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Editors --- "ACMS AGM & Financial Statements" [2000] MarStudies 35; (2000) 115 Maritime Studies 31

THE AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR MARITIME STUDIES Incorporated PO Box 55, Red Hill ACT 2603 (202 Monaro Crescent, Red Hill ACT 2603) Telephone: (02) 6295 0056 Facsimile: (02) 6295 3367 email: acmarst@bigpond.com

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

held on Tuesday 17 October 2000

1. Present

H. Adams (Chair), R. Greaves, J. Reeve, K. Back, R. Kenchington, J. Chapman,

J. Delaney, A. Bergin, L. Cordner, N. Hart, P. Hodgman, J. Davitt

Apologies

P. Rimmer, J. Goldrick, R. Reichelt, M. Ward, J. Macdonald, A. Cummins

2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 20 October 1999

The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 20 October 1999 were confirmed as a true record. Proposed H. Adams/seconded J. Chapman/CARRIED.

3. Chairman’s Report

It is with pleasure that I present my report for 1999-2000.

For the Centre it has been a year of steady progress coupled with some disappointments, while the introduction of the Government’s Tax Reform Package has been a demanding administrative burden.

The Centre’s principal activity remains the publication of Maritime Studies, the flagship journal of the Centre, published every two months. Five editions were published during the year. The quality and intellectual content remain high while the diversity of articles reflects the rapidly changing maritime scene both nationally and internationally. The amount of material awaiting publication is gratifying, but the Board is keen to encourage authors from the maritime community to contribute articles. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the authors for their valuable contributions as well as Sam Bateman for his unstinting efforts as Editor. Also Dr Marion Ward for her valuable assistance in proof reading. Together with Jean Davitt who word-processes the journal we have a team which produces, I believe, a first-class publication.

No Occasional Papers were published during the year.

The Centre’s plan to publish a Maritime Atlas of Australia remains unfulfilled, due in the main to our inability to engage an editor. Further enquiries will be made in the future in the hope of getting this project underway this year. The project has been underwritten by one of our members to the tune of $10,000 which places an obligation on the Board to get the project moving.

The Centre’s project to publish the ‘Maritime Australia’ poster continues to be thwarted through lack of sponsorship which is particularly galling when the nation is awash with sports funding and sponsorships. Material for the poster has been completed and a final edition of the poster printed by our publisher – the Exhibition Centre, Queanbeyan. Printing, production and distribution can be undertaken by CanPrint, Canberra. Regarding sponsorship, a detailed application was made to the National Council for the Centenary of Federation, which has been funded to the tune of $1 billion, but was declined. It is disappointing that quangos like the Centenary of Federation lack the vision needed to support a project like our poster which is so relevant to its mission. Approaches to the private sector in Sydney were also unsuccessful. Apart from the impact on our finances our development sponsors (16) have been let down. With the Commonwealth Government having established the machinery for implementing a National Oceans Policy lack of support for the poster which is directly related to oceans policy is difficult to comprehend.

During the year the Australian Government announced its intention to consult the wider community in the development of the Defence White Paper. This provided the Centre with an opportunity to submit a paper to the Community Consultation Team led by the Hon. A Peacock. The main thrust of the paper, which will be published later in Maritime Studies, was to emphasise the need to recognise the oceanic nature of Australia’s geography and to direct the principal defence emphasis on sea control.

The Centre continues to publish monthly on behalf of the Kindred Maritime Organisations the Australian Maritime Digest. Distributed widely to industry, institutions and governments it appears to be well-regarded and continues to fill a niche role. However with only about 220 subscribers it survives only on sponsorship and donations, for which I am grateful. It would be a pity to see this useful publication go under.

Turning to membership the situation as at 1 September 2000 is as follows:

Corporate Members 6 (down 1)

Institutional Members 58 (down 3) – includes 10 from overseas

Individual Members 57 (down 4) – includes 6 from overseas

In the forthcoming year we shall continue our efforts to increase our membership.

As indicated above the administrative burden imposed on the Centre through the introduction of the Tax Reform Program has been considerable. To this end our Business Manager has mastered the MYOB package and brought the Centre’s accounting system into line. As part of the program the Centre applied for tax deductibility status but has been twice refused as the Centre falls outside the guidelines – and yet organisations like the Australian Institute of International Affairs have been granted the concession. The affect of this determination means that possible support from philanthropic foundations is most unlikely to be forthcoming.

The Centre’s website (www2.dynamite.com.au/acmarst) has now been running for more than a year. It outlines our aims, activities and publications and has increased our exposure both nationally and internationally. The website is updated every month to reflect the material published in Maritime Studies and the Australian Maritime Digest. It receives a steady number of ‘hits’ – about 30 each month – which is encouraging.

On the financial side the Centre recorded a loss of $4429. The financial outlook for the Centre remains difficult, unless a publishing sponsor for the poster can be found. Likewise, the objective of employing a part-time director is unlikely to be realised unless support can be obtained from industry or philanthropic organisations. This is turn is tied to our gift deductibility status, as explained above.

During the year Captain James Goldrick RAN and Captain John McDonald joined the Board.

On behalf of the Board I thank most profusely our Business Manager, Mrs Jean Davitt, for her superbly efficient work in dealing with the Centre’s administration and financial matters in what has been a challenging year. One cannot speak too highly of her untiring efforts and quiet efficiency.

Finally, I would like to thank the Board for their support during the year.

H.J.P. Adams
Chairman of the Board

3 October 2000

Commodore Adams moved that his report be accepted/seconded J. Reeve/ CARRIED.

4. Treasurer’s & Auditor’s Report

The statement of income and expenditure, the balance sheet and the auditor’s report for the year 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000 were tabled.

The Chairman (Acting Treasurer) moved that these documents be accepted/seconded

K. Back/CARRIED

5. Election of Auditor

The Chairman moved that Mr A. Marland be reappointed as Auditor for 2000-2001/seconded R. Kenchington/CARRIED.

6. Nominations for Board Membership

Accepting nomination to the Board for 2000-2001 were: H. Adams, R. Kenchington,

J. Chapman, R. Greaves, K. Back, J. Reeve, J. Delaney, P. Hodgman, L. Cordner.

Nominated subject to their acceptance were: S. Bateman, M. Ward, R. Reichelt,

A. Cummins, J. Goldrick, J. Macdonald, P. Rimmer.

7. Election of Office Bearers

Commodore H.J.P. Adams was elected Chairman, proposed R. Greaves/seconded

P. Hodgman/CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

Subject to his acceptance, Commodore W.S.G. Bateman was elected Deputy Chairman, proposed H. Adams/seconded K. Back/CARRIED.

Commander Jon Delaney was elected Treasurer, proposed H. Adams/seconded

R. Kenchington/CARRIED.

Commodore Adams thanked those present for their attendance and declared the meeting closed.