An open letter from the committee of Curfew4Canberra and details of their upcoming Annual General Meeting:
Dear C4C Members, Friends and Supporters,
It is now over 6 weeks since the Federal Minister’s disastrous decision to approve a 24-hour freight hub at Canberra Airport – a very sad day indeed for the Canberra we currently know and love.
C4C’s committee recently met for the first time since this decision. We decided it was time for a frank letter to our members, friends and supporters, so here goes.
The C4C campaign now finds itself in a very different era following Minster Albanese’s decision on 28 August. With the public consultation on Canberra Airport’s 2008 and 2009 draft Master Plans we had a 20-month window of opportunity to secure an aviation curfew and knock off the 24-hour freight and passenger hub. This window has now closed.
It is not yet clear what other windows will open. We still believe that an aviation curfew is inevitable, but we expect it will only happen reactively, that is after the roar of jet freighters in the night actually disturbs people’s sleep. It will be a longer and bigger campaign than we all hoped for when C4C started one hot summer’s afternoon in January 2008.
What happens now really depends on you. Perhaps one of the greatest measures of an organisation’s life expectancy is the level of community support it attracts. A very small number of dedicated volunteers have been working on C4C’s campaign for the last 20 months. We are indeed the archetypal ‘small group of thoughtful, committed citizens’ and we have changed the world a bit, just not as much and as quickly as we would have like. Now we would like to have a well-earned rest – we have other lives, other needs, and other priorities. It is time for new people, who also feel passionately about this issue, to take a turn.
So we invite you to nominate for a position on the C4C committee. These positions will be filled at our AGM on Thursday 5 November 2009 at 7.30 pm. ACT Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury will be our guest speaker. All are welcome, but note that only members can vote and you can’t join on the night. There will be seven positions vacant, and we are happy to answer all your questions about committee duties and responsibilities. As a committee member you get to contribute to an organisation that is well-established, highly-regarded, debt-free (in fact money-free), and most importantly, does really good, valuable work. Please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested so we can complete some simple formalities. We can approved membership applications before 23 October 2009.
If the AGM process does not bear fruit (in the form of a new committee) then we will take that as a sign that C4C’s use-by-date is up, and the organisation will be wound up.
Whatever happens, the AGM will still be a great party and we will celebrate regardless. We fought a good fight and we can be very proud of all that we have achieved.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Warm regards
The C4C Committee.
Curfew4Canberra Annual General Meeting 2009
Date: Thursday 5 November 2009
Time: 7.30 pm
Place: ACT Sports House, 100 Maitland St, Hackett
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