On the date allocated for the 1996 APANA AGM a quorum failed to meet within half an hour of the appointed time of 1:00pm. The meeting was stood adjourned to the same day in the next week at the same time and at the same place in accordance with rule 30(4).

The opportunity was taken to hold a meeting of the attending members to discuss the issues of the day.

This meeting was held at 1:40pm on Saturday the 24th of August at the Queensland University of Technology 2 George St, Brisbane.

The Meeting was chaired by the outgoing President of APANA, Shane Alderton, and these minutes were taken by the outgoing Secretary, Adam Frey.

Members Present:

From the ACT:

None

From Brisbane:

Garry Ford

Phil Homewood

Brent Paddon

Matthew Spencer

Richard Kuschert

From Melbourne:

Stephen Bruce

Sebastian Filzek

Adam Frey

Nick Langmaid

Scott Neville

Benno Rentinck

From the NT:

Gail Lidden

From South Australia:

Peter Childs

From Sydney:

Shane Alderton

Matthew Geier

From WA:

None

Visitors:

None

Apologies:

Bob Hay

Edwin Parsons

1. The minutes of the Annual General Meeting held in Adelaide on the 7th of October, 1995, were unanimously considered to be worthy of approval by the meeting.




2. The outgoing Treasurer, Gail Lidden, commented on the report on the transactions of APANA during the preceding year.

   The full report is contained in a separate document.

   A brief summary of the report was presented along with a printed copy of the report for the attending members.

   Among the points made were:

   • The financial returns document is an official somewhat technical and mostly uninteresting document to the majority of members.
   • All APANA assets are owned by APANA not by any individual region. This is reflected in the report.
   • Income from membership fees is very healthy especially considering last year's $10 reduction of the national component.
   • Interest earned is way up due to effective management of APANA's funds in various bank accounts.
   • Expenditure has not increased markedly in ares such as phone expenses and postage due to regionalisation.
   • Legal fees have increased dramatically. The Management Committee decided that the legal issues being faced by the Melbourne Region impacted the national body and therefore funded the legal advice that the situation required. The investment in that legal advice has paid off significantly for APANA in the form of a much strengthened legal position.
   • Regional summaries

     ACT

     Looking very strong. Good growth.

     Brisbane

     Slumping. Very little money has been coming in for a long time. Action needed.

     Melbourne

     Massive growth. Incorporated the Geelong district. Line items in the financials were added to allow for better financial planning. An example is the setup fees existing for the express purpose of recovering the cost of the annex. Significant hub relocation fees are included in the region's expenses.

     Perth

     Huge financial growth. Their isolation caused procedural problems for a long time but now that they are all sorted out things look bright. The region suffered from a lack of communication between the MC contact and the RC which was a major hindrance to progress.

     NT

     After the region's Internet Connection to Melbourne was upgraded to a local connection, turtle, the local APANA system became redundant and the region stagnated. Thus no monies have been flowing. There is promise of a BBS system in Darwin becoming the new APANA NT.

     SA

     A great example of success through adversity. Communication between the MC contact and the RC were simply non existent. An ISDN setup fee was paid which could subsequently not be used due to bad financial planning. A brand new committee, better planning and renewed enthusiasm have allowed the region to make significant progress. Financials are sound and should grow significantly.

     Sydney

     Mammoth growth. Membership income has doubled. Stabilisation seen in the PA sites. The move to the new hub should see a temporary jump in costs. The repercussions of the loss of a large PA site are yet to be seen.

     Tasmania

     Minimum activity. Some rumours of a move to interactive connectivity.

     
     

   • The financial statements are produced to help the regions plan. Regions should ensure that they communicate with the treasurer so that the information is provided in a way that assists the planning process.
   • Regional asset registers are important. Written notice of lent and donated equipment should be obtained and kept to avoid ambiguity over APANA used equipment.

   The report on the transactions of APANA during the previous financial year was unanimously considered to be worthy of approval by the meeting.




3. Election of Officers

   Proxy votes for the attending members were taken in writing by the Secretary on the question of the election of the officers of APANA.




4. The outgoing Secretary, Adam Frey, commented the report on the transactions of APANA during the preceding year.

   The full report is contained in a separate document.

   A brief summary of the report was presented along with a printed copy of the report for the attending members.

   The annual report submitted by APANA in accordance with section 30(3) of the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Vic) was unanimously considered to be worthy of approval by the meeting.




5. The outgoing President, Shane Alderton, presented a brief background to the drafting of the new Connection Services Terms & Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy.

   Among the points made were:

   • During consultation with our legal advice regarding a threat made by a member to sue APANA, the comment was made that APANA's rules and regulations provided very little legal protection and needed to be tightened.
   • Since APANA receives payment for connection services, a document describing the terms and conditions applicable to the provision of those services was needed. An extremely lengthy document was drafted and popularly rejected as inappropriate. The new document provides all legal protection necessary while being simple and easy to use through attachment to the application form.
   • The existing Acceptable Use Policy was fine conceptually but needed to be legally strengthened.
   • APANA's rules have also been modified but are as yet not ready for presentation. Some significant work is still required to proof and present the proposed document.

   Proxy votes for the attending members were taken in writing by the Secretary on the question of the acceptance of the Connection Services Terms & Conditions.




6. Proxy votes for the attending members were taken in writing by the Secretary on the question of the acceptance of the Acceptable Use Policy as a replacement for the existing document.




7. Shane Alderton moved a motion of thanks, approved unanimously by the meeting, to Gail Lidden for the outstanding financial services she has provided to APANA during her two years as treasurer. It was pointed out that the treasurer's job had reached an entirely new level during Gail's time in the job. It was also noted that through her professional management of APANA's financial affairs APANA's financial growth had progressed very smoothly and that APANA's financial position had continued to improve and was now very healthy.

   Nick Langmaid moved a motion of thanks, approved unanimously by the meeting, to the outgoing MC for their efforts during the previous year. The word phenomenal was heard to be used.

   Adam Frey, not to be out done, moved a motion of thanks, approved unanimously by the meeting, to Shane Alderton for the outstanding services he has provided during his two years as President. It was pointed out that two years was an extremely long time for any volunteer to hold a demanding position and that both Shane and Gail deserved recognition for that. Shane's accomplishments were noted to include steering the APANA vessel through the high seas of major issues such as regionalisation, rule changes and the strengthening of our legal position.

The meeting concluded at approximately 3:00pm

Please address any questions regarding or corrections to these minutes to the Management Committee.