Brisbane Club members flag concerns over financial management
The elite Brisbane Club is facing allegations of financial instability amid “a revolving door” of general managers.
The elite Brisbane Club is facing allegations of financial instability amid “a revolving door” of general managers.
Members say the GM position – which reports to the president and principal committee (board) – has been filled five times in four years.
“We are really concerned about the club’s financial management as there is a lack of consistency in club management; it’s a case of revolving doors,” one source told The Courier-Mail.
It comes after club president Chris McCluskey emailed members on Sunday, announcing the appointment of a new “interim general manager”.
Mr McCluskey said Garry Friend, who starts on December 1, was a “senior hospitality executive with decades of national and international experience with global hotel chain Hyatt Group”.
The prestigious private club has come under fire this past week amid claims of “tawdry rumours”.
The rumours – which The Courier-Mail does not suggest are true – do not relate to the general manager or the turnover of that position.
An email sent to all members last Wednesday and signed “concerned and loyal members” highlighted a petition calling for an “extraordinary general meeting” in opposition to current leadership.
The petition, the email said, had sparked conversations of “tawdry rumours” related to certain members’ “personal affairs and professional conduct”.
The email said “such commentary not only causes distress to those involved by undermining their right to privacy, but also undermines the collegial spirit that has sustained our club community for generations.”
In response, club president Chris McCluskey said the club would be probing the source of the email and the manner in which member contact information was used.
“It appears the sender may have obtained contact details from the member directory available through the club app, where members can choose to display their email address to others,” Mr McCluskey wrote on Thursday.
He said once the source was established “appropriate action will be taken”.
But Mr McCluskey’s response has baffled some members.
Speaking to The Courier-Mail on Monday, one said: “We are not aware of any club policy around the use of member details so we are not sure why an investigation is necessary.”
Another said: “The original email talking about the petition and those rumours seemed to actually come out in support of current leadership by asking people not to sign it – so it’s all pretty confusing.”
At a town hall meeting attended by around 80 of the club’s 1800 members last Thursday, the focus was said to be on recruitment of new members.
The Courier-Mail understands one member asked why there had been so many general managers in recent years.
The Brisbane Club was established in 1903 and current annual membership is around $3500, with members including high-flyer Clive Palmer, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and prominent company director Stephen Conry.
The club has been contacted for comment.
kylie.lang@news.com.au
Originally published as Brisbane Club members flag concerns over financial management
