A director has called for a prominent Kimberley native title group to follow proper processes, after the federal regulator alleged it had breached its own rules and Commonwealth provisions.
It is expected Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation's leaders will face tough questions from members on the outcome of the books examination at an upcoming annual general meeting which is now about 18 months overdue.
The meeting will be conducted by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC).
The examination's compliance notice, published on ORIC's website last month, found Balanggarra was suspected on responsible grounds to have not complied with provisions in the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act, and its own constitution.
The alleged breaches included:
- Missing dates of when members were recorded onto the corporation's register
- Missing signed consents from directors and alternate directors
- Payments approved by people who did not have proper delegated authority from directors
- Failure to notify ORIC of the appointment of alternative directors within 28 days
The examination also raised concern about a lack of "adequate insurance cover".
A books examination can trigger a more formal investigation by ORIC, if breaches of the law are identified, but the regulator would not say whether it was considering such a move.
"While a compliance notice is an instruction to a corporation to fix something such as irregularity in the corporation's affairs, or suspected non-compliance with the CATSI Act or corporation's rule book, it also indicates we believe the corporation has the capability to address the issue and report back to us about it," a spokesperson said.
Balanggarra represents native title holders across 26,000 square kilometres of the East Kimberley, taking in the township of Wyndham, the community of Kalumburu and various tourism interests.
Balanggarra should follow rules: director
Wyndham-based director Darryl Smith acts as a spokesperson for the Concerned Balanggarra Members group, which has pushed for a change of leadership in the past year.
Mr Smith said the books examination findings highlighted the need for the corporation to pay closer attention to its own rules and the CATSI Act.
"It should have been a proper process. There should have been a delegate person there to make sure cheques were going the right way and records should be up to date," he said.
"That's my concern, particularly with any funding we get. We want to make sure it channels in the proper way and it's recorded."
Long-overdue AGMs
The compliance notice found Balanggarra had also breached Commonwealth rules by still not having completed its 2021 and 2022 annual general meetings.
Balanggarra has not finished an AGM since January 2021.
Since then numerous attempts have failed due to issues including infighting, failure to achieve a quorum, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
ORIC has told the ABC it was assisting Balanggarra with holding the 2021 AGM at a date yet to be set.
"When the arrangements are finalised all people entitled to receive notice of the general meeting will be sent the notice," a spokesperson said.
"ORIC is satisfied that the corporation will be able to hold its 2022 AGM in the very near future without the registrar's assistance."
The business of the 2021 annual general meeting was partially completed during a meeting in November last year, which saw new directors voted in by their respective "land groups".
It remains unclear whether this vote will be held again, given the nominated directors were not formally appointed.
The meeting was abandoned when a storm cut an online connection to members in Kalumburu.
At the time, several members and directors told the ABC that a majority of those nominated directors would seek to replace Balanggarra's leadership and take the corporation in a new direction.
Mr Smith said members would use the upcoming AGM as an opportunity to grill leaders about the issues raised in the books examination.
The traditional owner said he and other members expected the upcoming meeting would be a turning point for the corporation and that fresh leadership would be formalised.
"Let it open to the members. Something went wrong … but we've got to fix it with the new directors following the proper process now," he said.
Members report leadership shuffle
Since the attempted meeting in November, several of Balanggarra's members have told the ABC the corporation had undergone key leadership changes.
Mr Smith said Cissy Gore-Birch had moved from chair to CEO, and her sister Trisha Birch was now chair.
Trisha Birch is general manager of outback resort Home Valley, run by Balanggarra ventures, a subsidiary of the corporation.
Balanggarra's chair and CEO have not responded to questions from the ABC.
Balanggarra has not posted any information about its leadership changes on its Facebook page.
The ABC has confirmed Joe Heffernan left the role of CEO late last year.
