Something like this …
Rather than this ….
Congratulations
… to the new FVFS (Federation of Victorian Film Societies) Committee!
The new Victorian Executive – all openly staunch opponents of the ACOFS/CCA proposal – and coming together as “Team 2020″ campaigned like so …
HOW TO VOTE FOR “TEAM 2020”
The perfect combination of rock solid experience & practical creative energy
What Team 2020 offers Victorian film societies
- Practical solutions and plans based on decades of sound experience
- A friendly team of hard-working individuals with a proven track record of success across the film society movement and the Australian non-profit/volunteer sector
- Expertise in the most advanced technology & bursting with ideas & positive energy
- Better communication & cooperation, up-to-date info, fast responses to requests
- Frugal, responsible financial management
- A determination and passion to learn and grow, and to share knowledge and skills with members of the film society movement across Australia and worldwide
What we stand for and against
- We will defend the independence and unsurpassed excellence of the Victorian Federation, and the rich diversity and enterprising spirit of Victoria’s film societies.
- We will put an immediate stop to all efforts by ACOFS to weaken, sideline, and undermine the independence and democratic voice of the FVFS and its members, on the national and international stage.
- We will defend the rights of Australia’s biggest, wealthiest, most generous, and fastest growing Federation.
- We oppose all efforts by ACOFS to centralise the Australian film society movement and concentrate power and national decision-making into the hands of the few.
- We oppose the misguided, undemocratic “senate” model ACOFS seeks to impose, and instead re-affirm our support of the current “popular representation” model which we maintain has been, and remains, highly effective, fair, and just.
- We support reaching across our borders to our neighbouring state federations and helping them to also grow, become strong, independent, and self-sufficient.
A Few Words about the ACOFS/CCA national train-wreck-in-waiting
The extent to which the current Executive of our national body, ACOFS (Australian Council of Film Societies), has been out of touch with reality, out of touch with the film society movement of Australia, and completely at odds with democratic ideals came home with a big thud on Saturday March 19 2011.
The occasion was the AGM (Annual General Meeting) of Australia’s biggest, richest, most generous Federation: The FVFS (Federation of Victorian Film Societies).
The outcome?
When it came time to vote, lo and behold, every single supporter of the ACOFS/CCA (Community Cinema Australia) proposal was resoundingly voted off the Executive.
Why?
If it really was true, as the current ACOFS Executive has pretended over the last year, that ACOFS have been democratic, consultative, and transparent in their dealings, what can possibly explain the Victorian results?
Relax. There is no great mystery, except for those mystified by common sense. What happened was this …
The more that film societies examined the actual ACOFS/CCA proposal, the less they liked it.
Consider, for instance, what ACOFS refers to as the “essence” of its CCA proposal.
Namely, their utterly absurd plan to replace the current “popular/representative democracy” voting model of ACOFS with a new “Senate” type voting model.
For goodness sake, even primary school children know that the “Senate” model only has value in a “bicameral” (i.e. two-tier) parliamentary system!
i.e. As an “Upper House” or “House of Review”.
Hey, you Dummkoffs at ACOFS: the Senate voting model is not designed to work on its own! It’s designed to work as one of two tiers of parliament – inseparably and in conjunction with, a Lower House – which is itself based on a representative popular democracy model.
For crying out loud, ACOFS not only wants to get rid of the independent Federations, it wants to kill the very process of representative democracy across the film society movement!
Paul Keating referred to the Senate as “unrepresentative swill”. What he was getting at was that Senates are not representative. They are not “democratic” in the sense of expressing the will of the people. They’re not meant to be.
Even so, Mr Keating was referring to the Senate model in the context of Australia’s bicameral parliamentary system – an Upper House that exists along with a Lower House of Representatives.
In contrast, The ACOFS/CCA proposal is a senseless Senate-only voting model. The worst of all possible worlds!
How does ACOFS come up with this stuff? Clearly, they are no ordinary clowns.
(Read more about the Senate-only model HERE, under the sub-heading “Let’s ask ACOFS about this (question #1)”
As the Victorians put aside the fluffy, reassuring rhetoric of ACOFS and studied the nuts and bolts of the ACOFS/CCA proposal they uncovered, to their horror, something quite foul and farcical. So they decided they would not support the ACOFS/CCA proposal. Or its proponents. Very sensible.
And the more that film societies became aware of the way that ACOFS was going about things, the more appalled they became.
The more that the ACOFS Executive maligned critics of the CCA proposal, evaded the issues, dodged and fudged, relied on smoke and mirrors, meaningless jargon, and obfuscation, the more they earned the distrust of Victorians.
That the man leading the charge to destroy the Victorian Federation happened to also be the then Victorian president merely added a surreal if not perverse dimension to the shenanigans.
Over the last year, the following individuals of the ACOFS Executive have either enthusiastically supported the attempted autocratic takeover of the Australian Film Society movement and the gutting of the independent Federations, or else have stood around like stuffed chooks on the sidelines, avoiding and evading responsibility, and hoping no-one would notice:
- Michael Lines-Kelly of NSW (Committee)
- Bryan Putt of Victoria (President)
- Michael O’Rourke of NSW (Vice President)
- Eric Dixon of Victoria (Secretary)
- Mark Horner of Tasmania (Treasurer)
- Paul Sofilas of Western Australia (Committee)
In the case of Victoria and Tasmania, the above ACOFS Delegates have gone against the wishes of their own film societies.
Paul Keating’s words again come to mind.
