Hopes held that motorcycling dispute could end on January 30
Motorsport Australia will meet with its state controlling boards this month aiming to end debate about a new constitution. Here is what we know.
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Motorcycling Australia (MA) is confident by the end of the month it will have a new constitution with the support of the State Controlling Boards (SCB).
After months of dispute between the parties over a new constitution there seems to be renewed hope for a resolution, despite a vote being postponed after a meeting late last year.
Last month MA warned most forms of racing could cease in 2025 if a the new constitution wasn’t adopted at a vote on December 19.
That planned vote was deferred and will now be held on January 30.
MA president Roy Chamberlain said the new constitution was required as part of a Motorcycling Improvement Initiative (MII) which is looking to improve the management of the sport, under the guidance of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC).
However talks between bodies had broken down over the past couple of months, leading to the standoff.
MA said if the constitution was not adopted the ASC could then withdraw its support for the MII and insurers could also withdraw, leaving the sport with no insurance.
The majority of SCB members argued the new constitution severely impacted their power and gave MA the authority to single-handedly overthrow state boards.
Now Mr Chamberlain said he held renewed hope for a resolution on January 30 after late minute negotiated changes to the constitution were agreed.
He revealed that on December 17 the changes were presented by Motorcycling NSW (MNSW) to the MA board, which saw most of them added on December 18.
On December 19 the special general meeting saw MA agree to give the SCB more time to allow them to look at the changes before the new vote this month.
“We decided we would ensure all the changes made to the constitution were documented and distributed,” Chamberlain revealed.
“The conversations I’ve had following SGM on the 19th gives me a degree of confidence we will get the constitution across the line on the 30th.”
Chamberlain said if the January 30 meeting did not pass the constitution the same conditions applied as the ones issued in December.
He also denied the comment from some SCB’s about giving MA full control.
While Chamberlain conceded some power was needed, as the peak body, the focus was on allowing both bodies to work together towards running motorcycling successfully in Australia.
“The constitution that we’ve put together is based on their (ASC) template constitution,” he said.
“It’s what they see as a modern constitution for a national body to have and it’s the kind of constitution that enables a national sporting organisation to carry out their duties.
“There will be some changes but nothing that would not be unusual across any other sporting organisation.
“There’s no way we want full control.
“It comes back down to providing our insurers the level of confidence we can manage the sport appropriately.
“It’s getting the right balance.
“We each have our own board, we are our own independent organisations.
“We do have a set of rules for the sport that need to be implemented equally along the organisation.
“The constitution will allow us to do that clearly.”
Originally published as Hopes held that motorcycling dispute could end on January 30
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