Membership resolution explained

Clearly defining Holstein Australia membership

At next week’s Annual General Meeting members are being asked to vote on a special resolution relating to the definition of a member. Chief Operations Officer, David Jupp, explains why the resolution is necessary and what the proposed change will mean for members.

Why is the change necessary David?

Essentially it is a bit of governance housekeeping. From time to time Holstein Australia reviews its rules and by-laws to ensure they remain fit for purpose. Since the major governance overhaul conducted in 2016, a question of clarity has remained around which individual person within a membership is the authorised representative of that membership. For a membership in a single name, that is easy to define. For a company or family membership, often with many people associated with it is less clear. What’s proposed is a new class of membership be added to the constitution and known as a Full membership.

What would the proposed change mean for members?

Should the resolution be approved by the members the change will only effect those whose membership is in the name of a company, entity or partnership.

Those members will be required to appoint a natural person as its sole representative who alone is entitled to vote at special meetings like the AGM and stand for Board elections. This is the authorised full member representative.

The proposed changes to the constitution will make it clear who that authorised or nominated person within a Full membership is and how they can represent that membership.

So is the change all about making it clear who can vote and who can stand for the Board?

Yes. That’s correct, and that’s it. It is a small but important change. Apart from adding a class of membership to the constitution there is no change to the rights of members or membership fees. Under these changes Full membership family and company members can participate in the usual way at Sub-Branch level, as many now do, and nominate for Breed Development and Conformation Committee and Strategic Directions Committee positions.

If implemented initially the membership’s nominee that was provided when joining the Association will be the authorised full member representative. Members can contact HA to confirm who this person is for their membership. Between the 2020 AGM and 31 July 2021 an audit of membership nominees will be conducted internally to ensure each membership is up to date. 

If you have any questions about this special resolution or are unsure who your representative is you can contact David on 0417 303 826 or djupp@holstein.com.au