Governance, responsibility and the path forward
Kia ora and hello everyone
Following the Board’s request to the ACNC to assist in the governance of the College – I want to speak to you directly.
Many of you will have seen or heard the ongoing distressing statements in the media about the College, about the Board, about specific members, and about me personally. As President, I have not engaged in providing a public response to the statements as I do not believe a media war is in the interests of the College.
I ask you to reflect on whether you endorse trial by media as a means by which the leadership of this organisation should achieve its objectives. The information leaks and media coverage over the last several months has been deeply distracting and expensive.
It has taken an incredible psychological toll on many of the Board and the management team. It has seriously impaired governance, health and safety and the future of our organisation. I want to acknowledge the distress.
I also wanted to make it clear that these matters have been investigated by external investigators over more than two years and alerted to the ACNC. Action has been recommended by the Board to protect safety and for the CEO to manage employment matters. It has been another very difficult period for the College.
As President, I take responsibility for the fact that this behaviour has happened on my watch. I acknowledge it was my Board that resolved, to take to the members, a vote on Constitutional change that would have enabled the option of a more professional Board.
The Board did not expect one Director to campaign against its own Board resolution for change to give effect to recommendations by governance organisations and others since 2019.
Not everything has been handled perfectly. The decisions we have faced have often been complicated by multiple factors. For example, when considering our communications to members after the vote of no confidence in the President-elect, I was absented and the Board had to consider how it should communicate with members while having regard to an active Fair Work matter, health and safety obligations, internal policies and procedures, other legal risks and advice the Board was receiving at the time.
The Board acknowledges it could have given members more information to rely upon, however we note that protecting the organisation is a key duty of Directors.
The Fair Work case has now been discontinued, but I want to be clear about one thing – at every step, the decisions I have taken have been guided by my duties as a director, and by what I believed to be in the best interests of the College as a whole.
The issues we are dealing with are not simply about individuals. They reflect deeper challenges in how a modern, complex organisation like ours is governed. How decisions are made, and how we work through strongly held professional views. These are not simple issues, and they do not have simple answers.
The Board is not a political body. We are bound by law, by fiduciary duty, and by an obligation to act in the long-term interests of the College, its members, its trainees, and the communities we serve. That responsibility does not always align with what is easy and it does not always align with what is popular. But it is the responsibility we accept.
I also want to acknowledge the impact this period has had on staff, on Fellows, on trainees, and on colleagues across the profession. That impact matters and I take it seriously. Despite the disruption, the core work of the College has continued. Training, education, and standards remain our focus, and they will continue to be.
In the coming weeks, members will again be asked to express their views through the College’s formal processes. I respect that process and I will respect the outcome. My focus now is simple. To support stability and the ability to govern our organisation for the future. To uphold the standards expected of this Board – you can read our
latest communiqué at a link in the written version of this message. And I’ll focus on ensuring the College is in the strongest possible position for the future.
The College is bigger than any individual and that is what matters most.
Professor Jennifer Martin
RACP President