From secretary at linux.org.au Tue Dec 10 12:10:27 2019 From: secretary at linux.org.au (Julien Goodwin) Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2019 12:10:27 +1100 Subject: [Announce] Call for Nominations for 2020 Linux Australia Council Message-ID: <6b985a5f-9209-40ef-8675-56ff825e41b6@linux.org.au> Dear Linux Australia Community, Pursuant to clause (15) of the Linux Australia constitution [1] we hereby declare an election open and call for nominations to the Linux Australia Council for the term January 2020 to January 2021. All office bearer and ordinary committee member positions are open for election. * Nominations will open from 00:00am (AEDT) 10 December 2019 and run until 11:59pm (AEDT) 24 December 2019 * Voting will open 00:00am (AEDT) 25 December 2019 and run until 11:59pm (AEDT) 12 January 2020 * Results will be announced during the AGM at linux.conf.au 2020 (Gold Coast, QLD) on 13 January * Results will be available on the website on or after 13 January 2020 To view and participate in the election please visit https://www.linux.org.au/ * Click on ?Login? located on the top right hand side of the page and log in. * Click on ?Elections?. * Under ?Linux Australia Council Elections 2020?, click on ?View & Submit Nominations?. *What do I need to do?* First of all, make sure your details are correct at Linux Australia?s website [2]. If you are not a member or need assistance with accessing your details please contact secretary at linux.org.au If you wish to nominate yourself, identify the positions you wish to nominate for and get an understanding of what each position involves. Think about what you might bring to the role and prepare a short pitch. Then, accept the nomination you've been given by clicking the 'Accept nomination' link. If you wish to nominate another person for a position, you may wish to contact them first and have a chat to make sure they're happy being nominated. Then follow the 'Nominate' link to nominate them. Once voting is open, you will be able to vote for candidates. Results will be announced at the Linux Australia AGM to be held at linux.conf.au 2020. *Why should I nominate?* Being a member of Linux Australia Council is a fun way to meet new people, work on exciting projects and expand your skill base. It gives you excellent transferable skills to help build your career, and allows you to grow your professional network. It looks great on a CV, and is also a chance to give back to the vibrant Linux and open source ecosystem in Australia and globally. If you're passionate about Linux and open source, it's a great opportunity to help drive and steer Australia's contribution in this field. The roles do require a time commitment. * Ordinary Council Member: a minimum of 2-3 hours per week. * Office bearers: 8-12 hours per week. Please allow for this when considering your nomination. *Why should I run?* If you?ve been nominated, or are thinking of nominating yourself, you should give the opportunity serious consideration. Being on the council is both hard and often thankless work, but it is also incredibly rewarding. Linux Australia can only achieve what it does by its members and helping out with the council responsibilities is a great way to ensure Linux Australia continues to be successful. It is also an opportunity to help the organisation grow, reach into new areas and to succeed on important topics of national relevance. As always, your feedback and questions are warmly welcomed. If you'd like to have a chat with anyone on Council around what it involves, please do make contact. Kind regards, Julien Goodwin Secretary, Linux Australia [1]http://www.linux.org.au/constitution [2]http://www.linux.org.au/membership From secretary at linux.org.au Wed Dec 11 20:13:56 2019 From: secretary at linux.org.au (Julien Goodwin) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2019 20:13:56 +1100 Subject: [Announce] Constitutional Change to add Statement of Objectives into Constitution Message-ID: <92116623-1843-325f-2112-bf334fec8afe@linux.org.au> Dear LA Members, Over recent years a number of conference sponsors have indicated that it would be easier for them to support our activities if Linux Australia were a registered charity. As Linux Australia?s role has always been to educate people about open source, the day-to-day running of the organisation won?t change if Linux Australia were to become a registered charity. Furthermore, the Linux Australia Council has sought advice from our Auditor and Accountant; both advised that becoming a charity would have no material effect on how Linux Australia is run. For these reasons (and in light of the benefits), the Linux Australia Council would like to register Linux Australia as a charity and for this purpose an application has been submitted to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC, https://www.acnc.gov.au/). However, the ACNC has advised us that our application can not proceed until our constitution explicitly lists our charitable objectives. Before the charitable objectives can be added to the constitution the Linux Australia membership must vote in favour of the change. The authoritative text of the change can be found in the pull request: https://github.com/linuxaustralia/constitution_and_policies/pull/38/files The proposed change adds the following section to the constitution. 43. Objects of the association (1) The objects for which the association is established are: (a) to facilitate the communication of information relating to inventions, results, techniques, and governance of open source and related open technologies; (b) to support open source and related open technologies projects and the contributors to open source and related open technologies; (c) to support and promote the adoption of open source and related open technologies; (d) to support and promote awareness and understanding of open source and related open technologies; (e) to conduct open source and related open technologies advocacy with the government, business and civil society; (f) to create a network for related local and online open source and related open technologies communities. (2) The association must pursue charitable purposes only and must apply its income in promoting those purposes. (3) The association must manage payments and gifts to the association and ensure that they are used to further the stated objects of the association. (4) In the event of the association being wound up, its assets must go to a charitable entity whose objectives aren?t inconsistent with the stated objects of the association. The Linux Australia Council supports this constitutional change as it allows the charitable registration to proceed and provides additional clarity on the purpose of the organisation. To cast a vote for or against this constitutional change, please visit https://www.linux.org.au/ * Click on ?Login? located on the top right hand side of the page and log in. * Click on ?Elections?. * Under ?Constitutional Change to add Statement of Objectives into Constitution?, click on ?Vote in the election?. Voting for this change will be open until 11:59PM (AEDT) 12th January 2020. Results of the vote will be announced during the Linux Australia AGM on the 13th of January 2020 at linux.conf.au (Gold Coast, Queensland). Kind Regards, Julien Goodwin Secretary, Linux Australia From secretary at linux.org.au Sat Dec 14 16:01:40 2019 From: secretary at linux.org.au (Julien Goodwin) Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:01:40 +1100 Subject: [Announce] Notice of Linux Australia 2020 AGM & Call for Agenda Items Message-ID: <858f1f4c-23d2-4d0f-dbfa-32a3ef486671@linux.org.au> Dear Linux Australia Members, Pursuant to Clause (24) of the Linux Australia Constitution [1], I hereby give notice that the Annual General Meeting of the organisation will be held Monday 13 January 2020 as part of linux.conf.au 2020 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre with the room to be advised closer to the date. We will endeavour to also have streaming and web conferencing facilities available; however this is not guaranteed. The meeting will (a) confirm the minutes of the last preceding annual general meeting and of any special general meeting held since that meeting, (b) receive from the committee reports on the activities of the association during the last preceding financial year, (c) elect office-bearers of the association and ordinary committee members, or to announce the results of a ballot held prior to the annual general meeting under clause 15(5), (d) receive and consider any financial statement or report required to be submitted to members under the Act. Please find below the draft agenda for the AGM. I would like to specifically point out the proposed changes to the Constitution. The pull request of this change is linked in the agenda below. Voting for these changes will be via the new website?s voting module and a link to this will be announced shortly. I also hereby call for any agenda items to be tabled for discussion at the Annual General Meeting. With kind regards, Julien Goodwin Secretary, Linux Australia [1] http://www.linux.org.au/constitution -- Agenda of Linux Australia - Annual General Meeting 2019 Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre Monday 13st January 2020, 1730hrs (AEST) in Room TBC Zoom Facilities will also be available. Details to be announced. 1. President?s welcome MS SAE RA GERMAINE, President To note: attendees should fill in attendance slip for an accurate record in the minutes 2. Approval of the minutes from the previous - Annual General Meeting 2019 MOTION by MS SAE RA GERMAINE that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2019 of Linux Australia be accepted as complete and accurate. The minutes are available at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15SrEONbKUBEdj2BYhrAe12FXjCzxMvDbGxzBGLYTnzc/edit To be seconded and voted upon 3. To receive the REPORTS of activities of the preceding year from OFFICE BEARERS MS SAE RA GERMAINE - President MR RUSSELL STUART - Treasurer Includes presentation of the Auditor?s Report MR JULIEN GOODWIN - Secretary Please refer to the Annual Report MOTION by {TBA} that the Auditor?s Report is a true statement of financial accounts MOTION by {TBA} that the President?s report is correct MOTION by {TBA} that the Secretary?s report is correct MOTION by {TBA} that the Treasurer?s report is correct MOTION by {TBA} that the actions of Council during 2018 are endorsed by the membership To be seconded and voted upon 4. To CONSIDER items tabled in the call for agenda items Amendments to the Constitution: The Council recommends changes to the Constitution in the following areas: https://github.com/linuxaustralia/constitution_and_policies/pull/38/files MOTION by MR RUSSELL STUART - Treasurer that Linux Australia accept the addition of the Statement of Objects to the Linux Australia Constitution. Seconded by MS SAE RA GERMAINE - President Voting for this Constitutional change will be available via the website https://linux.org.au/election-info/?eid=8 5. DECLARATION of Election and WELCOME of incoming Council by the Returning Officer 6. NOMINATION and ELECTION of Members to Vacant Council Positions 7. To HEAR and RESPOND to questions from the floor