Bushfire Volunteers hereby provides formal notice of its 2021 Annual General Meeting and election of State Committee members.

Volunteers from member Bush Fire Brigades are welcome. Please share and distribute this notice.

Date

Saturday 6 November 2021

Time

11:00AM sharp. The meeting will be followed by general discussion over lunch (supplied by the association)

Location

Collie Ridge Motel, 185-195 Throssell Street Collie WA 6225

Agenda

  1. Formal meeting open – Members present, Apologies and Proxies (see note 1 below)
  2. Confirmation of the minutes of the previous AGM
  3. Presentation of the Board’s annual report of the association’s activities during the preceding financial year
  4. Presentation of the Association’s financial statements and Auditor’s report
  5. Election/Declaration of 2021/22 Board Members and Zone Representatives (State Committee) (see note 5 below)
  6. Appointment of Auditor for 2021/22
  7. Confirmation or variance of membership fees (see note 7 below)
  8. Formal meeting close
  9. General discussion and lunch

Please RSVP (for catering and room size) to

Note 1 – Proxies

  • If your Brigade is unable to be represented in person, you may choose to give your vote to a proxy.
  • If you would like to appoint a proxy, please email the Returning Officer () before 5pm Friday 5 November 2021 and include your name, Brigade name, Brigade role and the name of the person your Brigade would like to appoint as your proxy at the AGM.
  • You may choose to delegate your proxy to any specific member or a general member of the Committee, including a Zone Representative, the President, Vice President or Secretary.

Note 5 – Election/Declaration of 2021/22 Board Members and Zone Representatives (State Committee)

  • Nominations for vacant Board Member and Zone Representative (State Committee) positions are now open
  • Nominations for both must be received before 11:00 AM Saturday 9 October 2021.
  • Visit our Current Opportunities page for more information and the nomination form

Note 7 – Confirmation or variance of membership fees

This agenda item is a legally required default item and has not been “moved” or championed by any member or the Committee in any way.

However, for background and consideration:

Members are aware that the association continues to work very hard to correct the historical imbalance in government funding provided to volunteer associations to enable long term planning and respond more effectively and efficiently to the growing demands of government.

The long-held rationale for a $0 membership fee is that emergency service volunteers give enough to the community without being asked to also pay a membership fee to fund the organisation working to promote, support and represent the essential service they provide. However, senior government officers have repeatedly recommended that rather than continue to pursue equitable grant funding, the association should fund the work it does by introducing a membership fee.

While the current Committee has no current plan to introduce membership fees and continues to work hard to deliver valuable services to members and government without asking even more of our volunteer members, it is noted that this agenda item may hold greater than usual significance this year.