SSAA National held its 55th annual general meeting in Darwin on the weekend of April 29 and 30, with delegates from all states and territories as well as SSAA National staff attending.
SSAA National President Geoff Jones welcomed delegates to the meeting and presented his report on behalf of the Executive, while SSAA National CEO Tim Bannister outlined some of the successes and challenges to the Association during the past 12 months. Reports were then presented to the meeting, detailing the activities and achievements of the Finance, Communications, Merchandise (SSAA Store), Disciplines, Wildlife Programs, Insurance, Media & Publications, National Politics, International Affairs and Membership departments.
Elections for the 2017 Executive Board were held on the Saturday, with SSAA National President Geoff Jones, Senior Vice President Paul McNabb, Junior Vice President Denis Moroney, Secretary Kaye McIntyre and Treasurer Alf Bastian all re-elected unopposed.
At the formal dinner on Saturday night, delegates welcomed special guests SSAA Life Member Tony Warner and renowned Professor Grahame Webb with his wife Giovanna. Grahame, who was a keynote presenter at the SSAA-supported Conservation through Sustainable Use of Wildlife Conference in Brisbane last year, entertained delegates with a no-holds-barred presentation about his many decades in wildlife management, which also forms the basis for his book, Wildlife Conservation: In the Belly of the Beast. Grahame is a passionate conservationist and a realist who often finds himself at odds with ineffective bureaucracy, animal liberationists and those who use ‘conservation’ for their own political and philosophical agendas.
The 2018 SSAA National AGM will be held in Queensland.