Hi to all
I was wondering why Reg had not yet posted his views to Birding-aus - so now
he has. To help allay people's concerns and offer the other side of this
story, I therefore am happy to post below Graeme Hamilton's response. As
Graeme is happy for his response to be widely distributed, I thought it
appropriate to send it to everyone who has received Reg Lawler's email. My
own opinion is that BA has handled this matter appropriately and that Reg
Lawler is, at a very "politically sensitive" time, pursuing a personal
agenda rather than one aimed at serving the interests of Australian birds
and birders.
Apparently the BASQ committee is also in the process of considering this
matter.
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Grahame and all,
Here is my response to Reg Lawler's email.
In mid 2010 Reg Lawler from "Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula" contacted
Alison and me to raise his concerns that a Birds Australia Councillor, Dr
Justin Watson, was being employed by the developer of the proposed Rainbow
Shores residential development on Inskip Peninsula. Mr Lawler considered
this engagement of Dr Watson by a property developer to be incompatible with
his position as a Councillor of BA. Alison and I called Mr Lawler for more
information and we feel we gave him a good opportunity to fully raise all
matters of concern with us. Mr Lawler also asserted that Dr Watson was
scheduled to appear in court as an expert witness for the developer.
Unfortunately, very soon after Alison and I spoke at length to Mr Lawler and
reassured him we would take up the matter, he went public in the Brisbane
newspapers with his assertion that BA was not actively opposing the Rainbow
Shores development because of the involvement of Justin Watson.
Justin Watson works as an Enviromental Consultant and so it was no surprise
to us that he had been engaged by the property develop to undertake faunal
surveys and to report to the developer on the environmental and conservation
values of the site. A priori there was no reason to consider that the nature
of this engagement per se presented any conflict of interest. As an
Environment Consultant Justin is engaged by developers, governments and
conservation NGOs alike to provide them with objective, scientifically-based
reports which must be able to stand up to the scrutiny of expert opinion
often in the courts. Environmental Consultants who are too willing to tailor
their reports to support the case of their patrons very quickly are tainted
with that reputation, and we can name a few examples. Justin and the
business he works for do not have that reputation to my knowledge.
Alison and I raised the matter with Justin who explained his involvement
with Rainbow Shores, there appeared to be nothing that would be of concern
to BA Council. He also clarified the situation with his court appearance
where in fact he was required by the Court itself to appear as an expert
witness and was not appearing on behalf of the developer. Justin offered to
stand aside or stand down as a Councillor if this matter caused a problem
for BA. Alison and I concluded this matter did not provide Justin or Council
with a conflict of interest that had to be managed. The proposed Rainbow
Shores development had not been discussed at Council nor was it likely to be
as there was already considerable opposition from a large number of
conservation groups who with the Queensland Government and Local Council
were opposing the proposal in court. The oppostion was well supported and
the matter appeared to be well in hand, and there seemed to be little
additional BA could contribute at that time. I was also mindful that this
was a matter for our Southern Queensland Regional Group not National Office
or Council and I was aware BASQ was discussing appropriate survey methods
for Black-breasted Button-quail specifically with Inskip Peninsula in mind.
Additionally, as Inskip Peninsula forms part of an Important Bird Area I
contacted Cheryl Gole our IBA Project Manager who informed me she had been
assisting Greg Wood from "Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula" with
information about BirdLife International's global IBA program, and the
Cooloola & Fraser Coast IBA to help bolster their case against the
development. Such information proved very useful in halting the Ralph's Bay
development in Tasmania.
By January 2011 Mr Lawler thought that BA had not done enough and wrote to
me saying he wished to inform all BA Members of his grievance. He asked for
copies of our Constitution and By Laws, a list of all members and their
contact details, and an outline of how members could express their views
about the proposed merger with BOCA. I responsed to him on 21st January that
the Constitution and By Laws were silent on the matter of members raising
their concerns and that I could not release member contact details to him
for privacy reasons. I informed him that the most appropriate way for a
member to raise their concerns was via their Regional Group and made sure he
had the contact's for the BA Southern Queensland Group Convenor Dez Wells. I
informed Dez of the issue and forwarded all of the correspondence to him in
early February. I also informed Mr Lawler that letters to the Editor of
Wingspan and BA's E-news were available if Members had a particular concern
they wished to raise including concerns about the propsed merger with BOCA.
It does not appear that Mr Lawler has pursued any of these avenues to have
his concerns raised and properly aired and dealt with, nor to seek our
Regional Group to become directly involved in opposing the Rainbow Shores
development. He is now saying that I refused any assistance which is simply
not true. I made him aware of the direct avenues of communication open to
him in particular through the BA Southern Queensland Regional Group.
Mr Lawler is now urging Members to vote against the propsed merger with
BOCA. He is entitled to come to his own conclusions. For my part I can only
reiterate the principles on which the merger is based which include: that it
will be treated as a true merger of two organisations not a takeover, and
that both parties recognise and value the history, culture and values of the
other party. That these principles are being followed should be clear to all
from the make up of the Merger Working Group and its sub-Committees, the
joint communications from the Presidents to Members, and the balance of the
proposed Board of Directors of BirdLife Australia. It has been well
communicated that if the merger proceeds I am proposed as the CEO, though
this would be a decision for the new Board. I should point out that this was
proposed by BOCA and was not imposed, required or even suggested by BA. The
final point I'd make is that the BOCA Board and BA Council unanimously
support the proposal to merge as being in the best interests of both
organisations and in the achievement of our common objectives. This is their
view after almost 18 months of active investigation, consideration and
consulation with Members.
I hope this response covers the matter and am happy for it to be more widely
distributed if we feel Reg Lawler's recent email requires a formal response.
Cheers
Graeme
Dr Graeme Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer
================================
Bob Cook
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