‘It’s a farce’: CWA burns president in secret

The central committee of the SA Country Women’s Association has officially sconed its former president with a formal expulsion motion being passed at a top-­secret meeting on Thursday.

Ousted SA Country Women’s Association president Davina Quirke outside the secret meeting that sealed her fate.

The central committee of the South Australian Country Women’s Association has officially sconed its former president with a formal expulsion motion being passed at a top-­secret meeting on Thursday.

Davina Quirke was mysteriously stood down as president of the SA CWA in May amid claims she had cluttered her official residence with an excessive amount of embroidery.

The committee that runs the branch refused to tell members why it had tried to remove her, even hiring a security guard and placing a padlocked chain around the president’s residence at its Adelaide headquarters to prevent her from entering.

Mrs Quirke refused to accept her dismissal and chronicled her plight to The Australian this month. Her decision to speak out sealed her fate, with the central committee and its disciplinary subcommittee meeting behind closed doors to move against her.

The meeting was held at the Adelaide Royal Coach Motor Inn under tight conditions, with the CWA this time hiring a more genial-looking female security guard to vet entry and placing a sign on the door reading “This area is closed for a PRIVATE FUNCTION: Invited guests only permitted”.

Despite the security, The Australian obtained a full account of the meeting, which centred largely on this newspaper’s report headed “Strange fate of Quirke: here one day, scone the next”.

The disciplinary subcommittee produced a six-page document headed “Subsequent investigation of breaches of law, policy and procedure” that centred on the article featuring Mrs Quirke and follow-up stories by other outlets.

“Davina Quirke was not authorised to speak to the media while stood down from the role of state president during the disciplinary process,” it reads. “The trust of SA CWA members and broader community association has been put at risk through a broad misinformation campaign.”

Mrs Quirke was at the inn, where she was consoled by supporters but not allowed to attend the meeting.

One CWA member said the process was “a joke and a farce” and many younger members were aghast at the conduct of the central committee and were wanting new blood to run the ­organisation.

The CWA central committee has refused to discuss the issue.