Tigers attempt to tame board challengers with constitution changeRohan Connolly
The Age
24 November 2016Richmond will attempt to make it harder for agitators to launch potential boardroom coups in a motion to be presented to their annual general meeting on December 14.
The Tigers, who have recently dealt with at least two potential board upheavals, are trying to change the club constitution, which currently requires the lodgement of only 100 signatures from the membership base to force an extraordinary general meeting.
The club wants to remove the 100-signature clause from their articles, making the minimum requirement five per cent of members eligible to vote, which would bring the club's constitution into line with the Corporations Act.
From a total membership of 72,000, the Tigers have approximately 50,000 eligible voters, which means an extraordinary general meeting petition would require at least 2500 signatures.
The move is one of a number of constitutional amendments Richmond is attempting to pass, including a limit on the tenure of club directors to only three terms.
Richmond president Peggy O'Neal told Fairfax Media on Wednesday that ultimately it would still be up to the membership base to determine whether such changes were acceptable. "The amendments to the constitution that we are putting to members to approve were recommended to the board by the club's governance committee after due consideration and legal advice," O'Neal said.
"The amendments cover a variety of topics and some changes are intended to bring us into line with current corporations law and others reflect best practice governance standards. Ultimately, our members will decide, but the board thinks that these are sensible changes."
Recent potential board challenges from "Focus on Football" and another group known as the "Malvern Hotel" group have been placated by the club, partly due to the proposal to limit directors' tenure, and by the recent appointment of former Tiger player Neil Balme to the role of football manager.
Richmond members are due to vote on two directorships in the lead-up to the AGM.
Incumbents Emmett Dunne and Kerry Ryan are both standing for re-election, but they are being challenged by two more candidates in Simon Wallace and Peter Casey.
Another director, former player Tony Free, who had one year left of his term, recently announced he was stepping down, though the vacancy left by his departure will be filled by a board nomination.
O'Neal has rebutted the popular allegation that the Richmond board has become stale, arguing that with Dunne and John O'Rourke having joined the committee in the past 12 months as well as chief executive Brendon Gale in a role as executive director, three of 10 directors have been in their roles for a year or less.
http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmond-attempt-to-tame-tiger-board-challengers-with-constitution-change-20161123-gsw1wi
