Fifty-eight of AIDA’s approximately 450 members attended the 2021 AIDA Annual General Meeting on Saturday 10th April at the Aireys Inlet Community Hall. A further six members who were not able to attend the Hall provided proxy voting forms, all indicating their approval of the formal motions that had been advertised in advance in the emailed meeting papers. We explored having an option for members who could not attend in person to join using Zoom if they wished. Unfortunately, this was not possible as the Hall does not have dedicated internet access and insufficient bandwidth could be obtained via Telstra or Vodaphone mobile internet to facilitate Zoom access.
In the unavoidable absence of AIDA president Charlotte Allen, outgoing Vice-President Barbara Fletcher welcomed members as well as guests Libby Stapleton, Mayor of the Surf Coast Shire and Councillor of Anglesea Ward; Gary Allen, Councillor of Lorne Ward; and Libby Mears, Chair of the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA). Apologies were received from our other Anglesea Ward Councillor, Mike Bodsworth, and acting CEO of the Shire, Anne Howard.
The Mayor then presented an excellent review of the Council’s activities, especially those pertaining to our district. She later kindly provided the full text of her SCS Mayor Remarks at AIDA AGM April 2021, a summary of which is provided in the AIDA AGM 10APRIL2021 MINUTES. Libby then welcomed questions from members and her and Councillor Allen’s responses are also included in the Minutes document.
During the formal portion of the AGM the Minutes of the 2020 AGM were accepted as a true record of that meeting and then Barbara Fletcher read out Charlotte Allen’s AIDA President’s report for 2020 presented 10April2021. Treasurer Frieda Wachsmann then presented her AIDA 2020 Annual Financial Report, which was formally received by the members. After the members had approved the continuation of our practice of having a maximum of twelve committee members in addition to the four office holders, the election of the 2021/22 Committee was held. There being no more than one person nominated for each position on the committee, the new AIDA Committee was declared to have been elected and new member Ian Laging was welcomed to the committee. Then, on behalf of Charlotte Allen, newly-elected Vice President Annette Comte thanked retiring Vice President, Barbara Fletcher, for her fourteen years of service on the committee, including seven years as AIDA President. Barbara was presented with a card and a gift, then thanked again by enthusiastic applause from everyone at the meeting.
The formal portion of the AGM was followed by a question and answer session. A request from a member for an update on the Eden Project elicited responses from Chris Ryan, Libby Stapleton, Gary Allen and Libby Mears, which are summarised in the Minutes document.
Finally, guest speaker Libby Mears outlined the new GORCAP Authority’s immediate and long-term plans for the Great Ocean Road, providing an early indication of how the authority will approach its task of protecting the road’s environment and local communities, as well as long-term plans for tourism along the road. You can watch a video of her presentation here: Libby Mears Speaks To The Aireys Inlet Community