A dispute inside Hawkesbury Radio resulted in the expulsion of member John Bryant this week. But that may not be the end of it.
ACMA is conducting an investigation and legal action is threatened.
An ACMA spokesperson has confirmed that a number of complaints were received about the station, but they were all dismissed. There is one more current complaint under investigation:
“In February 2012, the Australian Communications and Media Authority received six valid complaints that the licensee of 2VTR, Hawkesbury Radio Communications Cooperative Society Ltd, was not operating in accordance with the licence condition to encourage community participation in its operations, as it had not responded to the complainants’ applications for membership.
“The ACMA investigated the complaints and found that, at the time, the licensee was meeting the obligation of the licence condition.
“In July 2013, the ACMA received a new valid complaint concerning the licensee of 2VTR. The ACMA is commencing an investigation into this complaint and has no further comment at this time.”
Former board member and John Bryant supporter Ray Medina has told radioinfo:
“As expected the Special General Meeting was a farce…
“The board has put Hawkesbury radio and it’s members into a no win situation that may close the station down as this now will head to the supreme court and with all the breaches of common law, the co operative ACT and many breaches to the stations own constitution, the board and the station will be up for costs and neither will be able to pay… I think that they thought this was all a bluff. ”
Why do these people seek to destroy a community radio station? The vote of the members was resounding to expel John Bryant because he has been holding the radio station to ransom for three years. The members do not want him but it seems that the members have no say in their own co operative. This is not democracy this is anarchy! I am disgusted by the actions of Bryant and his supporters. ACMAs time will be wasted again investigating unwarranted allegations. Department of fair trading had to waste time and resources to find that there were no problems. ACMA investigated and found no problems. How much more time will be wasted to satisfy this mans ego? I find it relevant that there was a comment left on Radioinfo that " there is an alternate applicant" for the licence. I think that says it all. He will not stop until he gets the licence. You have been warned.
I feel sick in my stomach for what they are trying to do to our radio station..
This is the radio station that gave away $1000 in a sponsored competition each Friday morning. It is the only radio station that I have heard of where a Committee member and her partner and another member's wife all won that $1000. Make up your own minds...
The truth is so many people have left the station over the years, good people, because they could not stand how the place is run. If ever an inquiry should take place it is at Hawkesbury Radio. The Board controls everything, you do not stand a chance and if you have a complaint against them they put you down until you leave or get rid of you. Most of them have been on the Board for over twelve years, far too long. So many members are disgruntled with the Board but they use relatives votes and proxies to ride roughshod over good people.
Well said! Until the government steps in and does something about these renegade boards who are giving Community Radio a bad name not a thing will change. Do the right thing by the Hawkesbury radio association resign your positions on the board now and withdraw all your fake supporters from the member's register.
Noel, you are not telling the truth.
There weren't 71 members at the Expulsion Meeting rather it was about 50. The 71 votes came from the 50 people present plus about 20 'proxies'. Of course the Board never told all members that proxy voting would take place, so it was only the Board and their supporters who had proxies to vote. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman voted a bunch of proxies - I saw them. And remembering that NO ONE had any details of the charges against John Bryant prior to the meeting, so how could any person granting a proxy instruct their proxy holder how to vote, when they had not heard either side's arguments??????
It was a Kangaroo Court of the first order and as an ex-director Noel, you know better than most how the current Board operates.
PS ~ I wonder why there was no paperwork at this meeting, other than the statement that Bryant handed out? How come the Board failed to commit their accusations to paper Noel? Tells us something, doesn't it.
I used to be a loyal listener to your station a few years back and drifted away. WHY? because so many top presenters left the station due to harassment from the management it saddened me to see this happen. I used to call presenters during their shifts and most of them shared their distaste for how the station was being managed. I see not a thing has changed, I believe it is time for these board members or some of them to go, the station needs new ideas a fresh management board, the Hawkesbury deserves it. Phil
In relation to the comment by Steve Wilkins that there is an alternate applicant for the Hawkesbury radio license "waiting in the wings", I am aware of at least two people who may apply for the license if ACMA were to seek other applications.
Neither is John Bryant, or has any connection to John Bryant, but both are keen to see greater community involvement in Hawkesbury Radio, both on air and in its administration.
By the way, I really like your on air work, Steve. Keep it up.
P.S. Over the past couple of weeks since this issue was first raised on Radioinfo, there are three things that to me remain matters of interest that need to be resolved.
1. Noel Selby in particular continues to maintain that ACMA has cleared the Board of any wrongdoing, yet ACMA has confirmed that they have a current complaint under investigation.
2. The issue of a substantial amount of station funds having been spent on fast food seems to me to remain unanswered.
3. The accusation that prize money was won by Board members and their families remains unanswered.
Perhaps the ACMA investigation needs to address all of these issues if Hawkesbury Radio in its present form has any chance of moving forward.
In the meantime, as Peter Saxon so rightly raises in his commentary, community radio as a whole continues to suffer because of what is happening at Windsor.
Perhaps it is time for a whole fresh start.
P.P.S. I am not John Bryant. I am not a John Bryant supporter. I have never met John Bryant.
In reply to "an interested bystander", thank you for your kind comments about myself. To address the points you raise, ACMA has investigated the complaints and returned a verdict that " the station had no case to answer.' this means that the administration is innocent of the allegations. More allegations have been raised (or in this case) regurgitated. The allegations of "sandwichgate" where people who basically work full time hours were rewarded with lunch while they were working are just simply stupid. it is common practice in community based organisations to reward the people who give their time for the betterment of the organisation. The figures on the ammount spent has been distorted. The real question is how did Mr Bryant get access to the invoices. How did John Bryant have access to draft documents that were printed in the local press. That is the real story. As far as the prizes won fairly in the Freeprizes promotion, the promotor and business operator was 100% happy and comfortable because Hawkesbury Radio was involved with advertising Freeprizes as a paid sponsor of Hawkesbury radio. No conflict. Simple!There is no need for a fresh start. The Board has always acted responsibly and has always had the interest of the members as the highest priority.
As a bystander myself, I am disgusted at the accusations made by these terrorists that just want to destroy our radio station. Hawkesbury radio has not caused any suffurance to the community radio sector. It is the terrorists that caused the damage.
PS If John Bryant had ever wanted to make real change, he would have accepted the invition to meet with the board to discuss his concerns. But, he never did!
There have been comments that Hawkesbury Radio has lost TOP PRESENTERS because of the board. Will someone name these top presenters who have left in disgust. I know who has come and gone over the last 5 years and i am surprised by these comments. Please let me know so that I know.
Please read the following.
Employees of the Network / station,its Trust, contest sponsors, affiliated companies, advertising and promotion agencies and their immediate family members ( i.e., spouses , parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren , and siblings) of each of the above are NOT eligible to enter and/or to win a competition.
Thank you to Steve Wilkins for providing clarity on a couple of the issues that I raised in my post.
The amounts that have been bandied around about fast food expenditure (anywhere between $14,000 and $25,000) appeared to be over the top, but there seemingly was no attempt by Hawkesbury Radio to refute these accusations. As in any community organisation, expenditure not only needs to be accounted for, but needs to be satisfactorily explained to volunteer members and other interested parties.
In relation to prize money having been won by people within the station or in close proximity, there's an interesting story on Radioinfo about a presenter at MIX in Darwin having been dismissed recently for a very similar situation.
I'm not privy to the basis of the latest ACMA enquiry. I only know that they say there is one going on, when other commenters on here are adamant that everything has been resolved, and that there has been a clean bill of health given by both ACMA and the Department of Fair Trading.
I hope that all these issues can now be wound up to everyone's general satisfaction. Hawkesbury Radio has been a great station in the past, and going forward will not be helped by festering sores from the John Bryant episode.
Just so there are no misunderstandings, I am not a John Bryant supporter. I have never met him, and in fact I have never set foot in the Hawkesbury Radio premises. I am just a great believer in community radio, and in the role that it can play in the broader radio industry.
When the allegation of free food for directors was raised, a written statement was issued that directors ate for free only very occasionally. Subsequently invoices revealed that some directors and mates were chomping through about $700 of free food a month, five days a week, at a time when the Station was trading at a loss. The annual accounts are presented at AGMs verbally and it takes effort to get hold of a hard copy.
This comment was modified from the original with some sections deleted - Editor
in response to Steve Wilkins, 19 July 2013
Community Broadcasters are granted a license SUBJECT to complying with a Code of Practise AND having a group with rules which among other things requires proper procedures. It would appear that both ACMA and the Supreme Court have found that BOTH were not complied with. The 'members' may have been mislead or not advised of their responsibilities in this regard. For example each and every member is contracted to each other and I am amazed that members were not in fact taken to court for breach of contract ! Having a board member as a local councillor also raises question regarding various interests, the very stuff ICAC could be interested in . What members 'want or decided' must be in line with their responsibilities not just personal issues.