Presidents Update
Dear Members,
I am honoured to present my first President’s Update after being elected to the position of President of the Cairns RSL Sub Branch at the Annual General Meeting held on the 6th of June 2021.
Firstly, I would like to thank our previous President Mr. Peter Hayton. Peter undertook the role with great commitment and provided me with great insights into how we as Directors of your Board, need to approach our roles in order to better serve our members. I wish Peter and Marion all the best in their future travels.
With the resolution of the financial dispute between the RSL Sub Branch and the Club, we now have an opportunity to move forward in achieving the objectives of both entities in a harmonious manner. We must not waste this opportunity in enhancing ‘Caring For Our Defence Family’. It is worth noting that your Board of the RSL Sub Branch are all volunteers and Young Veterans and nearly all Directors have full-time jobs and young families.
We are now in a situation where the Club can plan their business model around the obligations of the repayment financial agreement and certainty of the lease and the RSL Sub Branch can plan into the future with the certainty of a steady income stream. I believe that this is an opportunity to move forward together. We should not be concentrating on the past and looking back all the time as this is not the direction we are going. It needs to be made quite clear that your RSL Sub Branch Board of Directors are legally required to work in the best interests of the Sub Branch and not the Club. The Club Directors are also equally legally liable to work in the best interests of their members.
We share the same RSL brand as recognition of where the two institutions originated from and why they came into existence. However, the RSL Sub Branch and the Club are now irrevocably two separate entities. As of last year, the RSL Building, and the Land Title is now owned by the Members of the RSL Sub Branch and managed on their behalf by the RSL Sub Branch Board of Directors. This involves the paying of rates, insurances and other costs incurred by that ownership. The RSL Sub Branch abides by the RSL Qld Constitution and is a Charity that operates under Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Regulations. The ACNC is the national regulator of charities, and these regulations provide detailed requirements in relation to financial reporting and set out Governance Standards.
The Cairns RSL Sub Branch supports all Veterans (Current and Ex-Serving) and their families, NOT the wider community. The Club Ltd is classed as a Not-for-Profit business entity responsible to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, an organisation with its own Constitution. The Club is a Tenant of the RSL Sub Branch and operates its own separate business in an area of the RSL Sub Branch Building. The Club supports a range of wider community activities, while the RSL Sub Branch conducts its separate business of ‘Caring For Our Defence Family’.
To be very clear, the RSL Sub Branch does not have any interest in running the Club or taking over the business of the Club.
There is no reason that we cannot conduct our stated business in a manner of beneficial support. This can be achieved by an open dialogue between two entities and by utilising the skills of the members of both Boards. What detracts from our ability to undertake our core role ‘Caring For Our Defence Family’, is the constant negative reports about the RSL Sub Branch that we read about. As I mentioned previously, with the resolution of the financial dispute, we wish to move forward. Untruths being forwarded to members by various means of communication do not help and are self-serving.
A statement to the effect that ‘The Sub Branch has made public the settlement to the ‘loan issue.’ Is not correct. The ‘’Disclosure Statement’ was a joint statement signed by myself, as the then Vice President, after negotiations with the Chair of the Club who also signed it. This statement was first presented to the members of the ‘Club’ on the 30th of May at the Club AGM.
A statement to the effect that ‘But Sub Branch members have demanded more information, with questions on notice to the branch requesting how much was spent on items including legal fees, PR and marketing and employee entitlements.’, would suggest that the Sub Branch has not answered these questions. This is incorrect. These questions were, as stated, asked at the AGM, but were answered to the satisfaction of the member who moved the questions.
The comments by a ‘Former RSL Sub Branch Board Director and RSL Club member’ who said the mediation between the club and Sub Branch was “a farcical waste of precious financial resources.”, are incorrect. As stated at the AGM, the cost of legal fees to resolve the issue of the ‘Loan’ was $20,000. These costs were far less than they would have been had mediation not been successful and the issue proceeded to the Supreme Court. These costs would have been in the area of $150,000.
I hope that these negative comments and mistruths will cease so that your RSL Sub Branch Board of Directors can move forward with new and exciting projects in ‘Caring For Our Defence Family’ and instil within the membership confidence that your RSL Sub Branch Directors are managing your RSL Sub Branch in the best possible way.
Jeff ‘Blu’ Langham, Lieutenant, RAN (Rtd)
President
Cairns RSL Sub Branch