are in fact covered have been met with an attitude tantamount to bullying.
At very least we know that MUSICIANS ARE NOT COVERED for 1st Sat dances or the Contra Saturday night dances.
I think the above information should be conveyed to all members of the BDG and to make you aware that Bush Dancing may grind to a halt under current practices. If you are concerned about this we can still do something to save the situation but if you don't care enough it may well go the way of Settlers Nights.
Do we know that they are not insured? That assumption may have arisen from verbal conversations, not worth the paper they were not written on.
ReplyDeleteWe need to see all the documents that affect the insurance coverage, and we need to fix up any deficiencies in the coverage. But without the documents we cannot reliably judge what is covered and what isn't.
The issue of insurance has still not been clarified
ReplyDeleteAt the AGM, when the matter of insurance was discussed, it was stated
categorically by the committee that the new insurance policy does NOT
cover musicians who are paid for an event. They were not able to produce
the policy and have still not done so after 2 months.
So either:
1) they did not understand the conditions of the policy and misinformed
the meeting regarding coverage and musicians are indeed covered
(INCOMPETENCE) or
2) they misrepresented the conditions and musicians are in fact
covered (MANIPULATION)
or
3) they were correct, in which case musicians are not insured (LACK OF
CONCERN FOR THEIR MEMBERS)
IN WHICH CASE on the latest advice of the committee (at the AGM) .....
Are the Contra musicians aware that they are not insured for Sat night
gig?
Are the Bushdance musicians aware that they are not insured for the
Christmas party Dec 7?
WHAT DO WE GET FOR OUR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO MFS ?
ReplyDeleteHas the MFS committee bothered to inform their musician members of this?