WHY - CONTINUED

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manfredvijars
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WHY - CONTINUED

Post by manfredvijars » Fri Sep 16, 2016 6:33 am

Dear Tom, Congratulations! The current executive, under YOUR leadership has descimated a group of financial ABPA members of long standing.

Let me state the obvious - Look around, you may notice the absence of many and the ire of many more.
THIS WAS NOT MY DOING, but that of the current executive (under YOUR leadership).

To be continued ...

Manfred W. Vijars

manfredvijars
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Re: WHY - CONTINUED

Post by manfredvijars » Fri Sep 16, 2016 6:35 am

Recorded ....

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Rhonda Tallnash
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Re: WHY - CONTINUED

Post by Rhonda Tallnash » Sat Sep 17, 2016 8:01 am

Dear Forum Users

I am writing this as the last post I will be submitting on the ABPA Forum. A number of people have asked privately why the posts on this thread and on the other locked ‘Why?’ thread have been left there as they obviously contravene the ‘rules of use’, and in general there have been many questions about what’s happening? They have been left there deliberately at this stage to make a point.

I will reiterate, I would have spoken no more than four sentences to Mr. Vijars in my life – he is barely an acquaintance of mine - yet he seems to think he has the right to intimidate me by inference as I am part of the Executive and directly by accusing me of being a bully and abusive in private emails telling me I am ‘on the record’. I have copies of all correspondence.

The examples continue … Tom has received an email telling him ‘not to f^$& it (the ABPA) up any more than he has already’. The email I wrote to Bob Pacey which is on the other thread has also been labelled ‘aggressive’ by Bob in a private email to Tom. Members of the Executive have been telephoned late at night with veiled threats of being reported to the NSW Office of Fair Trading because we are in 'caretaker’ role, which, by the way, is nonsense as I spent time in lengthy talks with their legal arm yesterday to confirm our status. And the Forum posts just keep adding to it, especially when things settle back to poetry and apparently the pot needs to be stirred again.

I hope that any reasonable person would agree that I have the right to feel safe and not be harassed in my own home and I don’t have to be a nervous wreck sitting at my computer wondering what the next email or post will say about me. All this because the Executive took action to curtail libellous posts being written in our name and hopefully moved the Forum onto a place where poetry is enjoyed for the benefit of members. Yet the ABPA had the Facebook page commandeered without notice and had the page’s name changed but it was expected to remain running attached to the ABPA website. Again I believe sensible people can see this behaviour is unacceptable and comes with some agenda.

Last night I decided that for the sake of my health and well-being I can no longer tolerate being subjected to the malicious talk as noted on these threads coming from one person who seems to have some motive that eludes me. I will not be standing for Secretary of the ABPA at the next AGM and I believe every other member of the Executive and some Committee members and other people working behind the scenes will be standing down too.

I want to make it very clear that my decision has nothing to do with Tom McIlveen or anyone else in the ABPA and is solely due to the intimidation, defamation and threats I have been subjected to for the past eight months. The Executive with the Committee and other appointed people have worked together in an atmosphere of mutual respect, friendship and fun getting on with the job. We are a terrific team and it has been a pleasure to work with them building positive relationships and lasting friendships. Contrary to the comment made in the above post, the ABPA membership has been increasing steadily this year with new people coming on board to enjoy what we offer.

I urge all ABPA Members to seriously think about the consequences of having no office bearers after January 2017 unless a team of new people step up. I wish them every success and hope that they are shown some respect for the voluntary role they are undertaking in their spare time. As I said in the beginning, I will not be adding to this post or replying to any more inappropriate emails as I believe this explains it all. In conclusion I can’t help but think of the words of the British statesman, Edmund Burke, who said, and I will paraphrase to suit this occasion, “All that is necessary for the triumph of unacceptable behaviour (sic) is that good people (sic) do nothing.”

With (genuine) kindest regards to my poetry friends

Rhonda
Secretary - APBA
Last edited by Rhonda Tallnash on Sat Sep 17, 2016 3:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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David Campbell
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Re: WHY - CONTINUED

Post by David Campbell » Sat Sep 17, 2016 10:02 am

Dear Rhonda

It is very disturbing to get this insight into what has been going on behind the scenes and to learn something of what you and other members of the Executive have been going through. You certainly do have a right to feel safe in your own home, and the fact that this is having such an effect on your health (and, undoubtedly, that of other Executive members) underlines the seriousness of the situation.

I fully support the action that has been taken to limit (as far as it is possible in the circumstances) the risk of legal action against the ABPA, the Executive, and (significantly) forum moderators. As I have stated before, there have been a number of posts on the forum going back over some years that could, in my layman’s opinion, have prompted a charge of defamation. They certainly did not satisfy the conditions (reiterated by Tom in a separate thread) that apply to posts on this site. It puzzles me that some people do not appear to appreciate the steps that have been taken to protect the ABPA in an area where litigation is increasing and where boundaries are constantly being redrawn.

It is disappointing to hear that you and other committee members will not be continuing next year. I appreciate all that you and the others have done in obviously distressing circumstances…it is difficult enough finding people willing to put their names forward for the long hours involved in volunteer positions like this and, with the precedent that has been set here, it is likely to be even harder in the future. It is always possible to disagree with decisions that are taken, but there are appropriately respectful ways to do that and, from the evidence we have seen on this forum alone, common courtesy has been thrown out the window. And we can all draw our own conclusions from that.

I sincerely hope that nothing more is done to exacerbate the levels of stress to which you and the other Executive members have been subjected and that your health improves as soon as possible.

Best wishes
David

Terry
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Re: WHY - CONTINUED

Post by Terry » Sat Sep 17, 2016 11:01 am

I had hoped my little poem might have had the effect of pointing out how silly all this had been; sadly it seems to have had the opposite one.
As the poem says 'There are no winners here' and the ABPA is probably the biggest loser of all.

By all means remove the poem if you think it will help

Terry

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: WHY - CONTINUED

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Sun Sep 18, 2016 11:09 am

Hi, Rhonda.

I wish to echo David's words of support for you, and express my sadness and anger to hear of what you have had to suffer.

I don't understand much - perhaps most even - of what has been going on lately, but clearly it is intolerable and quite unacceptable that you should have to go through what you have.

I wish you all the very best for the future.

Stephen
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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