9.30PM: The chair of the NZ AIDS Foundation is placing his hopes for constitution review feedback on meetings down-country and written submissions, after a disappointingly small turnout at a meeting in Auckland tonight. Barely 20 Aucklanders, nearly half of whom were Foundation staff, took the opportunity to provide input on a range of possible changes to the constitution. Subjects up for discussion include the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in the constitution, whether the NZAF remains ‘gay-owned' and specifically gay-focussed, methods of appointing or electing board members and their maximum terms and required skills, and the right of staff to also be members. NZAF Board Chair Jeremy Lambert, who is also on the working group gathering public feedback on the constitution, says he would have liked to have seen more people attend but believes many interested people will be making more formalised written submissions. “We have already received a number of written submissions and I am confident more will come in,” he says. His impression was that no great desire for significant changes to the existing constitution provisions was evident at tonight's meeting. The constitution review process came about after a meltdown of the Board at last October's Annual General Meeting, amidst membership anger at lack of consultation and allegations of inappropriate board proposals. Three more public meetings are scheduled, in Hamilton (tomorrow/Tuesday night), Christchurch (Monday 14th) and Wellington (Tuesday 15th). Written submissions close on August 25 and the results of the feedback will form the basis for recommendations put before members at the Foundation's AGM later this year. Ref: GayNZ.com (j)