1. Message from the Chair – August 2009

in

Dear Members,

Your National Committee met by teleconference on 2 June, 13 July and 10 August 2009.

Unfortunately our Executive Officer, Michelle Macrae-Morgan,has not been able to continue in the position. Michelle’s partner is currently undergoing treatment for cancer and they are moving to Perth to be closer to his family. We thank Michelle for her efforts in the office and wish her and Phil well in the coming months. We are in the process of finding another permanent staff member.

Thank you to all those who have renewed their membership for 2009/10. It makes our efforts that bit easier. We will be sending a personal reminder to those members who have not renewed over the next few weeks. I urge those who receive that reminder to ACT IMMEDIATELY to renew – it’s all too easy to overlook the bits of paper on the bottom of the pile!
Speaking of fundraising, this year’s raffle tickets will be posted to you in September. The prizes this year are even better thanks to the generosity of some members and sponsors. We are always grateful to the solid majority who buy the tickets – more as a donation than in any expectation of winning a prize!

The fifth annual gathering of the various republican groups (RG5) was held in Melbourne on 30/31 May. The groups shared information, and there was some agreement on various general issues including the formation of a loose coalition of the groups to be called CAR (Coalition of Australian Republicans). There is still a great diversity of views and of course, from a practical standpoint, most of the groups represented have no resources and in some cases only a tiny membership. All of the various views will undoubtedly be raised during any pre-referendum campaigning, as will the views of many other Australians.

The ARM is committed to the involvement of all Australians in the discussion before anyone is asked to vote on anything. At the moment the task confronting us is to convince the Government of the day to commit to a process and a timeline. During the life of the next federal parliament would be a good timeline, but we will need a degree of bi-partisanship and some political courage from our elected representatives to achieve this.

On a more mundane level we have been working to produce a new range of merchandise which should appear on the website in the coming months. In the meantime, you can become the proud owner of a lapel badge featuring the new logo for the bargain price of $7. 

Just contact the office staff@republic.org.au or me at chair@republic.org.au to get your potentially historic badge!

Best wishes,
Mike Keating

National Chair

August 2009