There's a 2009 version of the rules for ABPA written and performance competitions at:
http://bushfestival.com.au/wordpress/wp ... _Rules.pdf
It has a link to the list of approved judges for written competitions, but it goes nowhere.
I have a photocopy of that list as at June 1, 2009. It was published in the June/July issue of the magazine. It contains 16 names, but is clearly out of date and Kym and I are the only residents of this website on it.
The biggest problem with judging comes, in an extension of Terry's comment, when organisers ask a local 'celebrity' to do it...a radio announcer, the mayor's wife, the president of the golf club etc. etc. They're chosen for their status in the community, to add some PR to the event, not because they've got the faintest clue about poetry. That's when you get some really weird results.
Everybody who's serious about written competitions should have to judge at least one...100+ entries, with instructions to pick the top five, in order. It's the only way to gain any perspective on the range of material submitted and the time involved.
David