He wrote that he had referred the matter to Consumer Affairs Victoria “given the failure of the board to follow the grievance process”,referencing two previous correspondences from the club’s president and vice-president.
After outlining these points,Dennis wrote that there was “no evidence to suggest meditation would resolve anything other than member expense and further delays”.
Dennis declined to answer questions about the dispute,or the “serious issues” he outlined in the letter.
He wrote in an email:“Out of respect for our club processes and for our board,I would rather my discussions with the club are given every chance to progress internally.”
Club president Cossar did not respond to text messages sent by this masthead.
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Chief among the demands the aggrieved members have made is a call to annul the results of a board election counted at the October AGM and re-hold the election.
Dennis alleged the election was “structurally flawed”,accusing the board of several breaches,including that two votes were counted per member – despite the club’s one-vote-per-member rules.
“Election results published,clearly state that the election was a ‘first-past-the-post’ election where 1574 members voted. There were 3148 votes recorded. Every voting member was required to mark a second vote for the ballot to be valid,” he wrote.
Dennis added:“Contrary to written assurances from the club president,we have been advised by members,and it has been confirmed in subsequent discussion with the club president,that a senior club official wrote to members,endorsing incumbent board members.”
The club is regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria,which confirmed,through a spokesperson,that it was aware of the dispute.
“Members are encouraged to follow the dispute resolution procedure provided for in the rules of the association. If this fails,members can seek assistance via the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria or seek legal redress through the Magistrates Court,” the spokesperson said.
The group of concerned members is also demanding transparency from the board as to when they were made aware of the club’s losses.
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“We would like to better understand when the board first became aware of the negative club financial data which was first shared with members towards the conclusion of voting in the board election. The 2023 AGM minutes indicate a significant loss was apparent at the end of financial year,some many weeks before the election process commenced.”
The letter concluded:“Ladies and gentlemen,transparency shouldn’t be this hard?”
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