October 2007

 Note from the President

Hasn't the year passed quickly?  It's hard to believe that it is nearly AGM time again.  The notice for the AGM on 30 October has been sent out by our Secretariat in Canberra.  It will be a teleconference commencing at 5pm in Western Australia.  Thanks to daylight saving it means for those in New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania, it will be at 7pm.  For those in Queensland, it will be at 6pm while if you are in lovely South Australia, it will be at 6.30pm.  I hope I have that correct – but if you are confused, just ring the Secretariat!!

Despite all the daylight saving rigmarole, I encourage you to be online for the AGM.  It's an important part of the annual "life" of NELA and a great opportunity to have your say.Apart from the statutory office bearers, the NELA National Executive is formally comprised of at least one representative from each State or Territory, with the representatives being nominated by their State or Territory branch committee.  Traditionally, the Executive has also co-opted people who have a particular role within the organisation.  However, notwithstanding the formal rules, if you have ever thought about becoming involved in a national organisation, let me encourage you to think about becoming a part of the NELA National Executive.  If you'd like to know what it involves, contact me through the Secretariat.

Thank you to all who've renewed your membership for the 2007/2008 financial year.  There are still a few outstanding current members and the plan is to contact each of those people directly to remind them about their membership.  The goal of the National Executive is to dramatically increase our membership this year and a new recruitment strategy is being developed and refined to help us along, particularly to reach out to university students through the relevant faculty members and student societies.  NELA has always had a strong connection to universities around the country and it would be great to develop those ties even more with a vibrant group of student members.

The 2008 National Conference Committee continues to work very hard and the Conference is coming together very well.  We hope to make the most of the wonderful WA coastal setting for the Conference so for those of you who have not visited Perth before, we hope that this will be a great introduction!  The Conference is being promoted in New Zealand through the Resource Management Law Association so this will also be a great opportunity to meet with colleagues from "across the ditch". 

Robyn Glindemann

President