Proposed changes to the nzlarps constitution

nzLARPS
#1

Hello

Please see the changes that I am proposing that NZLARPS makes to the constitution here

Noted changes include:

  1. Changing the name (which is correct everywhere except on the Constitution) to New Zealand Live Action Role Playing Society (as apposed to “Play”)
  2. Adding clauses for online voting for members not in Auckland
  3. Taking out the restriction of 2 year term on the Presidency
  4. General clean up of teh constitution

All the changes are highlighted in yellow, and the clause for removal (which is currently in the constitution) is highlighted red with lines through it.

Voting will be held on the changes at the AGM on the 16/09/2009.

Thank you

Nikki

[Public consultation]: Regional structure
#2

Have we considered the following?

  1. change “NZ LARPS” to “NZLARPS” in the Name section.
  2. change “Live Action Role-Play” to “live action role playing” everywhere it occurs.
#3
  1. Change the line “6. ANNUAL SUPSCRIPTIONS” on page 4 to “6. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS”
  2. Change the line “7. FAILURE TO PAY SUBSCRITPTIONS OR LEVIES ETC” on page 4 to “7. FAILURE TO PAY SUBSCRIPTIONS OR LEVIES ETC”
  3. Change the line “potentially into joining nzLARPS. Coordinate marketing campaigns” on page 8 to “potentially into joining NZLARPS. Coordinate marketing campaigns”

[quote]34. SERVICE OF NOTICES
Every notice required to be given to the members or any of them shall deem to have been duly delivered if posted to him in a prepared letter addressed to him at his last known address as set out in the Register of Members.
[/quote]
Maybe consider adding email in as an appropriate way of serving notices?

Steph

#4
  1. State that electronic votes (and/or proxy votes) count towards a quorum. Otherwise when the number of members outside the town where the meeting takes place increases, it will become impossible to meet the minimum number required for a quorom.
#5

This is all good stuff, thank you Ryan and Steph. Since we’ve opened the constitution can of woms, would people prefer if we shifted the AGM out by a week or two (to late September) in order to allow for more room to discuss proposed changes to the constitution? I’m particularly interested in catching embarassing mistakes (like the society name being wrong, inconsistencies, spelling errors) as well as starting to implement provisions for making the society a more national machine - such as our new provision for distance voting.

#6

I think this is a good idea, even if we just move it out a week.

#7

I propose that the role of President has a prerequisite of having at some point served a term within the Committee. This means that the candidate can propose realistic changes and has a realistic understanding of how the society actually runs. Furthermore this is a safeguard from rookie mistakes during the early days of the President’s term.

#8

[quote=“Uncle Vanya”]11.
I propose that the role of President has a prerequisite of having at some point served a term within the Committee. This means that the candidate can propose realistic changes and has a realistic understanding of how the society actually runs. Furthermore this is a safeguard from rookie mistakes during the early days of the President’s term.[/quote]

Seconded

12;
Persons must be nomitated for any position in the committee by another member of NZLARPS, and seconded similarly. (ie remove the nominating one’s self side of things)
The reasoning is to broaden the required amount of confidence for any given role, and ensure people on the committee are actually wanted there and viewed as capable by more than one other person.

#9

[quote=“TequilaDave”]

12;
Persons must be nomitated for any position in the committee by another member of NZLARPS, and seconded similarly. (ie remove the nominating one’s self side of things)
The reasoning is to broaden the required amount of confidence for any given role, and ensure people on the committee are actually wanted there and viewed as capable by more than one other person.[/quote]

Seconded

#10

[quote=“TequilaDave”]
12;
Persons must be nomitated for any position in the committee by another member of NZLARPS, and seconded similarly. (ie remove the nominating one’s self side of things)
The reasoning is to broaden the required amount of confidence for any given role, and ensure people on the committee are actually wanted there and viewed as capable by more than one other person.[/quote]

(Devil’s Advocate) Isn’t this what voting is about? The person that gets in will probably get more than the person that seconded them voting for them…I mean you need a broader amount of confidence to get voted in than to get nominated in either case either if its 1 or 2 other members involved in the nomination process. Isn’t getting the majority vote enough? Wont the only people that this will eliminate be those people with only 1 supporter who are unlikely to get in anyway?(/Devil’s Advocate)

Although it does mean less speeches.

#11

Summary of Proposed Changes to the nzLARPS Constitution to be voted on at the AGM on September 30th.

The Committee of nzLARPS proposes the following changes be made to the constitution of the society:

1. Correcting Our Name, Part 1
Section (1) be changed to “NEW ZEALAND LIVE ACTION ROLE PLAYING SOCIETY INCORPORATED” since that is the name we are registered under, is on our bank account, our common seal etc. In addition, further change to Section (1) that the abbreviated form of the society name be “NZLARPS Inc” instead of “NZ LARPS Inc” since that is what is most commonly called.

2. Correct the Name of Our Hobby
Change “Live Action Role-Play” to “live action role playing” in all occurences in the constitution

3. Correcting Spelling Errors, Part 1
Change the line “6. ANNUAL SUPSCRIPTIONS” on page 4 to “6. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS”

4. Correcting Spelling Errors, Part 2
Change the line “7. FAILURE TO PAY SUBSCRITPTIONS OR LEVIES ETC” on page 4 to “7. FAILURE TO PAY SUBSCRIPTIONS OR LEVIES ETC”

5. Correcting Our Name, Part 2
Change the line “potentially into joining nzLARPS. Coordinate marketing campaigns” on page 8 to “potentially into joining NZLARPS. Coordinate marketing campaigns”

6. Registered Office Made Generic
Section (28) “Registered Office” - propose to change the specific address listed in the constitution to “The Registered Office of the Society will be determined within seven (7) days of the Annual General Meeting and advertised to all members of the Society.”

7. Removal Term Limit on Position of President
Section (19c) is proposed for removal - the clause limiting any president to two consecutive terms.

8. Imposition of Requirements for those Running for President
Amendment to Section 19 - No member may hold the office of President or Regional Director until they have served one full term in any other office.

9. Service of Notices to Include Email
Section (34) “Service of Notices” be amended to include email as follows: “Every notice required to be given to the members or any of them shall deem to have been duly delivered if posted to him in a prepared letter addressed to him at his last known address or sent to his registered email address as set out in the Register of Members.”

10. The Addition of Regional Branches to the Constitution.

This addition encompasses several changes. We propose that we add a new section to the constitution, a new Section (11) entitled “Formation of Regional Branches” which reads:

From time to time, at the discretion of the Central Committee, a regional branch of the Society may be formed to facilitate the adminstration of the Society’s activities for a given region. The Regional Branches shall be formed as thus:

(a) The region must define its geographical boundaries and demonstrate a volume of activity within it that requires, or will soon require, the presence of its own administrative body to act on behalf of the Society.
(b) The Regional Branch must properly incorporate as a regional branch as per the requirements of the Incorporated Societies Act of New Zealand
© The Regional Branch will be bound by the Constitution of the Society and society procedures regarding project and affiliate status, and financial reporting.
(d) The Regional Branch will hold Annual General Meetings as set out in Sections 12, 13 and 14 and elect a Regional Committee as detailed in Section “Appointment and Removal of Committee”
(d) The Regional Branch will be responsible for the keeping of its own accounts and the Regional Treasurer will work with the National Treasurer for the preparation of the annual accounts.

10 a) Regional AGMs
Section entitled “Annual General Meeting” be amended to “The Annual General Meeting shall be held once a year by each regional branch of the Society simultaenously upon the date and at the time and place to be fixed by the President or in his default absence or inability the Committee for the following purposes:”

10 b) Central Committee vs. Regional Committee
And a change to define the Central Committee as the committee based in the Auckland region, and regional committees as committees in all other regions. I am not certian which section would be best to include this in.

10 c) Clarification of Appointment of Regional Committees
And an amendment to the section “Appointment and Removal of Committee” whereby an additional clause is added as b) Each regional branch shall at every Annual General Meeting elect a Regional Committee consisting of a Regional Director, Regional Treasurer, Regional Secretary, Regional Equipment Officer, Regional Marketing Officer who shall hold office until resignation expulsion suspension or removal from office or election of successors to office. They may, at their discretion, also appoint up to 2 General Officers.

(all other clauses are moved down in numbering)

10 d) Changes to the Constitution under a society with more than one branch
31(a) The Constitution may be altered added to or rescinded or otherwise amended by resolution passed by a two-third majority of the total number of members of the Society present at General Meeting of which fourteen (14) days notice has been given and distance voting provisions put in place as in 12(e) to allow regional regional branches to vote in order to most fully represent all members of the society.

11. Distance Voting Electronically
Proposed addition of: 12(e) Members of the Society who have their place of residence outside the city in which the Regional AGM or SGM is being held and who are unable to attend the AGM for this reason a provision is made for distance voting whereby the voting forms will be made available at a pre-advertised time electronically and they must within an advertised time frame be returned to a pre-determined email address to be counted by the scrutineers.

(For example, if the Wellington region is having a meeting but you live in Palmerston North, you may vote electronically. If you belong to the Auckland region but live in Hamilton, you may vote electronically)

12. De-Centralising the Society - Alternative to Amendment 10
An alternative option to having the Central Committee based in Auckland as proposed in Amendment 10, and all others being regional committees is to have the Auckland committee be simply a regional committee. This version proposes that the head of the Auckland committee is a regional director and the role of President is a national one. The benefit of this would be not having Auckland as the “head” of the society and allowing members in other cities to have the chance to step into the role. This requires the following two amendments to the constitution:

12 a) The creation of Regional Directors
Section 18 (original numbering) “Structure of Committee” reads:
Each committee shall consist of seven (7) members, comprising of a President, Treasurer, Secretary, Project Officer, Equipment Officer, Marketing Officer, and two other general Committee

Regional Director
Responsible for overall running of committee and society for the region. Promote the vision of the society, chair committee meetings, work for consensus in the committee. Attend meetings as regional representative of the society. Co-ordinate with other regional directors and Society President to ensure cooperation across the country in advancing the aims and visions of the society.

etc. (the rest is unamended)

12 b) The President
The addition of a new section entitled “Society President” to read: "The President of the society shall be responsible for overall running of society, promoting the vision of the society, chair committee meetings, work for consensus in the committee, cast deciding vote in case of ties, attend meetings as society representative, liaising with all regional directors to coordinate the workings of the Society across New Zealand, managing matters related to the core function of the society, the first point of contact for those wishing to contact the society.

a) The President shall be selected from amongst the elected committee members across all regions
b) The President shall be voted on by the total members of the society across all regions during the Annual General Meeting.

Okay, that’s it. The big point of debate are going to be around the creation of regional branches, and whether Auckland will claim the position of central committee and the head of the Auckland region will also be the head of the society, or if the President will be an extra position.

Debate, discussion, feedback, corrections - go! :smiley:

Edit: Fixed numbering and clarified that Proposed Amendment 12 is an ALTERNATIVE to Amendment 10, rather than concurrent with it.

#12

First up, I think your numbering is off - should it be 12 from De-Centralising the Society onwards?

As to decentralising itself - ammendements 10 and 12 are somewhat at odds.

If there is to be an over-arching entity NZLARPS, which functions as a legal entity, then will it not need an over-arching committee to manage the yearly accounts etc? It also gives NZLARPS a body to operate at a national level, rather than a group of sub-committees that can only operate regionally. There should to be an actual governing of NZLARPS that these regional committees report back to, and by ammendment 10 which adds the provisions for the regional enitities requires it be sanctioned/actioned/whatever by a central committee anyway.

Given the majority of the NZ population (and from this, the majority of the LARPing population) is based in Auckland, it makes sense that whatever over-governing entity be based there.

[quote]
11 a) The creation of Regional Directors
Section 18 (original numbering) “Structure of Committee” reads:
Each committee shall consist of seven (7) members, comprising of a [color=#BF0000]President[/color], Treasurer, Secretary, Project Officer, Equipment Officer, Marketing Officer, and two other general Committee[/quote]

I assume this is meant to be “regional director”? God help us if there was more than one president…

Along this line, 10c and 12a (11a) disagree as to what a regional committee shall have in terms of members. Director/Treasurer/Secretary/Geardude, with up to two general officers for marketing/other should surely suffice for the regionals? This also leaves the ambiguous project manager role at a national level, which would mean all projects can be default be considered national as well but operate under whaterver regional office they subscribe to, while retaining the flexibility to move regions.
(Ie, Knightshade operates under the Auckland committee and reports to them as such, but if they wanted to run a game in Wellington’s area of operation they could ask the Wellington committee for the support - which would work because the game would be for the benefit of Wellingtonians so any money should flow from and to those coffers, rather than Auckland’s.)

As to AGMs - it may not be feasible for absolutely all committees to have theirs on exactly the same night, and if there is one committee that has national topics to address then the agm for that committee may need to be held before/after for unforseen reasons (ie nominations/election of the NZLARPS president, which can only be done once we know who all the regional committee members are so we know who to pick from). Can it be changed that all committees must have their AGMs within the same calendar month, I believe one was suggested elsewhere to coincide with the financial year for the society…

#13

[quote=“Cameron”][quote=“TequilaDave”]
12;
Persons must be nomitated for any position in the committee by another member of NZLARPS, and seconded similarly. (ie remove the nominating one’s self side of things)
The reasoning is to broaden the required amount of confidence for any given role, and ensure people on the committee are actually wanted there and viewed as capable by more than one other person.[/quote]

(Devil’s Advocate) Isn’t this what voting is about? The person that gets in will probably get more than the person that seconded them voting for them…I mean you need a broader amount of confidence to get voted in than to get nominated in either case either if its 1 or 2 other members involved in the nomination process. Isn’t getting the majority vote enough? Wont the only people that this will eliminate be those people with only 1 supporter who are unlikely to get in anyway?(/Devil’s Advocate)

Although it does mean less speeches.[/quote]

Not being a devil’s advocate at all, I think it’s a bad idea. As Cameron points out, the winners have the mandate of the community because they receive the votes. Who nominates them is irrelevant. Being nominated but not elected doesn’t give you bragging rights, it’s not the Oscars. I also think that people nominating themselves makes perfect sense, because it shows they are willing to make the commitment to doing the work. These aren’t honorary positions, they take some dedication.

It’s also worth noting that the online nominations aren’t official, they all have to be repeated in person at the AGM to count. It’s usually a formality, but still.

I also see the “President must have served a term” as unnecessary. Someone may come along who has more experience at running other organisations than any existing member, and the society may decide they want them. The President is an elected position, so there’s no need for restrictions.

I hope we are given the opportunity to vote on these late additions separately to the necessary regional amendments.

#14

The catch there is that anyone with such experience is more than likely doing so as part of their employment, and given the amount of time/energy involved either won’t want to or won’t be able to due to limits on their time and energy. Also, given the uniqueness of NZLARPS, unless we’re about to start drawing members from other such bodies like student political groups, actual political groups (or more from those polititicians we do have, who happen to have substantial amounts of spare time, of which I can’t name a single one…), or other hobby groups, then more than likely organisational experience is something we’re going to have to create ourselves.
And to that point - organisational experience - part of this term requirement was so that whoever does go to president has a full and clear grasp of how NZLARPS works, and the community it serves. Experience elsewhere is fine, and probably useful, but the people organising us should understand what we’re about and what we want - and Joe Blogs, ex-president of the North Island Paint Watchers and Grass Growers Assn. (5 years running), isn’t going to have the slightest clue.

#15

Surely the membership as a whole can decide that, when they vote for president? I don’t like the idea of being told I can’t vote for someone.

#16

It’s not about telling you who you (or anyone else, for that matter) can and can’t vote for, more ensuring that anyone wanting to try for what is essentially the Captain’s Hat first proving a; they have the wits about them to manage the herd of cats that is the NZLARPS community, b; actually demonstrating they are willing to put up the time and energy for it, and c; giving a time buffer from both their perspective and that of the larp community as a whole for them to get to know us (if they don’t already), learn how our community works, and gauge how it grows, before jumping in the deep end.

This is all stuff that would happen by due course anyway - adding it to the constitution just means things don’t get rushed. All of it is pointed towards making sure that whoever ends up at the top isn’t going to rock in purely on charm and good intentions, and completely balls everything up - because right now that’s the last thing we need.

#17

The only advantage of requiring a year spent on the committee as a prerequisite to standing as president is that the role of president can’t be captured by an organised bloc vote by a bunch of new members intent on a takeover. In which case, they would bloc vote themselves a plurality on the committe. IOW, it’s not much of a use, really.

I’m with Ryan. I know plenty of larpers who possess the required skills to be president. One of these qualities is being passionate and engaged in community organisations, a quality that will see them on committees other than the NZLARPS committee. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I’d rather vote for the president I feel is best for the job, unhindered by some arbitrary decision that restricts who can stand.

I’ve been on many committees, including being a founding committee member of NZLARPS for a tenure of 3 years. I can say this without any cynicism: there’s nothing particularly special about the NZLARPS committee. Sure, if it’s the first one you have ever been on, I can understand why you would want a president who knows how a good committee should run. But that experience is in no way singular to NZLARPS.

So, do we get to vote on these amendments as individual items (assuming related items are grouped together e.g. name change, regionalisation) ?

#18

What issues would an over-arching national head or committee need to contend with?
Is there a problem with just having regional establishments that work within their own area?
For only two sites it seems a bit much at the current time to be having three committees or even more presidents/regional heads.

#19

[quote=“TequilaDave”]First up, I think your numbering is off - should it be 12 from De-Centralising the Society onwards?

As to decentralising itself - ammendements 10 and 12 are somewhat at odds.

If there is to be an over-arching entity NZLARPS, which functions as a legal entity, then will it not need an over-arching committee to manage the yearly accounts etc? It also gives NZLARPS a body to operate at a national level, rather than a group of sub-committees that can only operate regionally. There should to be an actual governing of NZLARPS that these regional committees report back to, and by ammendment 10 which adds the provisions for the regional enitities requires it be sanctioned/actioned/whatever by a central committee anyway.

Given the majority of the NZ population (and from this, the majority of the LARPing population) is based in Auckland, it makes sense that whatever over-governing entity be based there.

[quote]
11 a) The creation of Regional Directors
Section 18 (original numbering) “Structure of Committee” reads:
Each committee shall consist of seven (7) members, comprising of a [color=#BF0000]President[/color], Treasurer, Secretary, Project Officer, Equipment Officer, Marketing Officer, and two other general Committee[/quote]

I assume this is meant to be “regional director”? God help us if there was more than one president…

Along this line, 10c and 12a (11a) disagree as to what a regional committee shall have in terms of members. Director/Treasurer/Secretary/Geardude, with up to two general officers for marketing/other should surely suffice for the regionals? This also leaves the ambiguous project manager role at a national level, which would mean all projects can be default be considered national as well but operate under whaterver regional office they subscribe to, while retaining the flexibility to move regions.
(Ie, Knightshade operates under the Auckland committee and reports to them as such, but if they wanted to run a game in Wellington’s area of operation they could ask the Wellington committee for the support - which would work because the game would be for the benefit of Wellingtonians so any money should flow from and to those coffers, rather than Auckland’s.)

As to AGMs - it may not be feasible for absolutely all committees to have theirs on exactly the same night, and if there is one committee that has national topics to address then the agm for that committee may need to be held before/after for unforseen reasons (ie nominations/election of the NZLARPS president, which can only be done once we know who all the regional committee members are so we know who to pick from). Can it be changed that all committees must have their AGMs within the same calendar month, I believe one was suggested elsewhere to coincide with the financial year for the society…[/quote]

Dave - amendements 10 and 12 were an “either or” option, as in, we were proposing a choice between two different structures, so ONE would be passed, not both.

Option A (Proposed Amendment 10) proposes that the Auckland committee becomes the Central Committee and all others become regional committees reporting to the Central Committee. In this case there is only one national President based in Auckland, and all other regions have a regional director who co-ordinates with the President.

Option B (Proposed Amendment 12) offers a structure whereby there is no central committee rather a collection of regional committees operating on an equal footing, with the position of President not necesserarily being tied to Auckland.

My personal opinion that at this stage of the society (with our first regional branch opening in Wellington) the first option is the most efficient but if we end up being lucky enough to have as many as three, four, five or more regional branches (for when larping becomes the national past time of New Zealand, replacing rugby :wink: ) we might need to look an option more like Option B.

I hope this addresses your concerns.

#20

Yes, that is correct. Each proposed amendment will be voted on individually. I’m hoping that voting on correcting spelling mistakes will be a fairly straightforward matter.