Alec Marr Resigns From The Wilderness Society

Alec Marr’s letter of resignation.

13 September 2010

Attention: David Mackenzie
Convenor
TWS Inc Management Committee
Brisbane Street
Hobart

Dear Mr Mackenzie,

It has become clear that the disagreement between myself and the new Management Committee over the strategic direction of The Wilderness Society cannot be resolved and that my position with the organization is no longer tenable.

Since the election of the new Management Committee three months ago in June you have not acted in good faith. You have not asked to meet with me to discuss the future strategic direction of The Wilderness Society, to consider how the current dispute might be overcome or my future role.The Wilderness Society is Australia’s largest and best resourced environment organization because of the high quality of management from previous management Committee’s and the senior management team under my leadership.

I cannot stand by and watch the ruthless treatment of many of Australia’s best campaigners and senior staff simply because they do not support your group. You have already effectively purged all but one member of the senior management team. The cronyism that was rife in The Wilderness Society during the 1980’s is in the process of being reintroduced on an unprecedented scale. The appointment of the new National Campaign Director will be another glaring example of the cronyism and self-serving process you are now responsible for.

I am appalled that one of your first actions has been to orchestrate pay increases for your supporters at the expense of critical national and international roles.

It is clear your Committee is determined that the 45,000 members of The Wilderness Society will never be empowered through a postal ballot. You took every action possible to stop my actions towards democratising the organisation and I note that the critical postal vote for members is not even being canvassed in the proposed governance review. If the 45,000 members are not empowered the organisation will degenerate to being there for the staff’s own ends, rather than the protection of Australia’s wild places. You know your Committee was only elected with 1.5% of the membership and this is the sole reason you will not introduce a postal vote. The internal campaign organised, resourced and controlled by Campaign Centres has now given effective control of TWS Inc to a number of legally separate entities. This puts your committee in direct breach of TWS Inc’s legal obligations under DGR. You are fully aware of these legal obligations and your moves to institutionalise campaign centre control are organisationally reckless and a direct threat to TWS Inc’s tax deductible status.

The victims of your actions so far include, Sylvia Tobler (6 years Service), Julie McGuiness (22 years service), Andrew Wong (19 years service), the loss of “the WildCountry Hub” at ANU, (NAME AND POSITION DELETED – TT) on stress leave, (NAME AND POSITION DELETED – TT) on stress related workers compensation, (NAME AND POSITION DELETED – TT) suspended and on stress related sick leave (it is clear you intend to dismiss (NAME DELETED – TT) as soon as he returns from leave). Clearly this is just the beginning of removing anyone who was not a supporter of your group. I remain deeply concerned for the future well being of the HR Manager, Graham Blanksby, the International Climate team, Virginia Young and Peg Putt and Corporate Campaigner, Paul Oosting. All of these extraordinary individuals have been marginalized to the point that their work is extremely difficult.

Prior to the internal conflict you created and fueled, the organisation was in the strongest financial position in its long history. Reserves were substantial and fundraising strong. A number of major donors have now withdrawn funding as a direct result of your actions and donation appeals are significantly down. Senior managers you have appointed are making reckless statements that the organisation is “trading while insolvent”. With the loss of almost the entire previous senior management team the organisations finances are now in crisis, just a few short months since you have taken control.

You have tried to pretend that the dispute is about my personal management style, and that of other members of the current leadership team. This is false, and you know it to be false. The debate within The Wilderness Society is now and always has been over strategic directions and the appropriate organisational structure to deliver our strategies. To portray the debate as being about me personally is an insult to the many other leaders of the organisation who agreed with me, many of whom have already been forced out, and most of whom will likely soon follow. Your actions speak volumes about your alleged path of ‘healing’ the organization! The options you presented in your letter of today’s date to me are both obviously unacceptable, and clearly designed to be so. You have been attempting to make my own position and that of all the leadership team who worked with me, intolerable.

Since the election of the new Committee, I have been approached with a number of alternate employment options. To date I have declined these offers due to my twenty five year commitment to The Wilderness Society and a desire to resolve this dispute in the best interests of TWS. Unfortunately I now cannot continue under these conditions and hereby give four weeks written notice of my resignation, as required under Section 17.1(a) of my Employment Agreement. I will therefore cease my 25 year involvement with The Wilderness Society on 13 October 2010. I will expect to be paid up until 13 October 2010 in line with your obligations under my Employment Agreement.

You wish The Wilderness Society to remain a largely amateur staff controlled organisation, without effective direction from, or accountability to, its membership. I have made our campaigns professional and staff accountable for their performance.

The actions and decisions of the new Management Committee will make The Wilderness Society an amateur organisation, unaccountable to its membership, or for its performance. Achieving environmental success in the 21st century requires constant innovation and capacity to change. TWS will become marginalised if it reverts to a political protest organisation. Your approach cannot be reconciled with the direction I have been pursuing for the future of the organisation, as detailed in the strategic papers I presented and to which you so strenuously objected.

The approach of my leadership team has clearly been successful. We are the architects and organisers of victory. The recent announcements from Gunns about exiting native forest logging in Tasmania, WA and Victoria are poised to deliver one of the greatest environmental breakthroughs since the saving of the Franklin River. This is the direct result of my leadership team’s professional, innovative and disciplined approach. Your actions are now damaging that approach.

The disbanding of the Canberra office’s strategic function is but another example of your decisions that are reducing the ability of The Wilderness Society to be the most effective national organisation dedicated to protecting Australia’s wild places.

As you have attempted to personalise the argument, you have made many public statements against me that are clearly defamatory, and you have also improperly pressured me to resign. But I believe both the defamatory personal statements and improper pressure on me to resign are illegal, and I am now investigating legal action against you and other members of the current Management Committee. Today’s letters from you pressuring me to resign are in themselves highly defamatory and improper.

I have avoided responding with personal attacks, and will continue to do so. While I have avoided any public comment to date, to protect The Wilderness Society, your actions, which now jeopardize it’s future, make it necessary to respond.

The actions of the TWS Inc Management Committee toward the many staff who have contributed their lives to the organisation for over 20 years is disgraceful. The precipitous action you have taken in regard to myself, while I am on sick leave, is but another example of the heartless nature of your actions. I believe your actions against me contravene Australian law. I am resigning “under Duress” and reserve all of my legal rights.

Yours sincerely,

Alec Marr