Board challengers question Tigers for protecting O'NealJon Pierik
The Age
24 November 2016The fight for a seat on the Richmond board has intensified, with challenger Peter Casey questioning why the Tigers have "ring-fenced" president Peggy O'Neal.
Voting opened last weekend ahead of the December 14 annual general meeting, and Casey, in releasing his prospectus to Tigers members, has taken aim at the call to allow O'Neal to be the board-appointed director.
The club's constitution allows the board to re-appoint one director ahead of elections each year, and the Tigers opted to protect O'Neal, leaving fellow incumbents Emmett Dunne and Kerry Ryan at the mercy of agitated members.
Casey told Fairfax Media on Thursday he believed O'Neal, after a poor on-field year by the Tigers, should have faced re-election.
"I think it's an interesting ploy from the club's perspective to effectively ring fence Peggy. She has been there since 2005 and I think she has faced one election in that period of time, and that was very early on in her appointment process," he said.
"If the club is confident, I am not sure why they wouldn't actually ask for a vote of confidence from the members in Peggy. Why would you actually pick one of the shortest serving members to face the election? It's just an unusual move. In the context of all the other things, it's a questionable move.
"Any one of those three that were up for election could be anointed as the appointed director and Peggy was the one that was chosen.
"In the mantra of stability, I understand that was probably a reasonable approach but I am not sure members actually agree the level of stability is actually the one we want."
Ryan and Dunne are standing for re-election and are being challenged by lawyer Simon Wallace and businessman Casey.
In a letter to members last week, O'Neal defended her reappointment.
"Appointed directors are important to ensure the board has the required skills to carry out its responsibilities," she said.
"It is sensible business practice and it was unanimously approved by members when constitutional amendments to permit appointments were presented at the club AGM four years ago."
In his message to members, Wallace also attacked O'Neal's automatic reappointment, declaring: "Leaders should not fear scrutiny or accountability; they should embrace it. I look forward to the club explaining this decision."
Tony Free, who has one year remaining on his term, will step down but he will be replaced by a board nomination.
Casey, a former assistant commissioner at the Australian Taxation Office, said he had "communicated" his thoughts to O'Neal but had not been able to meet in person.
He said the Tigers had not been clear in the "skill sets" they were looking for in potential directors.
"Even if you look at Peggy's comments about Emmett, certainly there are a lot of skills there, but it doesn't actually articulate which skill Emmett brings to the board which makes it worthwhile appointing him. That's not a criticism of Emmett, it's just a process issue I have got in the way they approach it," he said.
Dunne, however, released his skill set in his campaign statement. He is a former Tigers premiership player and distinguished police officer, including being the Assistant Commissioner of the Professional Standards Command. He also holds a Graduate Diploma of Business (Management) and a Diploma of Training & Assessment Systems.
Casey said the decision by Chris Yarran to quit the Tigers this week to deal with mental health issues called for a greater focus on the wellbeing of all players at the club, prompting the need for greater psychological help.
"I am really worried people are going to think I am trading on Chris' health and that's not what I am doing. I think it has been evident for a long period now that we need to pay attention to young persons' minds," he said.
"They are walking into a very stressful environment, a highly demanding environment, an unusual environment."
The Tigers' welfare department, however, worked closely with Yarran and his management to help him deal with his issues.
Casey has also called for less reliance on pokies revenue, greater consistency in the tone of yellow used as part of the club's branding and wants a greater social media presence and greater rewards for long-term members.
He reiterated his call that coach Damien Hardwick had 10 matches to save his job next season. Hardwick is contracted until the end of 2018.
"I probably went a bit harder than other candidates. 'Dimma' has had seven years – I did say last year I didn't think Dimma was getting the support he needed," he said.
"Now the club seems to have had that same opinion following the review. We'll see whether in actual fact he can be the coach he needs to be for this club."
After a tumultuous off-season, the Tigers are seeking to change the club constitution, increasing the number of member signatures from 100 to a minimum of five per cent to force an extraordinary general meeting. They also want to limit the tenure of club directors to only three terms.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmond-under-fire-from-board-challengers-for-protecting-peggy-oneal-in-election-20161124-gswfbe.html
