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We have just been advised that our AGM in a few weeks time will be a face to face meeting only.
There will be no zoom option or ability to phone in. I was told this is what the committee wanted.
So much for democracy and encouraging participation.
Is there anything that could be done to change this so that those owners who cannot attend in person are at least able to participate?
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You have not explained why you won’t attend yourself? But in any case, the age-old way of voting at an AGM if you cannot attend yourself is to appoint a proxy – which is another person who will attend in your stead. You will have been provided with the “Appointment of a Proxy” form with the AGM Agenda. It can be downloaded from the government Strata website too. Complete it, and submit it to the strata manager or secretary. You can appoint a friend to appear for you, or commonly, appoint another owner who is attending anyway. You can provide a list of votes for all the agenda items, as well, so the person you appoint votes as you want, or just give them your instructions about how to vote.
Keep in mind that you have to be financial (ie, your levies up to date) at the meeting, in order to vote.A lot of people want to attend but can’t – appointing a proxy is not the same as listening in, contributing and voting once you have heard the arguments. This is probably more a case of it being “too hard” than a deliberate attempt to stifle discussion or restrict transparency. Even so, it has the same effect. A 12-year-old kid could set up the interface. The government should make it compulsory.