157th AGM and 1320th OGM and Open Lecture

157th Annual General Meeting

      and

1320th Ordinary General Meeting

Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2024, 6.00 pm AEST
Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney
Video presentation: YouTube video
All are welcome, although only full voting members of the Society may attend the AGM

Please note that only Members, Fellows, and Distinguished Fellows of the Society who are financial as of 31 March 2024 will be eligible to vote in the electronic ballot for the Annual General Meeting.  

This notice provides information about the:

• 157th Annual General Meeting and Council Elections
• 1320th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture

Annual General Meeting

Rule 4(c) of the Society's Rules requires that an Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be held in April of each year.

The Agenda for this meeting is now available on the Meetings page of the website.

Business of the Annual General Meeting

The formal business of the Annual General Meeting, including the election of Council Members, will be conducted via an electronic ballot in accordance with Rule 18.

Members, Fellows, and Distinguished Fellows, who are financial at the commencement of the ballot, will receive an email from the Society's Returning Officer, via the electronic balloting company, Election Buddy. This email will include a unique ballot link that provides a random, secret access key for each voter. Voter anonymity is assured by ballot settings which ensure that voter choices cannot be linked to any voter.

The ballot will run from Monday 25 March 12.00 noon AEDT to Monday 15 April 12.00 noon AEST and will address:

• Procedural Business:
  • Confirmation of the Minutes of the 156th Annual General Meeting
  • Confirmation that the Annual Report of Council and the Financial Statements for 2023  be received
  • Confirmation of the proposed Auditors for 2024
  • Voting on a Special Resolution to affect a Rules change proposed by the Council, the intent of which is to make the Editor of the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW an appointed member of the Council, as described in the Explanatory Memorandum  
• Election of Office-bearers and Council members, namely the:
  • Ordinary Councillors (5) — from a field of six (6) candidates.

 

Please note that:

• for the position of Treasurer, only a single nomination was received. Accordingly, this Office-bearer will be declared elected at the AGM without the need for a ballot.

 

The results of the ballot will be announced at the Annual General Meeting on 17 April 2024 and will be posted on the website on the following day.

The Ordinary General Meeting will commence immediately following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.

Relevant Documents

• The Agenda for this meeting and Minutes of the previous AGM, available on the Meetings page of this website.
• The Annual Report from Council and Financial Statements for 2023, which is available on the Governance page.
• The Explanatory Memorandum which describes the intent of the Special Resolution for the Rules change proposed by the Council.

It is suggested that Members and Fellows read these documents in advance of the commencement of the ballot.

Election of Office-Bearers and Ordinary Members of Council

Listed below are the nominations for the incoming Council received by the Secretary by 5.00 pm AEDT on Friday, 8 March 2024.

For those Office-bearer and Councillor roles where there are more nominees than available positions, an election is required. For roles where there are the same number or fewer nominees than there are available positions, the candidates will be declared elected at the AGM without the need for a ballot.

In all cases, candidates have been invited to provide an optional statement outlining how their expertise and experience fit them for these roles and will benefit the Society. These statements are available through the links below and also are provided as information on the electronic ballot form.

Office/Role	Candidate
Treasurer	Peter Wells FRSN
Councillors	Sean Brawley FRSN
(5 positions)	Sally Cripps FRSN
	Vince Di Pietro AM CSC FRSN
	Medy Hassan OAM FRSN FAIB
	Liz Killen MRSN
	Robert Marks FRSN

Ordinary General Meeting 

The 1320^th Ordinary General Meeting will follow the Annual General Meeting and includes a discussion between Emeritus Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN FASSA, Vice-President of the Society, and Professor Kristy Muir, CEO of the Paul Ramsey Foundation. 

The Agenda for this meeting and Minutes of the previous OGM are now available on the Meetings page of this website.

“Putting the 'Civil' Back in Civil Society”

Emeritus Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN FASSA
  Former Chancellor, Western Sydney University

   and

Professor Kristy Muir
  Chief Executive Officer
  Paul Ramsey Foundation

Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2023, 5.30 pm for 6.00–8.00 pm AEST 
Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney
Video presentation: YouTube video
All are welcome

The presentation will be preceded by the 157th Annual General Meeting and the 1320th Ordinary General Meeting of the Society. Please note the earlier starting time for the events due to the need to accommodate the formal business of these meetings.

Summary: A conversation with Professors Kristy Muir & Peter Shergold

A generation ago, it seemed that democracy was a given.

No longer.

Democratic governance appears fragile, under the threat from authoritarianism, xenophobia and populism. Trust in political leaders is wavering, thanks to the rise of AI and the increasingly powerful role of social media as a primary news source. In Australia, as elsewhere, public discourse seems riven by increasing social divisiveness and political discord. What’s going wrong? Who or what is to blame? What can be done to restore a truly civil society?

Kristy Muir and Peter Shergold will argue across a contested terrain.

Kristy Muir, a Professor of Social Policy at UNSW, is the CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation. Peter Shergold, Deputy President of the RSNSW, is Chair of the James Martin Institute for Public Policy.  They previously worked together at the Centre for Social Impact, Kristy as CEO and Peter as Chair.

Presenter Biographies

Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN is an Australian academic, company director and former public servant. Between February 2003 and February 2008, as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Peter was the most senior official in the Australian Public Service. He was the Chancellor of Western Sydney University from 2011 through 2022. Currently, Peter is Vice President of the Royal Society of NSW

Professor Kristy Muir is Paul Ramsay Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer.  She is also a Professor of Social Policy at UNSW Sydney Business School and Chair of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy Australasia. 

Kristy has worked for more than three decades — as a support worker, academic, collaborator, leader, funder, and board director — with for-purpose organisations that enable children, families, and communities to thrive.

Kristy is a seasoned keynote speaker and internationally recognised leader. She has published widely and has delivered her insights on governance for social impact to hundreds of non-executive directors and CEOs through formal executive education programs. She founded the AGSM Governance for Social Impact course and the Social Impact Leadership Australia program which she currently teaches to for-purpose CEOs.

Kristy has undertaken more than 100 social impact projects with partners across sectors, including governments, not-for-profits, corporates, social enterprises, academics, and philanthropists. Many of these projects were designed to work alongside families and communities, and they spanned housing, education, employment, social participation, disability, mental health, financial resilience, wellbeing, and the social purpose sector.

Kristy was CEO of the Centre for Social Impact (2017-21), served as an elected academic member of UNSW’s Council (2016-2021), and was a non-executive Director of the Community Council of Australia and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Young People (ARACY). She has a PhD in social history and is a graduate of executive education at Harvard Business School and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.