The following article was published in this week's Melbourne Times and it needs to be clarified that Jennifer Borrell is not a member of Hidden Creek Neighbourhood House as per the membership list that was endorsed at the October 2013 committee meeting.
As it stands Hidden Creek Neighbourhood House has been closed down and the committee is winding up the organisation. This has been done because it was one of the recommendations put forward by an independent investigator.
If you have recently received a letter that claims that it is from the current committee you need to know that it is not the committee that sent you that letter and those people should not have had access to the old membership list and your privacy has been breached.
The future of the Hidden Creek Neighbourhood House (HCNH) in Coburg North remains uncertain following its sudden closure last month.
Staff and volunteers at the house, which runs programs for seniors and kids, were told by HCNH’s management committee on March 11 that the house would close.
Committee chairwoman Maxine West said the decision to close the house was based on the findings of an independent investigation, which was undertaken to address a number of concerns raised about how the house was run.
“Our committee received the investigation report and the supporting documents and the recommendations,” she said, “one of these being to wind up the association.”
Ms West said although the committee was reluctant to close the house, the evidence in the report made it very clear that “we could do nothing other than wind up”.
“We felt it would have been negligent and morally irresponsible to do anything else,” she said.
The house’s co-ordinator stood down before the closure.
Ms West would not comment further on the findings of the investigation.
Jennifer Borrell, a stories researcher at the house and a member of the committee, said that she was excluded from the vote to close the house and was shocked by the decision.
“The house is running well on paper and by all the accounts of all the people who run the house regularly,” she said.
Ms West said the decision to close was made by “all committee members who are endorsed members of Hidden Creek and elected as per [the] annual general meeting held on November 2013 and [who] did not have a direct conflict of interest”.
HCNH is partially funded by the Department of Human Services, Moreland City Council and other grants. The council is also HCNH’s landlord.
Moreland City Council social development director Andrew Day said the council was aware the HCNH had experienced a range of governance and administrative tensions “over many years”.
“Council is still working through these matters in conjunction with the Department of Human Services, and is considering options to obtain clarity on these issues and to broker a way forward, while respecting the independence of the committee,” he said.
There are significant gaps for me in this report. .Who did the independent report/assessment of Hidden Creek Neighbourhood House - do they have a conflict of interest? Who decided whether some Committee members had a conflict of interest and were they notified of that decision? Were all the requirements of the Incorporated Associations Reform Act 2012 followed? Did the Coordinator stand down or was he/she stood down - there is a difference? Is the whole Committee winding Up the organisation or selected Committee Members? Was the whole membership notified by Special Resolution of Winding Up? - If not, that is a breach of the Models Rules 2012.A Committee can not Wind YUp without a majority of the whole membership[ supporting the resolution. Also, Council and DHS can not intervene in the operations of a Registered Incorporated Association nor access offices, computers or files of the Incorporated Association - has this happened as seems to be implied?
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