[Linux-aus] How the council breached their constitution - membersregister request section 7

Mark Foster blakjak at blakjak.net
Mon Dec 19 08:52:16 AEDT 2022


I agree Marcus's request seems particularly vexatious in terms of the 
way he's communicating with us here.
However before everyone else gets up-in-arms:

- The Constitution is published at 
https://linux.org.au/about-us/constitution/
- You joined Linux Australia therefore you have agreed to abide by the 
constitution; if elements here are a surprise then you have noone to 
blame but yourself for signing up without reading and considering the 
ramifications of it first.

Here's Section 7 in full:


        7. Register of members

(1) The public officer or the secretary of the association must 
establish and maintain a register of members of the association 
specifying the name and postal or residential address of each person who 
is a member of the association together with the date on which the 
person became a member.
(2) The register of members must be kept in Australia:
(a) at the main premises of the association, or
(b) if the association has no premises, at the association’s official 
address.
(c) in electronic format in a manner accessible to the public officer 
and secretary of the association.
(3) The portion of the register of members comprising names of members 
and dates on which the person became a member must be open for 
inspection, free of charge, by any member of the association within five 
business days of receipt of a written request by the public officer or 
secretary of the association.
(4) A member of the association may obtain a copy of any part of the 
register on payment of a fee of not more than $1 for each page copied or 
printed, or without fee for an electronic copy of the information.
(5) If a member requests that any information contained on the register 
about the member (other than the member’s name) not be available for 
inspection, that information must not be made available for inspection.
(6) A member must not use information about a person obtained from the 
register to contact or send material to the person, other than for:
(a) the purposes of sending the person a newsletter, a notice in respect 
of a meeting or other event relating to the association or other 
material relating to the association, or
(b) any other purpose necessary to comply with a requirement of the Act 
or the Regulation.

To implement section (5) all you need to do is login to the membership 
portal, update your details and select the tickbox "Supress details for 
membership information requests"

... so a request under SubSection (4) is only going to reveal your name 
if you've exercised your rights under SubSection (5).

SubSection (6) does make it clear the reasons that information obtained 
from the members register can be used - basically it needs to be about 
LA business.  A shame that Marcus hasn't provided assurance that his 
intentions are aligned with this clause.

Long story short; though to my eyes the suppression of any information 
beyond 'need to know' should likely be the default, and not something 
someone has to explicitly exercise via (5) above, there's full 
transparency in terms of our ability to protect our own privacy as 
associated with the data LA holds about us.

I also assume there's a process for proposing updates to the 
constitution. Perhaps other members could advise the rationale behind 
the structure of Section 7 and provide guidance on whether a change is 
feasible, if members are concerned then they'll be able to propose an 
amendment and see it passed by vote at an AGM.


Mark.

On 19/12/2022 10:19 am, Lyndsey Jackson via linux-aus wrote:
> Can we have the constitution updated so that I don't have to feel 
> concerned that this man, who I don't know can stop claiming a right to 
> my private contact details?
>
> That seems less work for us, and more beneficial for me as an 
> individual than me cancelling my membership and demanding my 
> information is deleted. But I am happy to do the work to go either way.
>
> And can we have clarity on the position of the org on this? As a past 
> chair of EFA happy to help find a lawyer/other people to speak to.
>
> In my experience constitutions have some holes, because, of course 
> they do, and it is a red flag when people start to poke in them for 
> their own gain.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Lyndsey
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 19, 2022, 7:34 AM Paul Esson via linux-aus 
> <linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote:
>
>     Doesn't section 7.5 state that members can request that their
>     information is not made public in this way?
>
>     > If a member requests that any information contained on the
>     register about the member (other than the member’s name) not be
>     available for inspection, that information must not be made
>     available for inspection.
>
>     Has the council breached the constitution by informing members of
>     their ability to make their details private?
>
>     Paul
>
>
>
>     On Mon, 19 Dec 2022, 7:40 am John Pearson via linux-aus,
>     <linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote:
>
>         ...and while we're asking—does the constitution compel them to
>         comply, and does the law permit them to do so without our consent?
>
>
>         On December 19, 2022 6:50:32 AM GMT+10:30, Chris Deigan via
>         linux-aus <linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote:
>
>             On Sun, 18 Dec 2022, at 16:46, Marcus Herstik via linux-aus wrote:
>
>                 Some time ago I asked the committee for some details
>                 from the members register, being name and contact
>                 details. 
>
>
>             Since you're writing to (some of) the members now, can you explain why you want their/our contact details in the first place?
>
>             - Chris
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