[Linux-aus] Notice of Linux Australia Special General Meeting to be held on 29/08/2011

[David Newall]

On 04/08/11 02:58, Peter Lieverdink wrote:
> The proposed changes can be found at GitHub
> https://github.com/linuxaustralia/constitution/pull/1  in a pull request.

This is totally inappropriate.  For each change, you must show the old 
words from our constitution, and the new words that are proposed, and 
you should state reasons to justify the change.  This is "Club 
Management 101" and it shouldn't need pointing out.

Please provide changes in the conventional format.


> Please do not respond with another TL;DR email. It wastes everyone's time.

I take great offence to that.  *I* am not wasting time, but, if I may be 
blunt, you are, by offering github in place of proper motions; and by 
repeating claims that are false.


> We cannot amend the constitution with simply that item.

Yes, we can.  This claim has been made before, and is false.  All of the 
changes already agreed to, coupled with one more change -- the financial 
year -- meet the requirements of the new Act.  If I bet that the council 
didn't even bother to brief a lawyer on this, would I keep my money?

I ask again: why not just set the financial year in the current (as 
agreed by members) constitution?  A real reason, please, not something 
made up in lieu of the truth.


> We're also using this opportunity to remove some cruft that was added 
> some years ago but never used.

You cannot remove "some cruft" without saying what it is.  You have to 
tell us, explicitly, what is being removed.  I don't understand why this 
is being done with such secrecy.

> I was under the impression that this had been explained several times now by several people.

No.  Several times people have waved hands and said, "current 
practices", but refused to say precisely what that means.  Several times 
people have claimed that the new constitution is just like the old one, 
and then retire, presumably tail-twixt-leg, when I find, for example, 
new fees.