#26003
Sir Humphrey
Strataguru

    Our OC went through a multi-stage process of reviewing our ‘rules’, ACT-speak for ‘by-laws’. We had a mix of default and our own customised rules that were adopted at our first general meeting in 1976. None had changed or been added since.

    We first proposed a set of amendments that we thought would be utterly uncontroversial. These were mainly just directly substituting the current default rules for the nearly equivalent old default rules and making some other amendments that merely modernised the language to be consistent with the current Act. A few rules were rescinded because they were unambiguously out of date. For example, some were redundant because their provisions had become part of the body of the Act so the rule would have no effect anyway since the provision in the Act took precedence. Others referred to activities or bodies that only existed during the development and construction phase and were no longer relevant. 

    With owners accustomed to the process, we proposed another set of changes that addressed matters that were not previously covered but had occasionally been uncertain. These sought to document and put beyond doubt various matters that had been established practice.

    Then we just did the animal keeping rule. At earlier stages we foreshadowed that this one would be done later since there was more diversity of opinion on this matter. After quite a few rounds of drafts and comments etc. this one passed, though with a lower level of support than the earlier easier matters.

    We were glad we had done this in stages because the whole lot might have been derailed if we had tried to do it all at once.