WIA Board announces new Advisory Committees

The WIA Constitution that was adopted when the WIA moved from a federal structure to a single national body provided for Advisory Committees from each of the areas previously covered by the Divisions, and whose task was to advise the WIA Board in respect of more local matters.

The first members of each Advisory Committee were the members of the relevant Divisional Council who wished to be members. The Constitution provides that after three years new Advisory Committees were to be formed, with many of the details to be determined by the WIA Board.

The process to create new Advisory Committees has now finished. The Constitution provides that each Advisory Committee will have one member nominated by the WIA Board (the WIA Nominated Member) and the regulations adopted by the Board provide that three further members are to be elected.

If there are just enough nominations to fill the vacancies, then those nominating are elected, and if there was a shortfall, then the Board makes appointments to fill the vacancies.

The Board also has power to define the areas of each Advisory Committee, and has created the Northern Territory as a new and separate area for an Advisory Committee, and (after consulting with the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club, previously he ACT Division), included the ACT as part of the New South Wales area, with a special provision to allow (but not compel) one member of the New South Wales ACT Advisory committee to come from the ACT.

The Board has appointed its WIA Nominated Members to each Advisory Committee, nominations for election have been called by notice published in Amateur Radio, in two states the number of nominations matched the vacancies, the Board has appointed two people whose nominations were rejected on technical grounds, then where there were still vacancies, consulted with those already appointed and took their advice, and finally have made the last appointments to fill each Advisory Committee.

Accordingly, the new Advisory Committees are:

New South Wales/ACT Advisory Committee

Owen Holmwood VK2AEJ *

Dominic Dahl VK2YDD

Col Christiansen VK2BCC

Alan Hawes VK1WX

Victorian Advisory Committee

Bryan Pliatsios VK3HXR *

Lee Moyle VK3GK

Noel Ferguson VK3FGN

Mark Stephenson VK3PI

Queensland Advisory Committee

Don Wilschefski VK4BY *

Kevin Johnson VK4UH

JR (Ross) Anderson VKAQ

Harvey Wickes VK4AHW

South Australian Advisory Committee

David Box VK5OV *

Peter Reichelt VK5APR

Paul Hoffman VK5PH

WRG Holman VK5GH

Western Australian Advisory Committee

Neil Husk VK6BDO *

John Howlett VK6ZN

Keith Bainbridge VK6XH

Robert Bristow VK6POP

Tasmanian Advisory Committee

David Potter VK7YUM *

Clayton Reading VK7ZCR

Jason Reilly VKZJA

Peter Rumble VK2IY/VK4KX

Northern Territory Advisory Committee

Garry Woods VK8GW *

Alan Baker VK8ZAB

Trevor Wardrope VK8TJW

Wayne Cockburn VK8ZAA

The WIA Nominated Members are shown with * after their callsign.

The new Advisory Committees do not actually take their position until 1 October, but in the mean time each Advisory Committee has been asked to identify their chairperson, work out how they are going to function and to work out the contact addresses and numbers for their committee.

In some areas a transition has already started from the old committee to the new, for example in Queensland where meetings are planned in October and so both the old and the new are involved.

In announcing these appointments WIA President Michael Owen VK3KI said, "How the new Advisory Committees function will very much depend on the members of the Committee. The Board sees the Advisory Committees as a local representation of the WIA, there not only to advise the Board but also to actively promote and advance the WIA.

I thank each and every one of you who have either agreed to participate or who have volunteered to participate in working for the WIA in this important way."

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