The AIDS Foundation board has escaped a vote of no confidence at this year's annual general meeting in Auckland last night, although the vote was close. 33 votes were received in favour of a remit which called for all six board members to resign. 45 were opposed, and there were seven abstentions. Concerned at the political fallout and the impact on HIV prevention of the entire board being rolled, many speakers at the meeting gave qualified support to the board. However, many members also expressed their concern that the board's constitutional reviews had adversely affected the Foundation's reputation. Several staff members testified that months of their time had been taken up by the fiasco which should have been devoted to focussing on the HIV epidemic, and several other speakers including former NZAF board chair Jonathan Smith told the board to "get your act together". Embattled current board chair Simon Robb said in a right of reply that he did not wish to escape a vote of no confidence purely because members were afraid of political fallout, and expressed dismay at the heavy fire the board had come under in recent months. Former NZAF executive director Warren Lindberg's remit that the Foundation re-affirm its unequivocal focus on the MSM epidemic and providing services for that community passed with the largest majority of the evening – 72 votes in favour, 14 opposed and 3 abstentions. In response to Robb's concerns, Lindberg said: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." MP Tim Barnett chaired much of the evening's proceedings, and says although emotion was flowing, it was largely contained in words. "People were really co-operative, speaking to the issue rather than the person," he told GayNZ.com. "It could have been much worse. I've certainly been involved in much worse meetings, and it was as constructive an environment as one could imagine, given what's been going on in the last few months."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Sunday, 20th November 2005 - 12:00pm