Captain

Or "Crazy Jim"?

Urgent.. Emergency...I have just been talking to good flying buddy from the Sth. East of Qld. Just off the phone 5mins. ago.

He had some very disturbing news.

 

CASA has put to the board for the board to show cause why RAAus should not be closed down, the board has till tomorrow (Tuesday 18/06/13) to answer, as yet no board member has answered. """""""""""YES""""""""""" No board member has answered.

 

Can not get over this, these board members on this forum are bragging what we should be doing etc. etc. and they are missing this one.

 

Where is the truth now???, transparent eh???.

 

Regards,

 

Keith Page.

Ist ......... can anyone confirm whether this is true?

I was reffering to Middos allegation that airsick had hacked the spreadsheet on his note book that holds the RAA members detail.

See? A simple answer to my question, without anger and vitriol! Done - and Thank You

It would be interesting for you to let everyone know how you managed to get all Member's Email Address which you have been using to mass-mail your Election material...

I see that you remain an anonymous "keyboard warrior" (to use your words) but I see that you are now a soldier for the old guard boys-club who have been running this false claim for months, and I see that you are now using it to try to damage a candidate for the upcoming Board elections.

That is a disgrace.

It is the "old-boyz club" within RAA who have driven the organisation into the ground, have been the centre of the dysfunction and have been trying to perpetuate this garbage, so you must be one with them, or blindly regurgitating this falsehood in trying to maintain the status quo, & trying to keep the clique together.

I'm surprised that the Moderators have allowed you to make such unfounded claims, but they have so I'm willing to take you to task, as almost every time that you stick your beak back into this thread, the worth and facts of the discussions go through the floor.

Regards Geoff ................... but who oh who are you, really?

I think there are a hell of a lot that are interested ...And the content of your discussion is all very well but when and how does Ed intend to tell the rest of us publicly so that he can be held to the agreement?

This was not agreed with Ed last night. The above has evolved today as I and others considered it and thought it through.

As Turbo said a few posts back, I am not as worldly wise nor as quick as he.

If others can see any merit in this position, the Board will soon learn of it & I have emailed a copy of my post to Ed this afternoon.

Regards Geoff

For those that are interested, I advise that I have changed my position a little on this matter following a long discussion with Ed Herring last night, and taking Ed's advice in good faith, I am sad to say that I can now see some merit in one of Turbo's arguments.

In previous posts I have always advised that I have supported the creation of this position.

I am also aware that Steve Runciman pushed hard for such a position to be created but received resistance from the Board.

Ed has reported here and elsewhere that the CASA have pressed for such a position to be created. I therefore accept why he has acted swiftly, and I accept that he has done so in good faith & with noble intent, albeit outside of correct protocols.

My biggest issues are the reporting structure that will apply and the background of this appointment.

Ed confirmed that this position will report to the GM, will involve ~ 2 weeks/month working in the Canberra office, will parallel the Tech Manager and Ops Manager roles, and that the GM is preparing the Job Description at the present time. This therefore removes one of my concerns.

Ed has made it clear that the appointment of Myles Breitkreutz applies until September, and I can wear that if it is indeed NOT a "job for the boyz" and does not parallel the Tizzard appointment of a few years ago.

I think that Ed understands that the membership are a little gun-shy about unilateral action by the President and jobs-for-the-boyz and he assured me that this was not the case with this appointment.

The bottom line is that I have now altered my position to one of conditional support for Ed's actions, the conditions being that:

(1) The position be subject to an open recruiting effort by the September date, when Myles B and any other interested party should be invited to apply.

and (2) That the GM or his delegate undertake an evaluation of whether this role could perhaps be filled by a specialist Consultant, and the cost implications thereof when compared with the employment option.

Hope this assists the discussion.

Regards Geoff

Someone gave you a funny!!!! They don't realise I would be paying for the meal, the room, the Grange, and would receive a bill for "being available to receive information"

Yeah but you aren't as quick on the uptake, or as worldly as I am.

Perhaps you should take me to dinner in Lygon St next time & set me straight.

I've personally been able to rationalise the separation of the old working in secret and jobs for the boys with the necessity of moving smartly with this one.

I had high hopes for Ed, but was withholding my judgement, however am now having a lot of trouble differentiating between the "old working in secret and jobs for the boys" that you mentioned and this new example of working in secret, of executive decisions, and of jobs for the boys. Both may have been well intentioned, but surely it is just "the boys" that are different?

Regards Geoff

Nice post Alan,

Where is "emergency" defined?

I don't think the outrage is about the position being created.

I think that most outrage is about the "way" that it was done, the "bad look" that it gives, and the "vibe" of it all.

"It's all about the vibe of the thing" as Dennis Denuto so famously said.

I do not accept that this couldn't have been handled via a quick Board vote and therefore no need for an "Executive Decision", and after what was discussed at the Feb 9th EGM, it is staggering that ED would handle this in the way that he did.

Do you think that it showed wise judgement and sets the tone for a sound & visionary Presidential future for the next couple of years for the Association, that will restore good governance to RAA and stop the dysfunction of this Board? And this all happened soon after the membership read the riot act to this Board at the Feb EGM, when they were described as "dysfunctional" tens of times by tens of members on that day, and in response we all heard "we got it wrong", "we'll get it right" & "we won't do it again" many times from them in response.

I can fully understand ED only taking on the Presidency if he had support from 100% of the other Board Members, but that does not, and should not, confer this "guaranteed approvals in advance and in retrospect" thinking that the last couple of Presidents have thought to be their rite.

It's the process that is the issue and it's the vibe that is wrong.

I have corresponded with at least 2 Board Members who learnt of all this from the RAA News section on the website. Yet Myles had time to resign and be appointed over a day or 2 in the middle of this so called "Emergency".

Wonder when will be the next "Emergency"?

Regards Geoff

..... Bange-it-Holme when someone called the fuzz on him.

But it was just that he had left his zip undone on the khaki flying suit.

 

"I can see ya fuzz" yelled some unkind observer "And the grey really stands out against the khaki, but what is that ...............

......... move that is being made by the President of the NES?

"Don't you wolly about that" said Nobu (who had moved from Cowla to Kingaloy to train at the Jo BP School of Political Gerrymandering) "You, you, you need to be kept in rine, you leplobates, so I have appointed a Compriance, Safety, Abuse and Leclimination Szar. This will be a full time position paid for by contlibutions flom all posters to the NES."

"But why not consult with us Nob, you knob?" asked the HatSh@er, who was indignant at the rack of due process.

"Don't you wolly about that either." leplied Nobu "As this was vely urgent, Nana told me that she would withdraw her favours if I didn't act immediatery & I'm sure that the TubbyPranner and the SAJabFryer will support this move which was vely urgentry needed (because I said so), and ............

I offer Ed Herring my full and unwavering support in these desperate times. I only wish that the people on this Forum who spend so much time bashing Board Members, Presidents, and RA-Aus in general, would instead direct their obvious passion in a positive and useful way eg 'What can we do to help" instead of posting on some Forum that is full of Keyboard Warriors hiding behind aforementioned Keyboards, that overshadow the good contributors and contributions on this site. So many negative people that offer a lot of pi$$ and wind, but no real solutions.

So I ask you, can you read and evaluate what has actually been said here?

This thread contains some of the best reasoned debate that has ever appeared on Ian's Forums and many, many posts have provided the background and detail of why the poster objected to the way that the RAA President has acted.

Many have also said that while they support the position that has been created (after all, it has been discussed for many months but never acted on by the Board), the method, reasoning and the selection of the candidate was flawed.

Yet here you are, hurling abuse and never providing your given name. Talk about anonymous keyboard warriors.

Many who have provided reasoned posts in this thread have served on the Board in the past or have recently volunteered their time to assist the RAA out of its mire. What have you done?

One of your recent posts alleges that many here are knocking the President and Board. You must be delusional. All that is being mourned is the lack of correct process, procedure, management and governance ......... which is exactly what was addressed by the members at the Feb 9th EGM, and at which the dysfunctional Board & Ed Herring gave assurance after assurance that they would do better.

What Ed has done in demanding Board approval, both in advance and in retrospect, is exactly what the members took Steve Runciman to task for doing.

My criticism of how Ed has acted is as much out of frustration and disappointment as it is my distaste at his lack of wit about how such matters should be handled by a President.

Ed is not the CEO nor the GM. He is the President and he is the 1st amongst equals on the Board. Yet the Board were not informed of this appointment until after the event. That is indefensible.

However I do thank ED very much for posting a response on this forum.

But for the SA JF, if you are incapable of providing reasoned responses, how about you at least knock off the abuse. You are a fool & manipulator if your reading of any post here has anyone "bashing the RAA" as you put it.

This is politics unfolding as politics often does.It seems they have all given each other a fright, and it may well be that the Constitution will be followed more closely from now on.

But who would have thought that the gang who ignored it for so long and did their thing in the dark would be the ones crying for the Constitution to be adhered to.

 

There has to be some humour in that!

Ed should have bought time with CASA to put this thru the Board.

If approved, albeit quickly, by the Board, this and any staff appointment should have been handled by the GM.

The GM could have been given authority to appoint rather than recruit to this position if time or cost of recruitment was an issue.

Is Brietkreutz the best candidate? I'll leave that to others, but I do not believe that he deserves an appointment by the President, particularly IF the position does not turn out to have a line responsibility to and via the GM. I also worry about potential personal closeness between Breitkreutz and Ungermann and it will be intolerable if that direct line works outside of the line responsibilities within the RAA's staff structure.

Ed's method of working on this and several staff issues last week is pretty much the same as SR was criticised for. In summary, he has acted more like a CEO than a President and after the numerous issues discussed at the Feb 9th EGM, Ed has been naïve in continuing down that path, IMHO. The only slack I'll cut for him is that he may have been well intentioned (same like SR), .................... but AGAIN, due process, good management and sound governance have been trashed within RAA.

Regards Geoff

Has anyone have Ed's side of issue? YES/NOSome people wish to run around and be disruptive and be finding more problems, what about coming up with a solution or two.

A solution or 2 is simple. (1) Run RAA in accordance with the Constitution and Articles. (2) Communicate efficiently with & within the Board like hundred of other organisations are able to do. (3) Support the staff & let the staff get on with running the place while monitoring them via the GM, (4) Kill the practice of Executive decisions and retrospective Board approvals. and (5) Make visionary policy decisions like Boards are supposed to.

I know that won't assist your conspiracy theories, Keith, but you are defending the indefensible that was discussed at length by the members at the EGM on Feb 9th. Were you there on that day?

Something HAS changed. The secrecy has been broken and ED has announced what he has done.To some extent that has allowed democratic debate on this forum, so that's a step in the right direction.

Did he have to act with great urgency? I think he did, and I would have done the same, asking the board members to ratify it.

 

You all have been given the reasons for that urgency several times over the past two years, so a little thinking and assessment of the biggest threat to RAA's future is in order.

The communication on the RAA News section is an improvement (but from a pretty low base that only lifted around the time of the Feb 9th EGM) but that little +ve is SWAMPED by the fact that some Board Members only learnt of this appointment through that News advice or around that time.

It is clear that the Board were not consulted, nor did they approve this appointment.

It is also clear that the CASA have recently been "thumping the desk" as one Board members described it, re RAA's recent safety record.

Regards & nice to debate with you again. Geoff

PS ...... I also strongly agree with Nong's post # 18, and fear that this appointment has been made just to placate the CASA's reaction to this year's accident record.

STUPID!!!. especially with the history of bad governance we have had. Why do something contentious for heavens sake? If it can be challenged from a legal standpoint, Makes it a waste of time, shortness of which is the justification for this hasty move. Bl@@dy H#ll ..What's next? Nev

So nothing appears to have changed re good decision making, practice and governance around the Executive & Board within RAA ………… no matter what be the merits of this new position or appointment, the requirements or desk thumping of the CASA, or the good intentions of any Executive member.

No Board consultation and more retrospective approvals of Executive decisions that have been made on questionable grounds and perhaps questionable legality.

Why the indecent haste and lack of due process?

....bail out of my Jiminy Cricket (the little known predecessor to Tyrojackowhatsocricket) faster than a Bored member can say "I just wanna little time with me kids ya know".

"Careful where you say that sort of thing in public" advised the bronchial one, "I said that once while standing near a kindergarten wearing my flying coat over the the auld jump suit, and they called the fuzz on me - thought I was some kind of wierdo!"

 

This reminded Tubby of a time when someone called flying cops on him after an inverted beat up over......

..... Bange-it-Holme when someone called the fuzz on him.

But it was just that he had left his zip undone on the khaki flying suit.

"I can see ya fuzz" yelled some unkind observer "And the grey really stands out against the khaki, but what is that ...............

possum skin pouched E- Paul Ette the French styled Tasswegian Chief Financial Instructor..................

..... and that other Tazzy chick magnet, Flying Jump Suit who was ex RAAF and often had E-Paul Ette on his shoulders.

"It's easy to get out of if I get lucky" replied F J Suit, as (in addition to cutting 500 mm off the legs) I just pull down this zip that goes from neck to crotch (erky perky) and I can ...............

"......support" and he burst into tears "Why are these people resigning" he wailed, "they were such lovely people, and now what are we going to do?""Manage" said EF, and one or two started to nod.

 

"It's.........."

...... a new concept that just might take off (Avref) now that Mark the C is in charge."

"But hold up there you f'n Queen-Slanderer." said SteveMcJockLox "As not only are board members resigning, but some members are so f'n p'd orf that they are nor re-signing when their membership falls due."

"Is that a problem?" asked The 12 Incher "As those pulling the pin are just the disaffected minority poop-stirrers that will just go over to the RFC when they are available, so we'll flick that mob and just get back to a rag & tube society and all will be well with the world."

"I aglee" said Nobu "And we should make TyloJackaClickets compursollally, as Ino now has the world wide manufactuling lights and we are setting up a factoly on the site of the old Cowla Plison Camp, so we'll make a Motza."

"Is Merv a partner too?" aksed SoxinhisJox, who was also looking for a new investment opportunity after the suck-cess of the Blue Oyster (now run by the TubbyPlonker) and the ............

...everyone knows what the rat's ancestor did in Cooktown......

..... that infamous evening at sunset, when the Plumeria rubra var. acutifolia 'Cooktown Sunset' was deflowered while ..............

sucatash-,cried-Nana-now-they,ll-all-be-out-flying,,,,,,,,,,,,,hows-a-girl-suppose-to-get-l...................

... lots of fulfilment when every RAA Member, including the 12 incher, is getting their rocks off with a felt pen, a rego label and a .................

Have vous got your rego yet?

..... which was a common pick-up-line amongst RAA members, as many members were prone to add "If you can get my rego thru quickly, I'll get prone for you."

"But not me" denied Ahlot "As I prefer ...............

....glands which were.............

..... enlarged at the time.

"Do you have glandular fever or are you just glad to see me?" asked Sue, who was Nanna's sister and was also having a casual affair with Mavis when they would rendezvoused after each CWA Meeting and RAA EGM.

This attracted a bit of interest from the TurdyPlonker, who said "................

leg-irons-[a-convict-remnant],and-watching-as-he-tries-to.................

.... convert bull-from-bone to give the hyphen key the flick and use the space bar.

"I eat space bars for strength and sustenance-before-I go X-country in my tyro-jack-a-cricket." bull added.

"And he puts the tree back in country" added ............