Statement of Complaint by Executive Committee
A formal complaint was received by the previous Chair of the Club from the Executive Committee dated 28 June 2022 with regard to a leaked private conversation which took place on Whatsapp. At this point an email was sent out to 505 voting members of Penrith Golf Club by the Management Committee requesting volunteers willing to act as Disciplinary Secretary on behalf of the Club and its members. Previous attempts to appoint an individual for this position have been unsuccessful so far. At this time the Management Committee also requested applications for the vacant roles on the Management Committee and volunteers to act as impartial members for any future disciplinary matters requiring attention. Despite 391 members reading the communication, to date, we have received no interest in the Disciplinary Secretary role or any candidates to fill any other vacant roles in the MC. The Executive Committee were fully aware of our intentions as we had to follow the governance and strict Club Grievance, Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. The Executive Committee wanted to take control in appointing a Disciplinary Secretary but, under the current Club rules, they have no authority to do so. The Executive Committee hastily set up a petition following this attempting to undermine the Management Committee’s intentions by seeking to oust the Management Committee with a vote of no confidence by the members, which was circulating within the Club until a new, revised petition was set up by the Executive Committee. We believe the Executive Committee did not give the Management Committee sufficient time or opportunity to appoint a Disciplinary Secretary and by sending out this petition, they have deterred any member from fulfilling the Disciplinary Secretary role or any vacant role on the Management Committee.
The Executive Committee have effectively destroyed the whole disciplinary process against the Management Committee by instigating a petition at this stage as the Club now has no chance of dealing with the said complaint in line with the strict disciplinary rules as there will now be no impartial members. We did have a member who was willing to be part of the disciplinary process prior to the petition being issued however, this is now no longer an option due to the Executive Committee’s actions.
The Club is in a very good position and now is the time for us all to come together. We need to set up an AGM as soon as possible for all the members to have their say and we would propose a singular committee be formed for the benefit of the Club.
Management Committee
Penrith Golf Club