SPASA Australia Ltd Company Secretary resigns in protest at legal action
Industry veteran, SPASA WA director and company secretary of SPASA Australia Ltd Cal Stanley has resigned in protest at a legal action by the four non-NSW SPASAs which he says will fan the flames of the SPASA dispute. He called for dialogue and negotiations in place of legal action.
The four non-NSW SPASAs are seeking an injunction from the Federal Court to prevent SPASA NSW using the name SPASA Australia, amongst other things.
Stanley says he is disappointed at the current events and the seeming intractability of most parties.
The highly respected industry veteran has been intimately involved in national SPASA issues since 1986. Prior to his resignation, Stanley was a director of SPASA WA, Company Secretary of the Swimming Pool & Spa Association of Australia (SPASA Australia Ltd) and the WA representative on the board.
Stanley left his position with an impassioned plea for negotiation and discussion to overcome the current conflict. He pleaded for all parties to come together and negotiate, rather than escalate the situation by taking the fight to the courts.
Ironically, following his resignation the legal action went ahead, and all parties were ordered by the Federal Court to do what Stanley had been advocating: sit down and attempt to find a solution through negotiation.
Stanley said that none of the States are blameless for the mess, saying that while he understood why SPASA NSW took the path it did, he did not agree with the manner in which it was carried out.
He said that in the beginning the State SPASAs voted for the current structure of SPASA Australia Ltd which included a requirement for unanimous voting, and they should have realised it would not work. He also questioned whether all States voted in the national interest, or instead voted in favour of their own State agendas.
“For 32 years I have lived and breathed the trade association of my State and all three national bodies we have had. I have always asked ‘What can I do for my association?’ never ‘What can I gain from it?’ In the process I donated thousands of hours at local and national level for the benefit of all members. That time was always given willingly and I know my efforts have been appreciated,” Stanley said in an open letter.
“I have gained many friends and acquaintances over these 32 years, and it really saddens me that so many of them are involved in this war that I may never live long enough to see the end of.
“In my advancing years I seem to get a little more emotional and I unashamedly admit that the tears in my eyes as I finish this email make it hard to read. I know it is because I have decided I no longer want any part of it. I just trust that at some time in the future the fighting will cease and the talking will begin. Please make it soon!!”
Mediation commenced on January 22, 2013.
