Liquidation looms for Equestrian Australia

An impasse between Equestrian Australia’s administrators and five state branches risks the sport’s national body being placed into liquidation.

The future of Equestrian Australian hinges on the outcome of a vote of creditors being held on Tuesday. Picture: Patrick Gee

FIVE of Equestrian Australia’s state branches have pledged to block the organisation’s administrators’ bid for constitutional reform to extend voting rights to every member, describing the move as undemocratic and prone to politicking.

The impasse threatens to plunge equestrian sport’s federal governing body into liquidation, threatening its chances of re-accreditation with the Australian Olympic Committee, the Federation Equestre Internationale and, ultimately, Australia’s chances of Olympic representation in equestrian disciplines.

Members will be asked to vote on the future of the organisation on Tuesday morning at a second virtual meeting of creditors. Their options include voting to execute a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) proposed by EA’s administrators Kate Conneely and Craig Sheppard, an alternative DOCA developed by the state branches, to end administration and hand the organisation back to directors or liquidation of the company.

EA was contentiously placed into voluntary administration on June 4 following the Australian Sporting Commission’s shock notice to withdraw its annual funding following 16 months of boardroom turmoil.

Central to the administrators’ DOCA, which has the approval of the ASC, AOC and FEI, is a vote to afford every one of EA’s 20,000 members a vote.

The resumption of funding from the ASC is contingent on the creation of a “genuinely democratic” governance structure.

But a joint statement issued by state equestrian bodies representing Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, Queensland and WA said they were “against this model because it favours the bigger states like NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the bigger sports, and is a model prone to political campaigning, and possibly greater division within our sport. It also marginalises the smaller states and disciplines.”

If the administrator’s DOCA receives the majority of votes, but the states successfully block their attempt to amend the constitution, the company will be placed into liquidation within 14 days.

Equestrian Tasmania chair Tim Williams said the “one member, one vote” model robbed Tasmania of a voice given the state had the fewest members in Australia. Tasmania has jointly supported a counter model of a 56-person committee drawn from existing state discipline and coaching committees as well as state branches and Equestrian NT.

“Rather than a “one member, one vote” model, it’s a model which puts the people who are best placed to know what’s going on, to vote. It’s not only democratic but its representative,” Mr Williams said.

He said concerns that the states’ DOCA did not have the approval of the AOC, FEI or ASC were unfounded given the three bodies had only recently been privy to their plans due to the expedited nature of the administration process. “We’re confident it would have (their) support,” Mr Williams said.

Speaking on behalf of EA’s four remaining board members, John Glenn said the minimum constitutional amendment before EA could exit voluntary administration was “the removal of the unbalanced and unrepresentative control of the states, by providing for one member one vote in the constitution.”

“We’re supporting the administrator’s DOCA because it gives members a vote and runs through a process that rebuilds EA,” Mr Glenn said.

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