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Board Candidates Responses to
email.
Hi Highway Wanderers
As you may know there are three candidates standing for positions as Directors on the CMCA board.
There are only two vacancies so you should have received your ballot material by now and you have
until the 24th September to lodge your choice. (It has to be in the hands of the Returning Officer
by that date). The CV's of each of the candidates is included in the material. Only one of the
candidates put forward specific views and policies and so we have endorsed Keith Moxham as someone
whose views reflect a large number of HW members.
To be fair to the two other candidates we decided to ask them for their views on specific issues.
The following email was sent to both Karen Griffin and Ken Kipping. Karen Griffin responded and her
views are set out below.
I spent time on the phone with Ken Kipping to get his response which
is near the bottom of the page.
Email to Ken and Karen
Just a note to let you know that we (The Highway Wanderers) have sent an email to our members
endorsing Keith Moxham as a candidate in the upcoming elections. The main reason for endorsing
Keith is that he had emailed through his CV and policies and his views on CMCA specific parks etc.
were totally in accordance with what we are finding are the views of our members and others on the
road. I have just received the ballot sheets in the Wanderer magazine and that includes the
CV/policies of yourself and Karen. You have obviously achieved great things in the short time you
have been on the Board and hopefully that will continue.
Can you advise us of your committment and policy view in respect of POP's , CMCA parks and other
CMCA member specific benefits. For your interest the last six months on the road has clearly
indicated to me that the priorities for many CMCA members are issues such as
Low cost rest areas that don't have to be shared with every other RV, caravan, whizzbang and
"Wicked" van on the road.
The implementation of a National self containment scheme that is not open to rorting and REQUIRES
individual vehicle inspection.
Clarity of signage.
A total review of the RVFT scheme in terms of criteria and ongoing enforcement.
Member benefits in the form of discounts on purchases, albeit welcomed, are way down the list
compared with the sorts of Member benefits (POP's and Parks) that are provided by the NZ CMCA for
example.
We would welcome the opportunity to put your views forward to our members via our website and
newsletter so that they can make an informed decision as to who they vote for in the
election.
Karen Griffin response
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the opportunity to get my thoughts to your Members.
Having already served a three year term, I would like to think that my record
speaks for itself.
I am very keen to continue in a second term on the Board and I hope the
Members will be happy for me to do so.
Regards,
Karen
Low cost rest areas that don't have to be shared with every other RV, caravan, whizzbang
and "Wicked" van on the road.
Whilst we have to be aware of our tax exemption under Tourism (which means
all RVers, not just us), I am very much aware (as is Ken) of the problems faced this
winter in the far north. We are working towards making all government, from local through
to Federal, aware of the congestion, which in my opinion, will only get worse as time goes
on. Slowly but surely we are making Councils realise that they simply have to provide for
the RVing public. As far as Members only parking, Keith brought to the Board his proposal
about POPs, which we believe has a great deal of merit. He agreed to trial a few places
that he was aware of that would be suitable, and report back to us.
As far as CMCA owned and operated parks is concerned, whilst in theory it
sounds like a great idea, but in a country this size it could be a logistical nightmare.
Who is going to manage and maintain these properties? Where do we put them? It is a great
idea and works well in New Zealand, but the country is tiny compared to ours. Still, this
is not an idea that we have discounted. I, personally, like the idea of farm stays and
Members with property allowing short term camping.
The implementation of a National self containment scheme that
is not open to rorting and REQUIRES individual vehicle inspection.
When the self containment scheme went pear shaped 3
years ago (this happened before I came onto the Board) a different scheme had to be put
into place very quickly, hence the current Leave No Trace. I don't know if you are aware,
but this is a scheme that was in place back in the early 90s. It was simply resurrected.
We rely on Members honesty and they have to sign a declaration to be in Leave No Trace. It
is not perfect, but neither was the Self Containment Scheme (as President of Road Runners,
I was involved from its inception). None of the criteria is set in stone and I see it as a
living document that will grow and change as needs be. The majority of our Members do the
right thing. Unfortunately there are some that will always try to rort the system. That is
the nature of the beast.
Clarity of signage.
I am not sure what you mean by this.
A total review of the RVFT scheme in terms of criteria and
ongoing enforcement.
The RVFT scheme has undergone many changes since its inception. We now have
councils coming to us instead of the other way around.
I believe that we should be firm in our criteria, that the councils involved
should provide what is necessary for our Members to be comfortable in staying in their
towns.
There are now plenty of towns that are very happy with their RVFT status,
some that are bending over backwards to ensure we visit and enjoy our stay.
Again, RVFT criteria is a living document, that grows and changes with time
and as needs arise.
We have follow up from NHQ happening already. Also, NMBT members often pop in
when passing through to make sure all is well.
Don Eldred, for example, takes the time on his annual trek north to visit all
the towns along the Matilda Highway to ensure that all is well. Don is a shining example
of a dedicated NMBT member.
Ken Kipping Interview
I spoke to Ken Kipping and he rang me back and for over half
an hour or more we spoke about the issues raised above and I am pleased to report that he sounded
very positive about vigorously pursuing all of them.
Ken indicated that he was in favour of POP's and and he is
already investigating the feasibility of CMCA owned and operated parks however there were a number
of bureaucratic and commercial issues that would have to be worked through and resolved not the
least of which is the responsible use of members funds and the continued"not for profits" tax free
status. I believe that he thinks the two concepts should be given high priority and he will be
doing all that he can to get something up and running as soon as possible.
I got the impression that Ken also felt that the existing "Leave
no Trace scheme" was not perfect and that a more effective and regulated scheme was possible. I
felt that he was in favour of a scheme that required inspection and certification but was concerned
that bureaucrats and politicians might see it as just another way to raise revenue. He added that
he would like to see a yearly expiry/reissue and also a means to ensure the destruction of a
certificate in the event of sale of the vehicle. Admin costs should be kept low and CMCA member
club controlled.
Clarity of signage is critical to establishing and maintaining
low cost and/or free rest areas. We didn't discuss this issue in any depth but I believe Ken agrees
that signage can be improved.
Once again I believe Ken feels that the RVFT scheme should be
under regular review and altered or rearranged as required by changing
circumstances.
It's now up to the members to vote for the candidates that they think will do a
good job on the Board and in particular the candidates that will vigorously pursue real
member benefits.
If you want changes then you either get in there yourself
and make it happen OR elect people to the Board who sound passionate and positive about what might
be possible.
Make sure you vote and return your ballot papers by 20th
September.
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