AusCycling has confirmed that it will hold the special general meeting requisitioned by a number of member clubs, who put in formal requests on four motions related to the leadership of the national cycling governing body earlier this year.
However, the organisation said that only one of the proposed motions will go to the vote when the meeting is held in April.
As Cyclingnews reported earlier this month, the request for a special general meeting (SGM) was lodged with what was understood to be the required backing – at least five percent of the voting membership – and was being considered by AusCycling "in accordance with the appropriate legal and constitutional processes".
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"We have sought legal advice on several motions proposed as part of the request for an SGM," said AusCycling in a document that was sent to members and also shared with Cyclingnews by the governing body this week.
"That advice confirms that only one of the motions proposed is valid and able to proceed — the motion relating to the removal of Craig Bingham as Chair and a Director. Other motions proposed cannot proceed for constitutional and legal reasons," said the organisation, adding that the clubs that signed the request would receive more detail about the constitutional and legal reasons behind the decision.
Cyclingnews earlier obtained copies of the documents containing the four proposed resolutions, which were initiated by the Midland Cycle Club and the Canberra Cycling Club, and backed by other clubs. The motions that were put forward by the clubs in the formal requests but will not be heard at the meeting are:
- The removal of Marne Fechner as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect and initiation of an open, transparent recruitment process for a new CEO
- The election of Chloe Hosking as a Director of AusCycling with effect from the close of the meeting
- An expression of support from voting members for the appointment of Chloe Hosking to the position of Chair and a call upon the Board to give due consideration to the clearly expressed will of the membership in electing the Chair of AusCycling
The special general meeting to vote on the single motion – the removal of Craig Bingham as Chair and a Director – will be held on Thursday, April 23.
“We have been in touch with all members to confirm the meeting – including what has been proposed, how to attend, and what Clubs need to know to participate,” Fechner said. “The SGM is open to all members to attend, however only clubs can vote, or have votes counted via proxy. We want to make sure every club has the opportunity to be represented.”
The voting rights of a club are scaled to their size, with clubs of up to nine members receiving one vote and this goes right up to 13 votes for those clubs with 780 or more members.
The scope and impact, however, of the issue to be voted on is not what was initially envisaged when the group of clubs made the calls for leadership change amid a background of reported falling membership, volunteer strain, rising costs and some clubs raising concern over grassroots participation and the pathway for young riders.
In fact, given the motions on Fechner and Hosking are not included April's SGM has brought forward the vote on Bingham's position as a Director – should he wish to seek another term – by a month.
That is because the current AusCycling Chair was, along with Lee Brentzell, elected in 2023 for a term with a three-year expiry. That means if Bingham wishes to remain as a Director he would have to be put up for re-election at the regular annual general meeting in May anyway.
However, if the motion to remove Bingham as a director at the SGM is successful that could potentially result in three members of the current board facing a vote in the space of a month as the AusCycling constitution outlines in clause 13.6 (d) that: "Two Elected Directors must retire from office at each AGM".
It is unclear, given three of the four requested motions have been ruled out, if this has done anything to quell the discontent among clubs that led to the SGM request in the first place.
Included in the AusCycling document sent out to clubs informing them of the SGM request was the question: 'What is the Board doing in response to the concerns that led to this SGM?'
"This is an opportunity to do more to engage with our members and we take that seriously. In the lead-up to the meeting, we will be providing additional information about our performance, governance and direction," said AusCycling as part of its response.
The vote on April 23, while not of the scope initially sought, may deliver some indication of whether or not that response and additional information has resonated with members.
*Updated with paragraph on clause 13.6 (d) from AusCycling Constitution
