Corrupt strata and executive committee

Hi,

I'm in need of some desperate help.

I own a unit in a large apartment complex and about 6 months ago, 5 home owners lead to what I can only describe as a coup to get themselves elected on the executive committee and get rid of our existing strata company.

These home owners visited and wrote to as many home owners as possible without notifying the existing strata company and requested home owners to sign a proxy to fire the exisitng strata company. They complained about the existing strata company and made up a number of false problems that they accused the strata company of negliciting. What this group of home owners failed to tell each home owner while coerceing them to vote in their favour was:

1. The strata compny they were replacing our exisitng strata company was a self employed person that is a personal friend to one of home owners.

2. This self employed person has no prior experience to managing a strata plan and had registered his company and got his strata licence months prior to securing the management of our strata plan.

At the AGM these home owners elected themselves and voted each other into the executive committee. Since then, along with the friendship of the strata manager, they have been incredibly corrupt. They have assigned $5000 to rectify external building issues of one committee members unit and spent a large amount of money doing up the garden area outside another committee member. Our maintenance costs have also sky rocketed since they changed all the maintenance contractors and the new cleaning person told me that his boss is good friends with the chair of the executive committee.

Anyone that speaks out about there behaviour is punished. I requested to renovate my kitchen and was only replacing old with new so did not involve any structural, plumbing or electrical work and yet I was not allowed to go ahead. I demanded a reason and they are yet to provide one. My neighbour who lives next to a committee member was abused by the strata manager after he used a drop saw to make 4 quick cuts of wood at 4pm in the afternoon. I live next to him and heard the saw buzz for about 5 seconds each time and he was told the committee member was distressed at the noise pollution. When my neighbour said he was acting within the noise restrictions and that it was 4pm in daylight conditions, the strata manager accussed him of being an inconsiderate home owner and threaten to pass a new by law stopping any such noise.

What can be done to stop this corruption? I'm afraid these people will do long term damage to the finances and property.