Arbitration hearing - Western Force v ARU - 31.07.2017

[cedric rainwater]

And isn't it the bank that's in a lot of trouble at the moment that he was employed by?

no, he was with NAB (where he netted at least $9.5 million).
and guess what, he's walked into another job as chairman of 'whitecoat" because,
"Cameron Clyne's experience and passion for improving the transparency and decision-making of every day Australians is invaluable to Whitecoat and this will have a significant impact on the healthcare journey of millions of Australians."

[Kalahard]

Clynes previous success -

http://www.news.com.au/finance/busin...b70cc7e7ed51cc

HUNDREDS of job losses are looming at National Australia Bank as chief executive Cameron Clyne moves to cut up to $1 billion in costs from the bank's bottom line.
It comes as Mr Clyne tries to revamp the laggard of the big four after a heavy fall in profitability as its misfiring UK business weighs on the group's performance.
In a major update to investors tomorrow, Mr Clyne is expected to reshuffle his leadership team and lay out his plans for the next stage of NAB's rebuilding program.
But leading banking analysts warn while the market is likely to support the thrust of the revamp, Mr Clyne's future remains under a cloud.
He is rapidly approaching his fifth anniversary in the role - a mark seen by many in the corporate world as the standard shelf-life for chief executives at Australia's biggest companies.
"He may want to stay on but he will need to get some runs on the board pretty quickly," one banking expert told BusinessDaily.

[travelling_gerry]

ANDREW FORREST STATEMENT

Today Western Australian of the Year, Mr Forrest AO said the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) continues to show itself to be totally incapable of explaining the deliberate harm it has done to the reputation of Australian sport – rugby in particular, through its illogical decision to axe the Western Force.

“I, like members of the sporting community all over Australia, demand a complete overhaul of the board,” Mr Forrest said.

“The ARU insists the process used, to choose a team to axe, was critical to the future of Australian rugby,” Mr Forrest said. “However, if such a decision was made through an unfair and, what is emerging slowly to light, a secretive process then the Chair, and the remaining board members, must stand aside immediately.”

The selection process, and board discussion, was made when one director – a Western Australian – was constantly excluded. This was not a fair and open decision and the Western Force have been denied the most basic principles of transparency and natural justice.

Geoff Stooke quit the board in protest of the decision to axe the Western Force – the country’s second most successful team and one that has produced no less than six Wallabies this year.

Mr Forrest said the ARU board has not published its reasons for its decision because it knows that it will be vilified for its lack of even the most basic credibility.
It’s time to appoint an independent board to allow Super Rugby to have a chance to repair and to succeed and, that means, with the Western Force firmly in place.

[travelling_gerry]

GEOFFREY STOOKE ARU BOARD RESIGNATION STATEMENT

At approximately 3.30pm (WST) yesterday afternoon I resigned from the Australian Rugby Union Board.

I did this as a consequence of the Australian Rugby Union Board’s decision to remove the Western Force from the Super Rugby competition. I did not participate in this decision, as over the past two months I had been recused from all Board meetings, teleconferences & discussions on the Super Rugby ‘culling’ process. Yesterday I advised that I would no longer recuse myself but the Chairman believed I couldn’t do that & agreed to provide me legal advice supporting his opinion. It was never forthcoming.

I joined the Board in 2012 as the Director nominated by the ‘Other Member Unions’ & I was subsequently reappointed as an Independent Director when the major governance reform occurred. I would like to sincerely the ‘Other Member Unions’ for their early support & all Members of the Australian Rugby Union for their ongoing support.

Whilst I always acted in the best interests of all Australian rugby, my background has enabled me to also offer contributions with a perspective that included the needs & issues relating to the community game, Super Rugby & non-heartland Member Unions.

Over the five & a half years I have been on the Board, there have been times when I have had very different views on issues to those of some of my fellow Board members & those of management. However, I always believed it was better that I be ‘inside the tent’ rather than offering commentary from ‘outside the tent’. Importantly, whilst I expressed my views within the Board, once decisions were taken I then supported them privately & publicly. As was my fiduciary responsibility!

Recent events have been difficult for me & I have fought strongly to retain five Super teams, to honour various commitments to players, fans, governments, sponsors & others, to maintain a national footprint for our game & to avoid possible expensive & brand damaging legal actions. It was not simply me trying to save the Western Force because of my previous association with that team. I strongly believe it is not strategically sound to remove a team, particularly given recent positive financial initiatives with the two ‘at risk’ teams.

Sadly, I lost the battle & I was the only dissenting vote on the Board earlier in the year when the Board resolved to remove a team. This resolution was subsequently supported by an extraordinary meeting of the Australian Rugby Union.

Today’s decision means that over sixty players & staff will lose their jobs, have their families disrupted, a Member Union will lose its elite rugby team & the pathway to elite rugby for Western Australian players will be lost. I believe they all deserved better. We can talk about investing in this & that but just remember, we are not talking about a corporate overhead but a team that is made up of hardworking & committed people!

This decision is not about the financial viability of teams but an opportunity to reallocate financial resources in what I believe is in response to pressure & demands from various vocal rugby interest groups in relation to community rugby funding. Unfortunately, the demands were not fact base but the damage is now done. Of course, we would like to invest more in grassroots & other areas but removing a Super team to do this is not the answer.

I was opposed to the inclusion of an Argentinian team & a Japanese team in Super Rugby. Without doubt, the failure of such an unwieldy, unattractive & more expensive competition has contributed to the demise of an Australian Super Rugby team & the future demise of rugby in Western Australia. They did not deserve this!

Opportunistically, concerns regarding the competition structure provided the leverage to negotiate the removal of an Australian team! Removing a Super team & retaining the same level of broadcasting revenue was attractive to some.

When the Rebels were experiencing significant financial issues prior to private ownership, the need for a national footprint for our game & the avoidance of reputational damage were high priorities. Significant financial assistance was provided. This has certainly changed now, with the loss of our national footprint & the players, fans & supporters in Western Australia being denied the opportunity to watch live or play elite rugby in Perth.

I never wanted to throw any team under the ‘bus’ but to create a situation that considers retaining a team that has lost almost $30million (including nearly $17.5million additional cost to the ARU) since 2011 at the expense of a team that has incurred additional cost to the ARU of only $5.5million since 2005 is outrageous! We should be rewarding success not failure. To introduce financial criteria that have nothing to do with the financial viability of each term is less than appropriate.

An appropriate consultation process was never in place & in my view the Western Force was always being targeted for removal. This was simply because they were seen to be the easiest to remove contractually but they were not the team that deserved to be removed. The process lacked due diligence & contained significant levels of bias.

My passion & love for the game goes back over sixty years & has never diminished- & will not diminish! It has been a long journey with over 50 years playing, over 40 years coaching & over 30 years as an administrator. However, without a doubt today is my all-time low point in the game.

However, my thoughts are with the people who will be impacted by this decision today. I wish them all the best in what I know is a difficult time. They may only be a ‘desk top study’ at St Leonards but they are real people, they are many & they deserved so much better.

The Australian Rugby Union is the custodian of the game of rugby in Australia, not simply the custodian of the business of rugby.

In conclusion, all the best to RugbyWA in their future efforts to address the very difficult events of today.

Kind regards,

Geoffrey Stooke OAM

[Jules]

GEOFFREY STOOKE ARU BOARD RESIGNATION STATEMENT

At approximately 3.30pm (WST) yesterday afternoon I resigned from the Australian Rugby Union Board.

I did this as a consequence of the Australian Rugby Union Board’s decision to remove the Western Force from the Super Rugby competition. I did not participate in this decision, as over the past two months I had been recused from all Board meetings, teleconferences & discussions on the Super Rugby ‘culling’ process. Yesterday I advised that I would no longer recuse myself but the Chairman believed I couldn’t do that & agreed to provide me legal advice supporting his opinion. It was never forthcoming.

I joined the Board in 2012 as the Director nominated by the ‘Other Member Unions’ & I was subsequently reappointed as an Independent Director when the major governance reform occurred. I would like to sincerely the ‘Other Member Unions’ for their early support & all Members of the Australian Rugby Union for their ongoing support.

Whilst I always acted in the best interests of all Australian rugby, my background has enabled me to also offer contributions with a perspective that included the needs & issues relating to the community game, Super Rugby & non-heartland Member Unions.

Over the five & a half years I have been on the Board, there have been times when I have had very different views on issues to those of some of my fellow Board members & those of management. However, I always believed it was better that I be ‘inside the tent’ rather than offering commentary from ‘outside the tent’. Importantly, whilst I expressed my views within the Board, once decisions were taken I then supported them privately & publicly. As was my fiduciary responsibility!

Recent events have been difficult for me & I have fought strongly to retain five Super teams, to honour various commitments to players, fans, governments, sponsors & others, to maintain a national footprint for our game & to avoid possible expensive & brand damaging legal actions. It was not simply me trying to save the Western Force because of my previous association with that team. I strongly believe it is not strategically sound to remove a team, particularly given recent positive financial initiatives with the two ‘at risk’ teams.

Sadly, I lost the battle & I was the only dissenting vote on the Board earlier in the year when the Board resolved to remove a team. This resolution was subsequently supported by an extraordinary meeting of the Australian Rugby Union.

Today’s decision means that over sixty players & staff will lose their jobs, have their families disrupted, a Member Union will lose its elite rugby team & the pathway to elite rugby for Western Australian players will be lost. I believe they all deserved better. We can talk about investing in this & that but just remember, we are not talking about a corporate overhead but a team that is made up of hardworking & committed people!

This decision is not about the financial viability of teams but an opportunity to reallocate financial resources in what I believe is in response to pressure & demands from various vocal rugby interest groups in relation to community rugby funding. Unfortunately, the demands were not fact base but the damage is now done. Of course, we would like to invest more in grassroots & other areas but removing a Super team to do this is not the answer.

I was opposed to the inclusion of an Argentinian team & a Japanese team in Super Rugby. Without doubt, the failure of such an unwieldy, unattractive & more expensive competition has contributed to the demise of an Australian Super Rugby team & the future demise of rugby in Western Australia. They did not deserve this!

Opportunistically, concerns regarding the competition structure provided the leverage to negotiate the removal of an Australian team! Removing a Super team & retaining the same level of broadcasting revenue was attractive to some.

When the Rebels were experiencing significant financial issues prior to private ownership, the need for a national footprint for our game & the avoidance of reputational damage were high priorities. Significant financial assistance was provided. This has certainly changed now, with the loss of our national footprint & the players, fans & supporters in Western Australia being denied the opportunity to watch live or play elite rugby in Perth.

I never wanted to throw any team under the ‘bus’ but to create a situation that considers retaining a team that has lost almost $30million (including nearly $17.5million additional cost to the ARU) since 2011 at the expense of a team that has incurred additional cost to the ARU of only $5.5million since 2005 is outrageous! We should be rewarding success not failure. To introduce financial criteria that have nothing to do with the financial viability of each term is less than appropriate.

An appropriate consultation process was never in place & in my view the Western Force was always being targeted for removal. This was simply because they were seen to be the easiest to remove contractually but they were not the team that deserved to be removed. The process lacked due diligence & contained significant levels of bias.

My passion & love for the game goes back over sixty years & has never diminished- & will not diminish! It has been a long journey with over 50 years playing, over 40 years coaching & over 30 years as an administrator. However, without a doubt today is my all-time low point in the game.

However, my thoughts are with the people who will be impacted by this decision today. I wish them all the best in what I know is a difficult time. They may only be a ‘desk top study’ at St Leonards but they are real people, they are many & they deserved so much better.

The Australian Rugby Union is the custodian of the game of rugby in Australia, not simply the custodian of the business of rugby.

In conclusion, all the best to RugbyWA in their future efforts to address the very difficult events of today.

Kind regards,

Geoffrey Stooke OAM

Damning stuff!

[Alison]

What an absolute gentleman and a scholar Mr Stooke is. Unlike his erstwhile colleagues :-

Conniving Clyne
Patsy Pulver
Colonic Clarke
Toad Day
Judas Eeels
Brett Robot
Lizzy BoDerek
Pip Longstocking
Pablo MeClean
Ann Whiskey

The Artful Reprehensible Underhandedness (ARU) needs to be razed to the ground under a scorched earth policy often used by specialists in the art of warcraft.

Oh and if I was a Force player who was a paid up member of RUPA, I'd resign in disgust immediately. They appear to have done absolutely sweet FA except muddy the waters with a poorly thought through EGM, strangely enough in concert with the VRU if I remember correctly.

[John Edwards]

I love the fighting attitude John and Hansie and I cannot thank you enough for your untiring efforts. But to be perfectly honest, all I see from here is more lawyers fees and more delays while our players and coaches walk out the door as they need stability and certainty for their families as much as themselves. I know the ARU has pledged to honour all their contracts, but does that mean they will do so without strings attached? I mean, will they change their minds as soon as the injunction is in force to say they will only honour it if they sign with another Australian club by 20 August? They are capable of any act of bastardry - even using unborn babies like Tess's as bartering chips.

We are not dealing with nice, kind citizens here. We are dealing with conniving and corrupt tossers who appear to have even the NSW legal fraternity in their pockets. These guys do not play fair. They are charlatans who have no moral compass and endless ways to cheat and lie like there is no tomorrow.

Please forgive me but my well of hope is now bone dry. How could we have lost that hearing when we supposedly had a watertight case? What exactly is a 'technicality'? In my experience that usually means a stuff up by the people who prepared the case for the side who lost. I chucked $1000 of my own hard-earned money into the legal fund (without any acknowledgement by the way). So forgive me if I'm a little bit pissed off at the thought that our legal team may have stuffed up.

Anyway, having got that off my chest, I remain, as ever, right behind you at RugbyWA and will continue to do everything in my power to prevent the dirty rotten corrupt bastards in NSW la la land from destroying rugby in this country any more than they already have.

Alison,
Can't fault anything you have said. You know I'm just as shattered as everyone else. The Arbitrator ruled that there was enough of a change to the broadcast deals to constitute a change of the Term. We argued that the Terms were fundamentally unchanged and the revisions were not significant enough to substantiate a means by which our "Alliance Agreement " could be terminated. The Arbitration was never about what is right or wrong but simply and precisely what was written in the agreement.
We will argue that the ruling was flawed and seek an appeal. We will injunct again if we need to. The Government is also considering a case of Wilful and Misleading conduct around the ghost town that NIB will become without Rugby.
On the player side we believe most if not all will sit tight a little longer. They have contracts in place with the ARU that hopefully even Clyne won't f.... with.
As you can imagine I was the first one to chip into the fighting fund. I'm really disappointed no one thanked you . We received lots of community support. The money went into a seperate account that Lavan manages and we obviously were not clever enough to monitor this and respond properly.
Anyway back on the case there will be some strong moves in the next few days and we are conscious time isn't on our side😍John

[.X.]

Alison,
Can't fault anything you have said. You know I'm just as shattered as everyone else. The Arbitrator ruled that there was enough of a change to the broadcast deals to constitute a change of the Term. We argued that the Terms were fundamentally unchanged and the revisions were not significant enough to substantiate a means by which our "Alliance Agreement " could be terminated. The Arbitration was never about what is right or wrong but simply and precisely what was written in the agreement.
We will argue that the ruling was flawed and seek an appeal. We will injunct again if we need to. The Government is also considering a case of Wilful and Misleading conduct around the ghost town that NIB will become without Rugby.
On the player side we believe most if not all will sit tight a little longer. They have contracts in place with the ARU that hopefully even Clyne won't f.... with.
As you can imagine I was the first one to chip into the fighting fund. I'm really disappointed no one thanked you . We received lots of community support. The money went into a seperate account that Lavan manages and we obviously were not clever enough to monitor this and respond properly.
Anyway back on the case there will be some strong moves in the next few days and we are conscious time isn't on our side😍John

Thank you for the update John.

If there is anything we can do to help. Please let us know.

[Helmet]

Can I suggest someone with a little more time and knowledge than me knock up a graph or chart listing the force and rebels stats in terms of total monetary losses, average crowds, # of locals in main squad, 2017 win ratio and points diff, junior membership numbers etc.

It should be snappy in its delivery of the message that the decision is bs based on all benchmarks and then share it on facebook and other social media avenues. Hopefully it get traction and help get more awareness.

You could even take the piss a little and label it as the fabled ARU spreadsheet and then at the bottom have the decision that the Force are to be cut. Maybe the force could fail one KPI such as 'on the east coast' or a KPI of 'not being the Western Force'.

[Kalahard]

Like this? Saw it on FB

[Helmet]

yep like that

[GIGS20]

Like this? Saw it on FB

Looks like we found the spreadsheet

[blueandblack]

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/que...n-rugby-union/

"Questions for the Australian Rugby Union

Since the Australian Rugby Union has refused to be transparent with fans, much less consult them, about its plans for the future, I thought I’d take this opportunity to lay out the core questions that the axing of the Western Force raises:

1
What is your vision for the future of Super Rugby, and professional rugby in Australia generally?

The fans are your core constituency – no fans, no money, no professional rugby – and yet we have *no idea* what your vision for the game in 5 or 10 years is.

2
Are the South African teams looking to leave Super Rugby in 2020?

If Sanzaar disintegrates, surely the competition will need to replace some of those teams with other “markets”. Please, tell us all about how much more financially feasible a Fijian team will be than simply rebooting the Force. In that situation, the costs for closing them down, legal fees, player contracts – not to mention the disruption and lost career opportunities of everyone associated with the Force – will be a lost opportunity.

3
What point is there in the ARU acceding to Sanzaar demands if Sanzaar is not going to exist in 3 years’ time?

Or is this really a case of the ARU being “forced” to do what it already wants to?

4
Why does the ARU think it can see off the Force’s resistance to this decision?

It’s true that the Force haven’t always lived up to expectations and have had financial issues. But the Rebels needed a huge loan written off a couple of years back and have a substantially worse record of producing Wallabies, either homegrown or otherwise.

5
If it is the right decision to go to four teams now, with one in Melbourne and none in Perth, was that always the case, or have circumstances changed?

In other words, was it a mistake to create a fifth team? And, before that, was it a mistake to create the fourth team in Perth rather than Melbourne? A bit of honesty would be good here.

6
What is the ARU saying to World Rugby in an effort to amend a market that is threatening to destroy national rugby in both Australia and South Africa (winners of four of the eight World Cups)?

It isn’t true that Australia isn’t producing enough talent for five Super Rugby teams. There are 80 players from Australian rugby, most Wallaby eligible, who have signed in Europe/Japan since the start of 2015 alone.

So the problem isn’t that we’re not producing the talent, it is that we can’t generate enough money to pay them. What is the ARU doing to bring in private ownership of the Super Rugby teams in Australia in a way that might bring in new (and more) revenue? And, again, what is the ARU’s five year, ten year, fifteen year plan for combatting this dynamic? Is there a plan at all?

7
Beyond appointing Rod Kafer as our new Coaching Tzar, is there a major plan in place to get more talented coaches to be able to give up their day job and become elite, full-time rugby coaches?

Of course, paying players assumes that they are static resources, which they are not. You have to develop them. Bringing in, investing in, and developing the best *coaches* gives you the best bang for your buck.

8
Does *anyone* still work at the ARU?

The top three figures there have all resigned in the last couple of months.

That’s about it. If someone from the ARU would like to respond, or come on our podcast, that would be great. Perish the thought that the governing body – which exists to serve the game – should think it worthwhile that major decisions affecting the future of the game in the country should be justified to the fans in forms other than short press releases infused with corporatese."

[Alison]

Alison,
Can't fault anything you have said. You know I'm just as shattered as everyone else. The Arbitrator ruled that there was enough of a change to the broadcast deals to constitute a change of the Term. We argued that the Terms were fundamentally unchanged and the revisions were not significant enough to substantiate a means by which our "Alliance Agreement " could be terminated. The Arbitration was never about what is right or wrong but simply and precisely what was written in the agreement.
We will argue that the ruling was flawed and seek an appeal. We will injunct again if we need to. The Government is also considering a case of Wilful and Misleading conduct around the ghost town that NIB will become without Rugby.
On the player side we believe most if not all will sit tight a little longer. They have contracts in place with the ARU that hopefully even Clyne won't f.... with.
As you can imagine I was the first one to chip into the fighting fund. I'm really disappointed no one thanked you . We received lots of community support. The money went into a seperate account that Lavan manages and we obviously were not clever enough to monitor this and respond properly.
Anyway back on the case there will be some strong moves in the next few days and we are conscious time isn't on our side😍John

Thanks so much for the extra insight John - it's very much appreciated. As ever, we all stand ready to assist RugbyWA in whatever way we can. We are desperate to keep the Force and will stop at nothing (short of ending up in prison!) to achieve that.

Alison

[Darkness]

Report Card on Clyne, Pulver and the ARU.

Key Recommendations from the Arbib Review into Governance of the ARU:


Establish an Independent Board of Directors, FAIL
Promote greater accountability and transparency, FAIL
Reform the Membership of ARU to better reflect the contribution of the Super Rugby teams and RUPA and rebalance the voting entitlements of Members, FAIL
Promote greater understanding and coordination of the roles and responsibilities of organisations throughout the Rugby community; FAIL and
Protecting and enhancing the game’s future. BIG FAIL

These guys have failed the rugby community in every respect. I wonder if they can be sued personally for negligence? Might lose their big mansions on the north shore.