Australian Club to consider support for female membership

The club will again consider members’ views on female participation, saying support for a change cannot be ignored.

The Australian Club’s members hold a vast spectrum of views on female membership.

The heated battle over female membership of the Australian Club in Sydney has flared again, after the president of the nation’s oldest “private gentlemen’s club” told members that majority support for a change in the rules in a recent survey could not be ignored.

In a circular to members, obtained by The Australian, club president John Stanham said the committee had concluded there was sufficient support to “further consider whether, and if so, how best to admit women as members of the club”.

“The general committee’s decision is to conduct a process, evaluation and discussion of the issue within the general committee and with members,” Mr Stanham said.

“Any future decision as to whether the club admits women as members obviously remains a decision for members to make pursuant to the club’s constitution.

“However, for the time being this matter is the responsibility of the general committee to lead and consider.”

The president acknowledged that there were strong views among members, but said “none of us seek division”.

This is unlikely to placate a group of 15 conservative members, led by former Federal Court judge Peter Graham and dubbed the “St Paul’s mafia” after the University of Sydney college they attended, called a special general meeting to change the constitution and allow female membership.

The push was revealed by The Australian on June 10.

The progressives, however, smelled a rat when the St Paul’s mafia kicked off a heavy-duty lobbying campaign against the resolution they had proposed.

The vote was also scheduled for 10am on Tuesday, June 15 – a day after the Queen’s Birthday break, when younger, perhaps more progressive members would be at work or on holidays.

Proxy voting is not allowed under the club’s rules, so any member who intended to vote had to be there.

Geoffrey Cousins, a former Telstra director and prime ministerial adviser to John Howard, said he sent an email to Mr Stanham, telling him he should not open the meeting unless he disclosed the full background to the resolution.

“The resolution was put up by the opposition, and it all happened in a so-called gentlemen’s club,” the businessman, who has now resigned from the club, told The Australian.

“In my last email, I said if you don’t inform the members, as a gentleman in a gentlemen’s club you should resign.”

Mr Stanham did not resign, the vote proceeded, and the conservatives held the day, with 62 per cent of the 693 votes against female membership and 37 per cent in favour.

Both Mr Howard and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull cast votes.

Despite the decisive majority in a record member turnout, the president cited a separate, confidential survey in his circular to which 1560 members had responded.

The result — obtained a week after the special general meeting — went the other way, with 53 per cent in favour of admitting women and 41 per cent against.

The president acknowledged the result of the June 15 meeting in his circular.

“(However), the general committee acting in good faith and in the interests of the club and its members cannot ignore or discount the results of the member survey,” he said.

Mr Stanham ended his circular with a plea to all members for good behaviour.

“While we acknowledge the strength of views, may we reiterate that as members, we all have a duty to act in accordance with the rules and more importantly the values of the club; for our interactions to reflect the expected standards in the club; to engage in courteous and respectful debate on this and all other matters, and to refrain from taking private club matters into the public domain,” he said.

Contacted on Monday, Mr Cousins said he was “delighted” to hear that the club would continue to consider the issue of female membership.

“Hopefully, it will allow women to become members as soon as possible,” he said.

“But I’m still planning to press ahead with a number of matters to keep the issue at the forefront of people’s minds.

“I expect to have something to report in the next few weeks.”

Prominent businessman and philanthropist Geoff Cousins left the Australian Club after it voted down allowing women members. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.