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STOP THE CLOCK
340 days too long
WIRES withheld its 2011 financial return. Where WIRES fails its members, rw.com delivers.
See what WIRES is hiding
Who is Spartacus?
What is he doing?
Find the answer
here.
Spartacus & rw.com
Caring for volunteers
Caring for wildlife.
Free Speech
Love Us? Hate Us? Tell Us!
We can't go around encouraging honest criticism without expecting some to come our way. So, if you want to say anything about us, or about anything at all, good or bad, then say it here.
To prove you can say what you like...
Here is the post most commented on from our Dear Leader...
There is very little more contemptible and pathetic than those who pour poison in the ears of others from the refuge of anonymity. WIRES Board is democratically ELECTED every year. Every WIRES member has the opportunity to participate in the process. Not everyong [sic] will be happy - I didn't like eleven years of John Howard as PM - but his election was democratic. So is WIRES Board. If you don't like the Board vote it out, starting in your own branch AGMs. Cowardly and anonymous whining is purely destructive. No thanks; I dont want a subscription.
- Stan Wood - Former chair of WIRES Board.
Comments
Chair - Bill Thompson
Vice Chair - Vanessa Martin
Treasurer - Jim Watt
Secretary - Merrilee VerHoeven
Rhonda Hansen
Wayne Layers
Tony Howle
Kim Strong
Bill Fortier
Not so.
If you speak out before the election you are censured without right of reply that means you cannot vote despite being a paid up member.
DEMOCRATIC. I think not.
Is it possible for Domino to be a coordinator and have people who wish to go public send their contact details to Domino, that way if Four Corners picks up the story we are seen to have a united front.
I believe that there are many people who have justifiable grievences and we need to have a co-ordinator to liaise between the media and be able to pass on people's contact information. Then it is up to those people to decide for themselves if they want to go public and remedy this bullying situation, or keep their concerns to themselves and not do anything to fix the problem. For too long now people have been complaining but until now no one has had the guts to do anything. T?he situation will only worsen. Here where I am there is only 1 shooter for a huge area so injured animals are left to die alongside the road. Also with the new directive about ordering milk we often run out and members are forced to buy it from the local vet at $40 kg. Where is the public's donated money going - certainly not to the carers. Wires sprout WHS but what branch has a safety officer? Too many problems to count and all OEH can say "it's an internal Wires matter", the only people who can help us is ourselves. Open up a festering wound and treat it - the only way to recovery.
a. bashing them to death
b. waiting hours for the police (who do not have the right weapon)
c. waiting hours for a vet/rspca
I'm doing my last farewell concert again real soon.
Funny all the Spartacus's are you trying to block the last 5 comments from showing up. I'll repeat this again and again.....
Wires snoops on you. They read what you email if you go through there site and they are after your IP address's. Is this the type of thing a NORMAL charity would do.
Does this get under someone's nose, why is it because you don't want members to know that you listen in. Wires is like the STAZI
All I know for sure is this site has gone to shit since spartacus left.
e.g. I'm sure there are horror stories in EVERY organisation and even bad moments for EVERY carer. How widespread and frequent are this bad times?
If you are in the middle of a State, hours from a carer and come across a dead mac with pinky joey, do you let it starve or euthanase? If the latter - how? Is this the way you always/usually do it or emergency?
Re posting this because its classic-
Herpes Helminthes the proud self-confessed hacker? The guy who won't tell you (his) real name. who uses tormail on the TOR network used by hackers everywhere. Hes bragged about tor to heaps of people. Look it up:
Tor has been "described by The Economist... as being "a dark corner of the web." Anonymizing systems such as Tor are at times used for matters that are, or may be, illegal in some countries... Tor can also be used for anonymous defamation, unauthorized leaks of sensitive information, and copyright infringement, the distribution of illegal sexual content, the selling of controlled substances, money laundering, credit card fraud and identity theft; the black market which utilizes the Tor infrastructure... has been used by criminal enterprises, hacktivism groups (such as Anonymous), and law enforcement agencies at cross purposes, sometimes simultaneously."
Helen or is it Karen? You made a mistake there Helen is one of his other hacker names.
Go on, talk to a self confessed gutter licker who uses an anonymity network loved by child pornographers, drug dealers, and identity thieves all over the world.
Crashing sound of glass houses! Idiot!
WIRES did have a avenue to let members express their views and discuss issues that effected them, it was called the WIRES discussion pages. These were private pages that WIRES members could see but every time the Board deemed the thread/converstaion controversal or critical of them they closed it down. I'm suprised that this type of website/blog wasn't started sooner. I guess you have to had left WIRES to start it otherwise you would be hunted down and gotten rid of.
What this site has uncovered and made public is the that the problem is the people running the place the Board. The theme running through every story is that the poor treatment of volunteer members, not following there own policies and Constitution. What is needed is people with skills to volunteer to run WIRES. Many members have received badly written condensending and threatening letters from the Board, others have been forced to resign or just resigned due to digust.
We are now seeing the result that many volunteer members have left the organisation and that WIRES can only provide a wildlife rescue service of up to 30-50% of each branch territory. I imagine that other wildlife groups can verify this as there rescue rates and calls would have increased dramatically. Call any vet clinic and ask them how long it takes for an animal to be picked up? Most vets prefer to call another organisation before WIRES.
"Even bad moments for every Carer" pretty much occurs every time you come across that school of thought.
S.
It is an odd thing to have on a site such as this. Why did you write it?
{I was being dramatic - not that I need to answer your question. Heaven knows with all these break-ins and marauding "hackers" about the Feds would need to take a number and wait their turn. Not that you'd know anything about that of course. And why "an odd thing" you say? You're doing it again and not too subtly: Load the premise but don't justify it - all that innuendo - all that smear - a skid mark from ear to ear. That was poetic licence - I'd better watch out as WIRES will try to revoke it. S.}
When you write about break ins, is that shit you are making up for some reason as well?
Why do you talk this rubbish? Is it because you are dumber than a sack of hair?
regards,
B of A
{Dear B.A. - there have been hacking events galore and break ins (rumour is one happened only last weekend) - you don't know that because no one will talk to you because you have proved again and again to be treacherous - that's why your style of "reform" keeps failing. What are you calling your "reform group of one" - "Wires Reform I". Tut ta. S.}
{Nice to see you supporting the hacker. This guy is the HACKER! He's not just some minor inconvenience - he is outright dangerous to anyone who comes in contact with him as history has demonstrated. He hacked this site - stole what he could (I didn't leave much for him to take) and he attempted to force me into revealing your identity. You may think its unimportant but wait until you get hacked or your identity is exposed - then see how focused you get. With this guy around no one is safe! If I want to toy with him I will and by doing so you are alerted to his presence and to his perennial deceit. You see, as much as it gets on my nerves, I will stick to the policy of publishing the opinions of others without censorship - even his - even yours. S.}
And it took WIRES 5 days to notify their members about the vandalism at Head Office. No hurry guys.
If you want to know the real breaking news in wildlife care, listen to Spartacus. He got word out 4 days earlier. WIRES looks after their members - what a joke!
People like you BA make me sick. You need to look at what is happening around you and do something that will make a difference.
{I didn't get the news out - WIRES members did. That's what this messy little site is about - open communication, warts and all. S.}
Wires seems to lack troops on the ground and experience and knowledge at the coal face. My local vet has stated I rang personally 4 times and I rang ……… a member twice. I had no choice other than to Eu. after 8 days.
His partner said to me “Wires are giving us the Shits 5 years ago wires would be on the doorstep before we put the phone down”.
You seem to be holding back. I hope that you will accept my intervention.
What the big 'S' is saying is that here at Reformwires you have free speech when you become a victim of the board as have some board members expelled and taken advantage of their free speech on this site and ex board members who have been spilling the beans and some wires board members who wish to threaten ex members who have told them what they think of them face to face and how to block their brain from drizzling out between their legs.
Further the Board should not acquiesce on the thought that Henry is an incompetent Investigator and that Spartacus is a one of the Board. Slowely Slowely Catch the Snake.
Wires will again rise from the abyss. It just requires the removal of a few bollards to bring Wires back into focus and some intelligent educated natural leaders to guide it to work alongside the community and within the ideals. Even the Herring has rolled over and the Deakin of Killara has gone to ground her association have failed to reply to questions put to them Slowely the wheel grinds to a halt/stop.
Some people do not see the writing on the wall until they have their back to it. Intelligent people know when to step aside. It is what Henry calls the Obede factor. The membership may say little but they all know when somebody is standing on their foot. ie the snake from the Wingercarribea swamp. Time to slither back into the peat bog. We have always had this soft spot for the snake.
If you think for one moment I enjoy producing this website or that this is my preferred way of instigating change then you are both wrong and thoughtless. I would much prefer to see change occur through considered argument, thoughtful and courteous debate, in a properly mediated and fair forum operating in a broader democratic system. WIRES does not offer that.
For at least 8 years WIRES has operated in a manner totally other to that described above. “Mountain Brushy”, you and your friends had ample time to make change real but you failed each and all the time. I often wonder if some of the so-called critics of WIRES are not drawing some advantage closer to home by having WIRES remain in this unfair and dysfunctional state. Year after year, one after another, members have thrown themselves at the reform problem and each one has been cut down. All the time WIRES management learns and therefore gains from the experience and things only got worse for the reformers that followed. With each and every loss there were fewer left to fight on and fewer willing to take on the mechanism.
I would love nothing more than to give up this site. I personally find it draining and anxiety filled. If the axe falls, it falls on me – its not your door they’ll be knocking on. If you would like to take over the responsibility and take on the very real risks to yourself, then by all means set up your own reform website or group and I will happily sign off.
I did this as a last resort because everything else had failed – everyone else had failed. Your criticism is not at all welcome but, as is the rw promise: I will never prevent others from hearing your opinion, no matter what I personally think of it and regardless of the risks it may pose to me.
Long live Mrs Spartacus. Long Live WIRES.
The snake was not in danger, the family were in danger. The ex member of WIRES replied I am too busy collecting other animals that WIRES can’t manage; the snake is in no danger of dying and tell the caller it is illegal to kill the snake. Please refer back to WIRES.
So! Here we are years down the line and animals are now being Euthanased because WIRES has alienated so many volunteers due to belligerence, mismanagement, incompetence, lack of duty, of care and lack of relationship skills. WIRES has become crippled and has alienated its most precious assets, ‘Carers’. Those remaining are cautious and anything that might seem like a problem is rejected.
And so it is that the board of WIRES continue with a full rig to sail down and down into the depths of self imposed despair down towards the great conjunction and confluence with the constant unavoidable stream of reality. Who cares how many animals die from neglect along the way. The Board can always point back and say I was told a speck of blood was spilled in the altruistic act of training by the most influential charismatic and knowledgeable Trainer and carer that WIRES will ever have. No animals will die while we are in control. Sorry to say it but WIRES is only in control of mismanagement of the millions of dollars that belong to animal care and never gets there.
Like little children trying to fool their headmaster the board of WIRES are stuck in the head office because their heads are so swollen they cannot get back out the door to appreciate that we the volunteers all live on and in a multiple of ways and the WIRES management are left wallowing in the own self dug cesspit. They are simply a phenomenon that has passed and been flushed
WIRES has gone from an altruistic caring organisation to an uncaring profiteering organisation. ANIMALS are not on the agenda; ANIMALS and LEACHING ON THE CARING CITZENS AND THE DYING is the driving force behind WIRES.
Shame on the executive and shame on those who SPONSOR neglect and belligerence towards the sick and injured animals and the altruistic membership.
WIRES lacks a heart and has no sole. The best people for WIRES are the people who have had the fortitude to stand up singularly to the regime.
The animals are just left to die. Poor little buggers. We can’t even rescue them because we do not know they are waiting for help. The Board do not give a shit about anything other than their precious big ego and their tiny little self centred minds. The Vets are no longer a 1 of the priority’s.
Wires is nothing more than a big gas bag held down by a bag of money. Animals !!! What are they? Nat Parks are implicit in this neglect of wildlife. If wires were so squeaky clean they could afford to have a full investigation by Nat. Parks or whatever they call themselves today. Without the input Of Mr (kipper) Two faces at once. HERRING.
God knows NPWS have had so many complaints over the years and done fcuk all. Is it any wonder that WIRES is in this state. These old guard should resign in shame of what they have created.
Bring in the receivers and lets re-build.
All branches should stop running RICC, no point in getting new members.
{Thanks - I'm thinking of setting up a fan club. S.}
A similar incident has happend once before within the Illawarra Branch and the members of the Board fell for it hook line and sinker. The executives were humiliated and ridiculed by the board with the Executives suffering hardship trying to prove their innocence. In the end justice prevailed and the board had egg on their faces simply because they did not take a neutral stance but instead believed a small band of renegades and belittled the Executive.
Now, do you think the Board would have learnt by that experience? You guessed it, a great big NO! I believe there is also a conflict of interest with a member of the board who has a personal issue with the accused and is hiding in the background instigating the coup, he should jup out!
Hang in there Wingecarribee, you know how the dinosaurs ended up.
{rw reported last year that Mike Jupp was resoundingly and democratically voted out as rep for the Wingecarribie Branch. We predicted he would slither on to the board via the Reptile Team just as Merilee Verhoeven had done (and we were right too). Now, the board was not happy about one of its most loyal devotees being treated this way by the ignorant members and we are not surprised to see the newly popularly democratically elected executive being set up and removed. Take out all opposition and all you have is Mike Jupp and cronies. Destroy all trust in the democratic system and all you get is no one voting against the Board's loyal hounds. WIRES has done this many times before. No surprises here. S.}
Someone said on RW six month ago that they felt sorry for the poor person who out voted Mike Jupp, because he would be in for it, well they got that right.
The assumption that the spineless little snake made was in fact incorrect in fact it is an elderly woman well known to The Snake. That indiscretion will come back to haunt the Management of wires. So long as The snake Ms Muffet The Secretary of Estates and the Killara Deakin are around the decline will continue to nose dive under the guidance of Inspector Gadget. remember what happened to Rudd and where we ended up remember what happened to our best Prime Minister our Worst Prime Minister and The World’s Greatest Treasurgeon stabbed or about to be stabbed. We could have been an example to the world. Wires is now becoming on par with Julia’s World. They don’t answer phones they are failing to round up rescuers and carers Reluctantly the members of the council are bailing them out. Wires are spending their money Empire building to dominate wildlife care. God help us.
Go Go Gadget just Go take your sniveling hangers on and let our members attend to wildlife care and let our donors get value for their generosity.
Time for my Nanna nap.
My question to all the legal eagles out there, "is this legal and democratic".
Wires seems to have a death wish, to destroy itself from within. If you think for yourself or have an opinion different from theirs , then you become a target. The hierarchy of Wires see you as a threat,and will do anything to get you to leave.
That this particular branch rep stands at Council in place of someone who was a loyal defender of the old guard (and thus caused the previous rep to go to great lengths to assure their place on the Board) simply means double jeopardy. I hope, for the sake of the new rep and the branch they represent, that they are taking copious written notes and keeping copies of written correspondence, because they will need them.
The only surprise for me in all this is how long it took for the backlash to come about.
How about those members do their part for the organisation and resign.
Their branches can stand against them specially if they are bullying and intimitating members due to their position.
South Branch used to be alive. Members were almost competing to get to the rescue first. Thanks to the Bastards on the Board the remaining Volunteers are burning out. It will take the likes of South branch to fail to bring this problem into the public domain and the Board cowed and beaten to their knees.and turning their heads for home. If not already. The 2GB radio rumor is that Wires is failing. Blind Freddy knows that.
So if an investigation can be undertaken by independent qualified people into bullying allegations within the CSIRO, why can't one take place into bullying allegations within WIRES. It should be set up immediately by the NSW government if WIRES will not agree. This is the only way for WIRES to repair the damage and harm done to its members. The members and branches will only be free from this behaviour and the harm being done by this abuse of power when WIRES rids itself of its bullies.
Animals have more rights than unpaid volunteers. Until unpaid volunteers have the same rights as paid staff, then there will be no change. All I can suggest is write to every politician an dept and ask for change. And let the donors know, they can create change to.
Wow..... I say to the normal ones on here, give up and stop feeding the trolls.
ITS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT THE ANIMALS.
Not fighting on some stupid website. How about you go spend your spare time you have spent on here acyually doing something that helps - go and help fundraise for your branch. At least the momey stays there.
it's a shame, I had high hopes for this site, but now whenever someone asks me about it I will just smile and shake my head. The crazies have spoken over the ones who are educated as well as passionate.
And it's not HO that suffers while you all bicker. It's the animals.
Good one guys.
So now you're happy to see WIRES blow millions of dollars donated to help animals on anything but animals? And your happy as they drive people who might help animals away? You're not delusional, you're just all hurt.
The animals suffer while HO exists.
Can anybody shed some light on what has happened to the $306.000.00 unaccounted for. i.e. 4 years Government subsidies.
As Board members drop off like gangrenous limbs they expose the rotting carcass. Time to place the executive into a induced coma. while the cause is treated. If possible.
I really wonder why people think that just because you want to reform the governance you imply we don't care about the animals. When the current state of WIRES is that experienced carers have either left or are inactive, the result being that animals are not being rescued nor cared for appropriately.
Reform is ALL about the animals.
IF WIRES CANNOT PROVIDE THE SERVICE FOR 2.6 MILLION DOLLARS HOW IS IT THAT OTHERS CAN PROVIDE IT FOR A MERE PITTANCE AND WITHOUT THREATS AND THAT DESPISED AUSSIE TRAIT OF BLUDGING. A TRAIT RARELY SEEN IN THIS COUNTRY AND NOW INTRODUCED BY GOD FORSAKEN INTERLOPERS. NOW ADOPTED BY WIRES AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
GOD SAVE AUSTRALIA BECAUSE NO WIRES EXECUTIVE OR COUNCILL HAVE ANY INTENTION OF SAVING OUR WILD LIFE ONLY SAVING THEIR ARSES. WELL! THAT IS ALL ABOUT TO TURN THE DINOSAURS ARE ABOUT TO MUSTER ON THE CRAPITAL AND THE GREENS FALL WILL BE FAST FOLLOWED BY THE FALL OF THE GREAT UNWASHED THE NEVER EXPIERIENCED THE FAT HEADS AND THE UNGODLY WASTEFULL. IF YOU ARE NOT TRUE BLUE ALTRUISTIC AND HAVE FAMILY COMMUNITY AND NATIONL PRIDE YOU CAN PISS OFF NOW OR CRAWL BACK INTO YOUR LITTLE SELF DUG GRAVES. A NEW ERA IS HERALDED AND A NEW SPRING IS UPON US. GOD WON'T SAVE US BUT YOUR VOTE MIGHT SEE OUR CHILDREN DEBT FREE BEFORE THEY DIE. AND EVERY DOLLAR DONATED TO WILDLIFE SPENT ON WILDLIFE REHABILITATION AND INTEGRATION OF HUMANITY AND OUR GENETICALLY RELATED COUSINS.
FIRING RETRO ROCKETS NOW!
FAB
thank you.
There has to be a better way for us to organise fundraising, and I would love to see Head Office supporting and nuturing us in doing this in the most appropriate way so that we can continue to do what we do best. So, come on Head Office, ignore my previous rant, and show us how we can all work together, please????
Spill the beans get it out feel good sleep at night and retrieve what you can and get the millions of Dollars working for animals not feral incompetent inexperienced management who feather their nests rather than a wildlife nest.
Remember Reformwires came from members who had fortitude and lacked the numbers. you have joined strong and intelligent people with hearts shallow pockets integrity and maturity. You sound like your conscience is troubling you. Spit the dummy and be free.
If you need the facts, I suggest you contact someone who knows what they are talking about, and it is obvisously NOT the author of the post nor the person/s that advised the "poster"
She comes highly recommended:
Quote: emassociates.com.au/testimonials/ [LINK MOVED]
Quote: - Oh so that is when WIRES became obsessed with chasing dying people for cash. Interesting approach.
Quote: - oh, so that is when all the volunteers were sacked and telephonists employed, their primary aim being to get the callers' details so they can be bombarded with begging letters later - stuff the animals.
Quote: - WOW, does Leanne actually do anything these days? Evelyn seems to be running WIRES according to that testimonial. No wonder Leanne makes sure Evelyn gets her hands on tons of donated money in return for her efforts. And when was the WIRES Council ever consulted about any of this? "Never" is the answer.
I wonder how Evelyn feels about associating her business with WIRES? Maybe she should get some soul and come consult for a noble cause.
Quote:
Quote: emassociates.com.au/our-services/bequests-planned-giving/ [LINK MOVED] - text quoted was accurate at time of posting.
I wonder if that includes having Leanne Taylor listen in on another line when Evelyn is clinching the deal with some poor suffering dying person? I mean, that's service for you.
Quote:
I'd love to know magnum PI considers worse!
People isolated because they do or think something the group doesn't like: he likes hunting, he has cats, she eats meat, she dresses strange, he's unemployed, she votes x party, shes athiest, he lives in the wrong suburb, she once said she agreed with x idea... and on it goes. It can simply be that someone on the committee doesn't like the look of them.
Whether they are good at caring for animals or do rescues doesn't even come into it, its all about other shit that has nothing to do with rehab of native animals. There's that wonderful example of an aboriginal person being considered for rejection because someone thought that it was a conflict of interest to have a WIRES rescuer who was also legally allowed to eat wildlife.
What this guy does otherwise is no one's business so long as he rescues animals, is good at rehabilitation and doesn't make life harder for native animals. Everything else is none of your business as I said.
my comment was tongue in cheek Myrtle!
I think if someone hunts deer they may be helping native wildlife, if done within POCTA laws however hunting kangaroo is different..
Perhaps Spartucus should consider the merit of continuing this thread as it appears to serve no useful purpose and is becoming disrespectful and personal-part of the orignal problem?
We eat meat. it has to come from somewhere. Would you prefer the deer is shot and left and is eaten by maggots and decomposes away? Or you are happy to keep the foxes that are killing our local wildlife?
What a waste!
Do you throw your dead possums out into your yard for the flies? Or do you not want their death to be in vain, so make sure it's food for another injured animal?
I know what I do, and as much as I hate animals dying, i refuse to have it be a death in vain. If they can feed the animals I have in care, so be it.
Is this representing the animals and in line with the WIRES aims Quote:
I care very much about what is happening to wires. If wires cannot get itself back on target . Restructure its constitution and management It will have lost all credibility by 10.2013. Quote: This board can mend the fences and target the objective of wires or continue towards the Abyss.
From the data I read it is very clear that The money does not get to the animals and it is rare that wildlife is raised in any form or even as the priority in letters correspondence or discussion at executive levels.
Every time that I think about the lack of respect for members and the minimal concern for wild life that is permeating from the Board and management I feel that they have their fingers in my throat, hands in my pocket and screwing me for all they can get. Only to then later discarded me exhausted broke and belittled. Then they will expect my bequest. I am so disheartened with the inhumanity of these people that I see their faces in every carcass I have to return to the earth. NO! I'm not depressed I am really disappointed that the Ideals of wires is never the priority and the management is so very far remote to reality and the founders initial objectives and causing such disappointment to such a wonderful group of dedicated Volunteers.
PLEASE DO NOT PUT THESE NOSES BACK IN THE WILDLIFE'S TROPH.
I have correspondence from that Sacred-hairy Bird of BMC It surely was not approved by board members. Not all the board can be so unanimously bias nasty and discriminating. (We will soon find out).
I have written to her and questioned the Chairman Bill Thompson. She replies on his behalf. maybe he does not know he is not referred to only the collective we. We are not going to reply." ?
A reply stating they will not reply is most defiantly a reply. (What else is it).
Should I respond.??? I wrote this (see below) paragraph and decided to hold onto it. I now feel it is worth publishing if only for a laugh.
I am replying to your reply in which you state that you will not reply. I ask can you explain why you state you will not reply when you have replied without addressing my request for a reply to my response to the chairman Bill Thompsons request for me to reply to him which I did and he never acknowledged. This is why you are now receiving this reply to forward my other reply asking. Why no reply?
Makes me wonder... if a Secretary doesn't keep minutes, and doesn't reply to correspondence, then what is the Secretary doing?
Quote: The boundary/barricade set up by management to deny the members their constitutional rights is called Apartheid.
Congratulations to the management.
WIRES should be the jewel in the crown of Wildlife. WIRES requires.
Quote: It only takes one person who knows how to lead; knows how to speak to people politely; knows how to wear their own indiscretions, be humane, allow for human frailty and understands why WIRES was formed. We have those people in WIRES but unfortunately none in management. Attend the AGM on behalf of our little furry and feathered friends.
Quote: less Doh! and more Rrrrr.
I realise with all the staff cuts that this will now not happen, but this was scheduled way before that happened. How many wildcare groups actually got inspected?
You are only a Volunteer.
You must be taught to know your place.
With the margin for error in budgeting for WIRES having reached a point where the animals have to suffer by having an ambulance and two drivers removed rather than remove untrained staff to balance the books and employ an insider driver trained to spin the inefficiency to the unsuspecting public. It occurs to me that the next item to be removed is the food subsidy.
This leads me to wonder whether or not our members Accident Insurance has been paid. As after nearly a year there is still no indication of when we will receive an annual report and Still no co-operation from management and refusal to communicate, I have to publicly ask this.
Are the rescuers insured by management with the money members paid as part of their membership fees.
When was it renewed
Who is the insurer
What is the policy number.
I need to know.
You need to know.
Ex members left with animals need to know.
Other organisations rescuing as foster carers for wires need to know.
The management refuse to communicate with members who dare to ask.
Are we all Little Oliver's Cowed and Beaten by Bill the Beadle.
W ires is for Wildlife not Workhouse.
If you had supported John Howard the country and wires wouldn’t be so dysfunctional.
The replacements don't give a dam about responsibility for the occupation health and safety of the nation or carers or animals. You may remember asking me to get you out of an expensive and troublesome problem. I did to the benefit of all. I could have said no ‘shove it’.
Later: When I had to save 2 little birds you let me down big time. That does not worry me I am a big boy I can get things done. without a sensitive and incompetent manager.
What concerns me most is that to this day those 2 little birds would be dead if I had left it up to wires defective 2.6 million dollar system. Stan I want you to know and think about those 2 little birds when you awaken in the night. Because those two little birds are alive and symbolic of Reformwires. Every balloon has a point of failure. When this is all over and Wires can work with ethics. hearts and altruistic minds volunteers will be lined up to join and rejoin. the present pirates will be banished and shamed for their waste of funds and neglect of animals as a result. The lap top cannot replace a warm lap nor suckle and crop feed. Get on Board Stanley spill the beans save the animals save the money save the volunteers save yourself. get up stand up and save our little seed spreading fertilising insect eating tree trimming soil breaking air recycling balance of life.
Money and computers cannot breathe life into a dying animal. As Stanley you will most certainly find out one day.
I hope my TONE does not upset you as it did poor little Leanne. She is such a sensitive imposter.
As for Merry lee. She will find out one day that she could have worked for the forces of good and be remembered. We all have a choice in life unless of course you are an animal in distress. for example.
Today I learned of another wires black spot other than Sydney to Sutherland Ref. The Seagull. today it is Sydney to Bankstown. The poor vet got so upset about wires not picking up an animal. They went to an alternative group who picked it up immediately.
He is still waiting to hear from a wires rescuer. Now 26 days.
Get up STAN dup for your Rights.
(Sounds like a basis for a reform song).
Sincerely yours
The ImPeachinator
Quote:
Please enlighten us with your fool proof plan to vote the Board out. I know that you cannot. Show us how it is done or are you all stuffing and no legs. We will have democracy in wires before you can explain it to us simple minded Volunteers. Maybe Little Willy can help you. The board of bastards has recently been referred to as the Echidnas. Something to do with spines pricks and always having their head in the ground and their arse exposed. You stated that you were a Chair somebody else says you’re a Stool I think you are a worn out Legless Pouf. Work for good not Evil.
Don't tell me that Wires couldn’t find a Volunteer for the job. Wires has more Volunteers than they won’t. SurelyQuote: Can sneak in through the doggy door at a later date with her poisoned pen and destroy the council as well as Wires. I can only guess that nobody wished to be the symbol of Wires. and the person to answer all the questions when the annual report gets spun out to the members.
I might point out that rw never said WIRES was in favour of this change to the NWC constitution. The comment made leading up to it was that WIRES had an "interest" in it - word reaching us was that WIRES was against it but rw wanted to count its chickens later - proof in the pudding and all that.
I might point out further that rw reported that WIRES was against it back in July 2012 (see www.reformwires.com/free-speech#comment-1037)
Anyone can find all this with a bit of research.
Ands as for WIRES not attending the NWC AGM: It doesn't take Sherlock to figure that one out. After Leanne Taylor convinced the Firearms Register that every wildlife carer in NSW was too untrustworthy and unskilled to euthanize injured animals she was about as popular as an honest person in a WIRES board meeting (pork chop... bar mitzvah etc.) - I would have stayed away too. No shit, Sherlock.
research sherlock!
rw heard that there had been changes to the voting rights at NWC. We heard rumours that WIRES was for it, some rumours that they were against it, and others saying they were against it but really they were for it and it was part of a bigger plan.
It took us a while to figure out which was the right one and as far as we can see WIRES was genuinely against it. That is strange because they are brazen in the allowance of far worse breaches of democratic processes in their own organisation.
I stand corrected.
It's allowed to happen because government do not give wildlife a value unless it's for their own profit. But its up to us to be that voice so please join us to make some noise.
You must be a Wires Board member. You have completely missed the point. Wires has this site imposed on it due to its poor Governance Lack of right of reply. lack of dispute resolution financial mismanagement. Animals and members rating as last and lowest priority. Bullying can be controlled and managed intelligently in other groups but not in Wires. To compare the Governance of other groups with Wires tells resigned members that you certainly have not had an opinion or questioned bad management in Wires as you are still there submissive. And were you in SMWS or other groups you would not be censured without the opportunity to respond/reply and be heard. Hence 'Reformwires' and no 'Reformsmws' or ‘reform Other groups.’ Any problem that you may have an issue with can be raised with other groups and can only be raised in wires through Reformwires. Contributors to this sight have better things to do. I know for sure we all would rather spend our time caring about animals rather than watching out for detectives and watching each other’s back. I know for sure that contributors to this site would all like to see wires reformed in a form that members can be proud of and a form that inspires new members. Open Governance and open books.
I don't mean to chew your head off. I just like to be an Aussie say what I think and give everybody A FAIR GO on the round about.
I hear many stories about other groups and WIRES is not alone in being unfair to its members.
The rw.com objectives say:
Quote: SMWS is welcome to contribute to this site and I thank them for it. As the months have passed it has become clear to me that the whole of the wildlife rehabilitation sector needs restructuring to better assist native animals and the people who care for them.
S.
In response to your email.
I will address the most important point of your email first. Unless rw.com is raided by the Feds or we are hacked in some way, your details will be safe. It is up to you as to how much identifying information you want to reveal.
I agree that the problems with wildlife rehabilitation in NSW stem from the way the sector is arranged and regulated. These problems manifest in the way the groups conduct themselves. WIRES is not the only group and certainly not the only one treating some of its members unfairly. rw.com has been saying this from the start. Your experiences and that of your friend are not isolated events. You are welcome to post what you wish to the site, although some documentation is always helpful.
I noticed when you posted the comment on the site the other night, at the same time someone also subscribed to updates. I assumed the two were connected. I did try to send you an email using the email address supplied but it was rejected. I have tried again and still rejected.
Whether you are a spy or otherwise concerns me not - on the open plains of public-anonymity there's no need to hide and no need to spy.
Thank you for your input.
The reason that wires has lost so much money is because they treat people so poorly that nobody trusts them and everything has to be done the hard way and without using the most precious resource the experience in the membership and trust. As Leanne Says. (I can't get any cooperation.) that is because she has no respect for anybody. Even the fundraiser says she is good on the computer but has no management skills.
RESPECT MANNERS AND CONSIDERATION COST NOTHING. One thing is for sure. The Board and management can afford RESPECT MANNERS AND CONSIDERATION
I had not considered the members who have no alternative. That is unfortunate. If the whole branch resigns it might encourage some of the other branches to do the same and attach themselves to another group. I can assure you there is a better life after Wires. Quote: .There is nothing to stop you rescueing an animal as a member of the public and caring for it because there is no alternative. Imagine the Board complaining. NO WAY.
It would come back on them like a ton of bricks. Remember the Board have bought this upon themselves. Not the members. Members and animals are the victims.
These polices no longer applicable to the way WIRES is organised today
7.5 Ethics Committee
6.4 Use of [term] "Friends of WIRES"
Bill think about restanding and whether it's really in the best interest of the organisation or if it's for your own personnel gain.
MERRILLY GOVERNANCE!?
STRINGS. YES WE ALL AGREE HERE AT HQ.
A UNANIMOUS DECISION BY THE BOARD IS IN FACT OPFTEN A PERSONAL DECISION BY SECRETARY MISS MUFFET. SHE HAS MORE THAN CURDS IN HER WHEY. SHE HAS SPARTACUS ALL AROUND HER. IT MUST BE TERRIBLE FOR HER TO HAVE TO SNEAK INTO POSITIONS RATHER THAN COMPETE WITH HER PEIRS. SOME OF HER CORRESPONDENCE TO THE MAN FROM TUBICRQ IS BELLIGERENT SOME OF THE BOARD ARE NOT AWARE OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN THEIR GOOD NAMES. IE DISCRIMINATION OF A VERY COMPETENT MEMBER WITH A DISABILITY. PERSECUTION OF A MEMBER BASED ON A NOW RETRACTED STATEMENT. THE BEST IS A LETTER RECEIVED FULL OF INSULTS AND COWARDLY THE REPLY LINE BLOCKED. I GUESS THEY MUST HAVE HAD A FEW TO MANY SHERBERTS THAT NIGHT. HOW ABOUT THE TRAINER? THAT SAID IN MY PRESENCE TO A MEMBER. "BY THE TIME I NEW YOU WERE ON THE COURSE AND A FRIEND OF THAT BASTARD BLANCCK IT WAS TO LATE TO TELL YOU TO F... O.." QQO -AHH>. (WHO WAS THAT LADY). OR. THE MEMBER WHO WAS TOLD "YOU AND YOUR BRANCH FRIENDS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE ON THIS COURSE". ETC ETC, AND MERRILY SHE KEPT ROLLING ALONG, OBLIVIOUS . or was she? IT WAS PRESENTED TO HER AND THE BOARD IN PRINT. BY SUPPORTING THIS FORM OF GOVERNANCE MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGING A CONTINUENCE OF BAD MANAGEMENT THAT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.
WELL! SOME ONE IS DOING SOMETHING BEFORE IT IS TO LATE.
IN CASE MEMBERS HAVE FORGOTTEN THE KEY WORD IS 'WILDLIFE' IT IS NOT SYNONIMOUS WITH 'EGO'
What a piece of work this one is.
I have correspondence from that Sacredhairy bird. It surely was not approved by board members. Not all the board can be so unanimously bias nasty and discriminating. I have written to her and questioned the Chairman. She replies "We are not going to reply." ?
A reply stating they will not reply is a reply.
Should I respond with.
I am replying to your reply stating that you will not reply. I ask can you explain why you state you will not reply when you have replied without addressing my request for a reply to my response to the chairs request for me to reply which they never did and is why you are receiving this reply to forward my other reply asking. Why no reply?
If only she put as much effort into applying the rules of the organisation which is what should actually be doing instead of scheming behind the scenes against people she doesn't like.
I know what I have to do
Use of TERN. THAT IS UNETHICAL. ARE WE NOT SUPPOSE TO RELEASE THEM INSTEAD OF USE THEM.
Use of TERN. THIS MEANS FRIENDS OF WIRES CANNOT USE A SCHOONER WITH THREE MASTS. OR DOES IT MEAN THAT THE NON FRIENDS OF WIRES HAVE THE USE.
What are POLLICES.? Are they like a PADDLE POPS. or something that lives in your hair.
From my interpretation This Pollices do not apply to WIRES POLICIES .
I CAN UNDERSTAND THE REMOVAL OF THE TERM ( FRIENDS OF WIRES). FRIENDS ARE BECOMING OBSOLETE.
Whoever wrote this has made it void to those who read it. Therefore whatever It is supposed to say has not overridden what it is meant to say.
It does not say if it is replaced or altered.
I do not remember any survey stating or asking about members views or ethics.
This is most likely the beginning of the end for Wires as the ethics of the Board and management is clearly well beneath that of the members in the field.
Whoever wrote this deserves to be sacked if they are on the payroll.
This particular Board member did not attend very many Council meetings during the year a nice but no surprise.
Just goes to show that there is some democracy and justice working within WIRES, found in a few branches. He will be missed as one of the bullyboys. One poor council member with the guts to lodge a complaint that he had been defamed by the Board, ended up being dealt with outside the constitution in a meeting when a WSC meeting should have taken place. This board member was the Chair and the member who complained was not allowed to be present and had to sit outside. The [chair of this meeting, Mike Jupp] told everyone at the closed meeting that they could not take notes or discuss what was said. After the meeting [Jupp] tried to get the member kicked off the council - guess for daring to make a complaint. So 1 bullyboy gone from the Board unless he is reincarnated as a representative of a managment team. Only 2 more to go along with 2 bullygirls.
It wasted WIRES funds as it took most all day.
There was no election of who was to chair the meeting and it appeared that the end result was pre determined.
After the meeting that it was stated it was a pot team, which is was incorrect as no motion had been made to instigate this.
And yes that is correct that when the complaintant would not comply with the outcome (with due reason) they were then subject to a motion to remove them from the WSC.
It was very nasty stuff and outside the provisions of the Constitution.
It only took one phone call to get a Unanimous decision from the Board for myself.
Were you invited to have lunch with them?
I never even got to sit outside. if you were inside you could have raised a motion that they all go home and save wires members some money and settle it on the phone. I'm buggered if I would sit outside their 'pissing hole' will they put shit on me. I happen to know you have more balls than a juggler. Surely all the whining would have given you an ear ache.
God save the wildlife.
The Board won't. They are having a problem saving themselves from the rat in the ranks.
YOUR COMEING FROM LEFT FIELD.
FILL US IN DOOD.
This is were you can speak out.
You do not have to be a board member or make use of members money to be sneaky.
Who is next?
The forces and rescuers of wildlifes fight against evil.
Mild mannered people with mystical powers an empire technology and international communications. able to move undetected as a friend to all. Monitoring Gathering detecting and sifting data and dirt.
The central brain has detected that the latest Board victim JUMPPED off the plank to survive to fight for good.
Looks like another member hits the dust.
[edit].
I wish they would stick their heads in the [edit].
The JUmPPer might just be the person to tell the members where the bodies are buried and help get wWres back to wildlife care instead of being despised.
Also My birdie tells me that somebody has a transcript of a manager listening in on a private phone call to a donor who was called by a fund raiser on Wires behalf. They detected that it sounded suspicious The caller was asked ‘ Was their somebody else listening in’. They slipped up. The second person came on line and was asked who are you. It was Leanne. They encouraged Her to declare that she was listening in unannounced.
The manager confirmed it. It is illegal to record and illegal to listen unannounced to a private call.
It is pretty piss weak when a manager and a consultant conspire against a potential donor. They were told ‘never ring again'. So they now send begging emails instead.
Now we know why the conference line was installed. It smacks of ‘Up the Windsor Road’ tactics.
This is most interesting because other WIRES Branch WSC Reps say at an earlier State Management Council Meeting, they were sworn to secrecy over this very piece of information and threatened with torture and mutilation if they even thought of passing this information on to ANYONE.
Oh to be a Board Member and be able to act with impunity.
Interesting though, why would WIRES want to leave the Wildlife Council that they have been trying to take over.
Up until this proposed change, the other 28 wildlife groups in NSW were pretty slack in attending at the NWC; but once they heard there were constitutional changes on the agenda they got involved.
It is believed that they changed the constitution so that representatives AND their alternates could both serve simultaneously thereby giving one group two votes - an unfair disproportionate advantage. WIRES was dead against this it has been reported. Strange, because this is extremely similar to what WIRES did with their own WIRES State Council - Standards/Management Teams being able to vote gave some branches multiple voting rights and allowed the Board to stack the WSC - they didn't seem to mind doing it to their own members.
It looks like WIRES' own unfair tactics being used against them, and the increased number of participants at the NWC, has thwarted WIRES' plans to dominate it. This might explain the dummy-spitting idea to pack up the bat and ball and not participate - if they can't get their own way they aren't going to play. I can't understand it: The NWC was democratically elected every year. What's the problem with someone else doing what WIRES has done?
I reckon they'll be sending in the bully-boys real soon.
If WIRES are allowed to bully The Council as they do their members The Council might find that all other members will resign and form a new council without WIRES.
The actions taken by WIRES and information received tells us that the suspicions of members and others about the demise of Wires is reinforced
Why would they alienate themselves when they have so many other fronts to fight.?
We thought that WIRES Board would embrace any support that they can.
In conclusion I can only suggest that The WIRES Board is about to have their turn on the roundabout.
It is felt amongst us that board members are beginning to realise that They will be held financially and legally responsible. there appears to be enough evidence of irresponsible and calculated mismanagement and noticeable lack of ethics.
We have voted unanimously to ‘ Disassociate and retract any allegiance with WIRES Inc.’ Our attention resources and finances are now turned to the legalities of persecution intimidation discrimination and denial of right of reply. Compensation restitution and reinstatement of victims and an independent financial investigation.
Consequently I am concerned and money retentive as it is not my money to be irresponsible with I am simply trying to carrying out some dying requests. To not reply is not only bad manners and ungrateful but causes me inconvenience it makes me wonder if my correspondence reached the treasurer or was deleted it definitely was received. I find myself imagining all sorts of scenarios. I have the right to use my own discretion.
Quote:
seems there is now legislation to prevent bullying and harrassment of volunteers
Do not hang around where you are not appreciated. Their is always a group looking for good volunteers. Stick it up them. tell them on this site exactly what you think of them and get others to do the same. Remember They are just the lowest form of 'Bastards. they have to live with that. write an article take a photo and send it to the news paper and the radio. how do you think 2Gb got onto this. They are just sitting on it until that annual report is published.
Wires Board Oct 2011 - Oct 2012
Executive
Chair Bill Thompson
Vice Chair Bill Fortier
Treasurer Margaret Clinton
Secretary Merrilee Verhoeven
Board Members
Vickii Lett
Mike Jupp
Vanessa Martin
Margaret Cooper
Stuart Elser
All enquiries throught the Secretary [edit]
His/her branch should support their new WSC Rep and get ready for the other Board members to come down heavily on the branch. This already happens when a branch defies the Board. Contact other branches you know have been through hard times for help.
Be ready, know the Constitution, and stick together and fight for your rights.
All for what? The Board members don't look after animals, don't get paid, and if they think they are bettering things for animals take a look at the membership figures there going down so whats in it for them?
we need to stop this idiot from exploiting our wonderful native wildlife, this concerns me greatly!!
should be more concerned with whats happening in oz!
When I speak with others, the conversation always contains the words "Those Barsteds" and we all know who the reference is to.Sorry about the spelling.
Only to find that for people sitting on the management positions, who have been there for a long time (and don't look after animals anymore) have lost their way and their empathy to the animals and the people caring for them. They need to step aside go and do some soul serching and take care of some animals maybe then they will understand what this site is about.
http://reformwires.com/info/documents/42-wires-thank-you
If they did do another thank you, who would they publicly humiliate this time?
THE BOARD/MANAGEMENT OF WIRES FORGOT TO RESPOND TO OUR COMPANY’S GENEROUS OFFER TO SPONSOR A VAN LAST YEAR. AS A RESULT IT WAS NOT FORTHCOMING. HOW DO WIRES KNOW HOW MUCH THEY NEED IF 1. THEY DO NOT ACCEPT THE OFFER OF A SUBSTANTIAL DONATION AND 2. THEY HAVE NOT CONCLUDED THEIR FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR. WIRES IS SO CONCERNED THAT WE GET OUR BUSINESS DEALINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE THEY HAVE FAILED TO SEE THEY HAVE BECOME SUSPICIOUSLY INCOMPETENT AND RECKLESS WITH 2 MILLION DOLLARS OF PUBLIC MONEY. THEY HAVE 9 DAYS BEFORE THEY HAVE TO BEGIN COLATING A REPORT FOR THIS YEAR. IS THIS A LAST STITCHED ATTEMPT TO TRY TO SHOW AN INCLINE IN WIRES FINANCE???? BEFORE REVEALING AN ALARMING DECLINE IN THE LAST NOT YET PUBLISHED 266 DAYS OVERDUE ANNUAL REPORT.
Quote: SHOULD READ.
ONLY 9 DAYS TO SAVE US FROM OUR CALCULATED INCOMPETENT MANAGEMENT AND BELIGERENCE TOWARDS EXEMPLARY MEMBERS AND MEMBERS WHO CARE ABOUT OUR NATIVE WILDLIFE AND ALSO ARE POTENTIAL EXEMPLARY MEMBERS.
It seems that wires management have lost their integrity. The veracity of their advances towards members staff and contributors seems in vain.
I APOLOGISE FOR SHOUTING.
The native animals that I have in care are poisoning us with carbon.! how much will we have to pay to counteract the levy. can we claim a rebate if we place plants in the cages.what does the executive of wires have to say about this problem
Quote: what gives WIRES the right to send disturbing emails to sponsors and mops and members. The cause might be right but the shock treatment just gets my back up. if i placed that on the intranet site it would be removed
we can't get an annual report yet we get unsolicited correspondence and begging letters. Members see enough cruelty in their every day rescues it does not need to be sent into our homes. No other animal advocates have stooped to these tactics.
One of the biggest threats to native animals is feral animals. Here is the Govt doing something to reduce the numbers of ferals and WIRES is against it because it involves shooters who they see as evil. They reckon these shooters will go into parks and kill natives but that happens now on occasion but without any feral control to match. And this new policy includes supervision of the shooters to make sure they only take ferals.
WIRES should pull out the records and show how many animals they have cared for in the last year due to hunters and how many due to ferals and let that guide them rather than being hijacked by persoanl agendas as usual.
Do you mean like the government supervises the Kangaroo cull, and duck hunting?
How much money do you think they will use for supervision, training and education. Most of these recreationial amature hunters and lets not forget 12 year olds would not know the difference between a native animal and feral one.
Ferals are a serious known danger to native animals, and their removal assists in protecting wildlife and habitat. So why is WIRES not fostering, promoting and advocating an awareness in the community and government of this danger? Why? They have an agenda, that's why. They want to be sexy, controversial and stir up some cash no doubt.
It became such a problem that it triggered my transfer to another group. It became obvious that management did not wish to be informed of or sight animals in distress. i.e. it is ok for management to refuse to look into a suffering animal problem.. Quote: Management can send such disturbing images to members. Members cannot send disturbing images to management even if it is only in text. It seems management are easily upset when confronted with the problems they cause. I am lead to believe from witnesses that an imagined speck of blood sparked the need to spend up to $20.000.00 of animal welfare funds to manipulate a member to help resurrect a spot of dry blood back to life. It failed.
It seems that the Call Centre lacks experienced and knowledgeable staff. It started out by not answering calls then progressed to not answering letters and now not even acknowledging emails. and withholding members personal details from the member. How do you know what is contained in your file. A conversation with a WIRES consultant found that person telling me things about myself that were fabricated and baseless. The consultant did not realise to whom they were speaking. Their lack of confidence in management was expressed and the financial decline was discussed and the waste on the vans discussed. Further decline was predicted. the true relationship was revealed to not be as advertised. Please understand that Wires as are other animal advocates full of big hearts and open wallets. There are always those who exploit it. Wires management have long arms that reach into the pockets of trusting people. Beware of those with gravel rash on their knuckles.
It is clear that a speck of blood will cost the pound of flesh.
Quote:
WIRES inc is unlikely to post anything on this site! It would be very helpful if you could advise WIRES inc of the reasons you will not donate, perhaps hearing from donor disatisfaction will make them listen to the need for change as it does not seem they will listen to members
I do agree that better management is needed everywhere in WIRES. At the time one van was taken off the road WIRES had very little money.
At the time the van’s were set up for emergency rescues and a need to get get animals out of vets to carers quicker, Sydney region has a younger demographic of rescuers in Sydney who work during the day. But due to a falling membership, inactive volunteers and more phones rescue phones calls coming in the van is now used more.
There are a few branches that are using the van more than others, there are also black spots within Sydney with no members to pick up animals. It’s up to the Board and GM to speak to these branches and sort them out some have not had a RIC Course for years or cancel them at the last minute.
Why are there no members? Why are there "black-spots"? Could it be that members get no support - that all the money is spent on "vans" and "call centres" and not on the members looking after the animals? And for thanks they get bullied too?
If there were members maybe they could pick-up the animals. Many "younger-demographic" types are not available during the day, so why not have retired people and the like to just do the transport from A. to B. - no rescuing or caring? Because WIRES board (and many members) are up themselves about being a WIRES "rescuer" - you have to do "everything" or nothing at all. Black and white - very severe, almost Germanic. That’s why you can’t have just "phone operators", or "transporters". Its also why paid staff and volunteers are not allowed to work together in the call centre, because "they clash", there becomes an "us and them", "two tiered" workplace (I’ve heard each one of these lamé excuses).
What that tells me is there are some people who let being in WIRES go to their heads and get all Nazi Party on you. WIRES solution is to homogenise everyone - "you’re all the same so now there’s no conflict to manage" - that’s a solution? That doesn’t solve the problem of some people puffing themselves up, it just covers it up.
With the money spent on the vans you could run a small temporary housing facility where the transporters or the public could drop off animals while they await assessment and assignment. But that’s not as lamé-like and flashy as lining the cloud with a "rescue van". That van has nothing to do with animals - it is the trappings of empire - a billboard - a news story - ostentatious. It doesn’t solve the real problem of no members it just hides it.
The board and GM need to "speak to these branches and sort them out"! You want the board and GM to get involved in the operations of the branch? You know where that leads. WIRES is a bloody mess...
Its so typical of someone in WIRES: They receive the WIRES authority, the training and experience, and it becomes indoctrination. There are other ways of organising things, of doing things, that don’t fit the "WIRES model" and they work much better. The problem is you’d have to give up on the WIRES you know, change, and that is not allowed because WIRES is as SaTAN said "a sacred cow". No imagination.
As John Lennon once sang:
Imagine there’s no branches,
I wonder if you can,
carers with their own licence,
and no rescue van,
Imagine all the money,
finding the sick an-i-mals,
ooo ooo oo-oo-oo,
you may say I’m a dreamer,
but I’m not the only one..."
The last thing the branches need is more interference from the Board.If there are black spots in Sydney then for sure it needs to be investigated but NOT by the board who have proven themselves time and again to be nothing more than showponies for their own agendas.My guess is the board has already dragged those branches down to its own pond scum level.
you should be on the committee( i refuse to call it a board) youv’e got IMAGINATION!
Also this is just what WIRES HO wants - to keep everyone separated. That's why they got rid of volunteers in the call centre - members manning the phones meant they could keep tabs on what was really going on and keep in contact with other branches. Divide and conquer.
One last point about that - with money going to branches and to HO no one really knows what is going on with finances. Some branches support their members while others exploit them. The public can't see the accounts for the branches it all gets blended into HO accounts.
Simple - get rid of the branches - make WIRES a single organisation where every member is equal and equally treated.
You only have to look in the News the Medical Union administrators spent members union fees over many years on family giving them wages and land etc.
What is the WIRES gift fund directors doing? Do they know what the money is actually spent on or do they just sign it away?
There is no accountibility or responisbility with a volunteer Board having control and spending the money.
[So that's what happened - I reported it here www.reformwires.com/home/up-front/46-oh-no-not-you-again#candybaby, S.]
Flush your donation down the toilet you will receive more pleasure from it and it will end up arriving at the same destination and doing just as much good for animals along the way. You will never receive an Annual Report. But! WIRES will get your statement in the end. I happen to know that this site is read critically by Board Management and Council. After 50 years of accounting I smell a Receiver.
Wires is now paying people to answer the phones however the volunteers who did this earlier and the vital members are not their to respond. This is not only cruel to animals it is false advertising.
and a waste of hard earned donors money. Wires not only is bludging on donors it now bludges on other organisations. the cost is carcasses. t6he money donated to wires seems to be for the purpose of employing incompetence. Shame on the board shame on the management and shame on the fund raisers. they forget one vital ingredient ’ Humanity .’ COMPUTER SAY’S NO.
SHAME SHAME SHAME.
How do you stop Wires from sending begging letters to people who are dead?.
IE. Today we intercepted/received an email asking for donations for the WIRES’ Autumn Appeal.’
The recipient did not want to know about it. She is still dead.
Only leaches hang on when you are gone.
Attention Mr Anthony Roberts MP
Minister of Fair Trading
The members of WIRES have not seen the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Educational Service 2011 Annual Report, which The Board should have been presented at the October 2010 AGM.
Email office
The more the better!
People should be allowed to join WIRES and do different roles. Why not allow some people to join as associate members and be just phone ops or help in other ways like picking animals up from vets etc. and why not allow some people to be just rescuers or just foster carers.
Problem is WIRES gives people off the street a 2 day course then throws them out there and expects them to do every job. The whole way WIRES goes about things is wrong. If there was a steady and supervised progression with fixed objective assessment - you start as a probationary and can only do rescues or foster care and then have to pass a test (not set or marked by a branch) etc. then everyone would have time to see if it was right for that person.
The reason no doubt that WIRES doesn’t allow branches to refuse memberships is because it is open to abuse, where BMCs run by a small group of close friends only allow their friends to join. That’s the big problem with your suggestion and unless you change the whole way members are recruited and trained there is no way of fixing it.
But of course no one in management at WIRES has the brains to figure it out.
batfink is correct.i also dont see the point of people doing the training and then doing absolutely nothing.lame excuses about why people cant do phone duty or rescues dont help.hey people if you’re gonna join at least do something.
Magnum also makes a good point.there should be some scope for people who join to take on either minor or "selective" roles to fit in with their lives.phones can be daunting but perhaps those people who dont like the phones can do pick ups from vets etc.every little bit helps the animals. A much better management structure is required but as this is driven from the top and the top of WIRES is inhabited by people more interested in playing childish games i guess it will go nowhere.god forbid someone tell the board to do something constructive !
S.
Guest - 10 wks ago
Plenty of other groups manage to run 24 hour call service without having to pay rent or pay employees...
Guest - 10 wks ago
The going to home sort of works in small areas where the phone area is the same as the rescue area and there are only 20 or 30 calls a day but lots of branchs have troubel getting phonies even then. It used to be in Sydney but now there are to many calls and too many branchs in the same phone area fo mops can’t work out which number to call if it goes branch by branch. You can’t get rescues for engadine if you’re on the north shore and working from home
Magnum P.I. - 9 hrs ago
If the nrma and other groups can work it out then why can’t you? there is a thing called technology. a central number that relays to a trained carer at their home anywhere in NSW. You could have 100’s of trained people on call and ready - stop being deliberately backward. Using a real working database they could organize a rescue to anywhere - what a bullshit excuse Guest - more slimy spanner in the works from you - you have an agenda so does wires - to prop up an empire to keep their egos in.
Guest - 6 hrs ago
That is realy clever. I am backward about stuff like that. No problem admitig it. Just learnd to text last year. How do they work out who can rescue what like bats and snaekes and if theyre home? Dose it go to next carer if not answered? What if goes to a answer service? Or carer is on holiday? Dont expect to get answer so complicated but it makes me wonder. Dont even try to understand how computers work either. Lots of poeple smarter than me about lots of things... ONe more queston. Wish I finished thinking before clickig. How much is setup and keeping running costs? Could it do all groups or will there be difrent numbers for difrent groups?
Magnum P.I. - 1 hr ago
You can ring the ONE nrma mumber from anywhere outside sydney and they connect you to your nearest office using your phone number as a guide. Not the point though.
You could have registered phone ops all over the state rostered on at different times - maybe 30 or more on call. Someone rings a single number and the exchange/pabx then directs it to the next available PHONE OP (no need for them to leave home, be paid, or go to FORESTVILLE and they could run 24hrs a day and for FREEEEEEEE). Going direct to a carer with rescues, which are complicated, makes no sense at all.
So you could be in grafton, call one number and get a PHONE OP in fairy meadows, or bankstown, or tumut, or grafton - whoever is next available PHONE OP.
With a real proper database allocation system centralized AND MAINTAINED that phone op could arrange a rescue like phone ops in branches do right now.
How do they work out who can rescue what like bats and snaekes and if theyre home?
IF it was a real proper maintained database that would be recorded against the rescuers name - the phone op being trained and a trained carer would know that and how to arrange it.
Dose it go to next carer if not answered? What if goes to a answer service? Or carer is on holiday?
YOU get connected to a PHONE OP first - they arrange a rescue using a proper database that has updated availabilities - if that fails the phone op can talk to the local coordinator - just like they do now. The caller doesn’t go direct to the carer. and the phone op doesn’t need to be in Sydney.
Could it do all groups or will there be difrent numbers for difrent groups?
It would be one number. There is no need for different phone ops for different branches as the current system of paid people with no experience working the phones in that shit hole of forrestville proves.
How much is set up and running costs. Probably less that the over 1 MILLION we spend now for NOTHING but SHIT SERVICE. Talk to some professionals - they could probably cut a deal. You might need a few volunteers to keep the records up to date - add updates etc. The phone exchange is s a computer program.
Guest - 39 min ago
Like the call center but all over in poeples houses. Thank you.
Magnum P.I. - 11 min ago
Sort of... except these will be trained experienced people, free od charge, and there will be a whole lot more of them available at any one time than WIRES could ever pay for. It would rely on what WIRES has a lot of, what WIRES is, VOLUNTEERS.
With a decent online database this could all be made to work. God, you could get people who can’t rescue or fostercare - too old, injured, physically disabled, remote, etc. to volunteer for this. They could become members and only volunteer for phones as a way of contributing.
You make it sound like a hap-hazard nightmare. can’t be any worse than the expensive waste of money we have now. It can work if someone competent was running it - so that means your friends on the board will have to go first.
This concept was suggested many times in the local branch but the Board Buddies kept knocking it back. Seems they thought members shouldn’t be able to ’pick and chose’ what they did, and that all members should be available to rescue. Funny though ...when it came to allocating roles and assigning animals the Board Buddies could ’ pick and chose’ who should be involved.
The website http://www.wires.org.au was created by mp media - they donate their time to it is believed. The website content is mainly wall-to-wall promotions mostly endless “stick-up” ads which are made by a paid WIES employee. They are called “stick-up” ads because they go like this: first glace, oh look cute animal - auhhh, then give me all your money or the animal dies - this is an emotional stick-up don’t anybody move, unless you’re reachin’ for ya wallet.”
So apart from the ads begging for money 5 times a page I don’t think they spend a cent on it.
Emotional blackmail is one thing, but...
WIRES website is obscenely bloated with donation requests. I can’t think of a website like it, except for crack-pot televangelist ministries. It is filthy unseemly.
And I know of organisations that get bombarded with WIRES begging letters and they just throw them in the bin. I’ve heard, some secretaries of these organisations even mention them during the reading of correspondence at meetings and say
Another WIRES begging letter” [membership groans]
Its really sad - WIRES has lost a lot of respect in the community because of this behaviour.
There is no need for WIRES to have to raise so much money. It spends over $1 million on staff and $73,000 on meetings. Only 7% of nearly $2 million goes to branches and members combined, most of that being for telephone services. Almost none - ~$115,000 - finds its way to animals and volunteers. That is shocking.
That is why branches have to run raffles and BBQs. There is no problem with that - I think most people would think that was fine. Carers do a good service - people don’t mind helping out. But constant badgering and ambulance chasing, to pay for things that volunteers and technology could do, is just obscene. That’s what people have a problem with Guest.
Any time someone suggests a cheaper way that might involve the membership, the management and staff (read “the General Manager”) dismiss it out of hand and get to work on a metaphorical stake and some lighter-fluid for the heretic.
WIRES Inc? Indeed it is!
OPEN LETTER TO AN EXTORTIONIST
with the swear-words removed - some of you are so sensitive!
Way back in the first weeks of rW someone tried to shut us down with threats - they threatened to sool the CIA, Interpol, WIRES etc. on to us (I’m not making this up). They went to a lot of trouble - they even impersonated a lawyer in Sweden and got our registrar to hand over our identity. They threatened all sorts of stuff. They even quoted in an email our registered address, which we had hidden, right down to the street number.
Name: RROB / ANNOYED / ntb.int. I assumed that ntb.int meant not the best intentions.
Well RROB, you said once:
"You banned one of my IPs and you went ahead and deleted
my comment after you published it? Give me one reason why
I shouldn’t forward your details to WIRES?
You only have one go at it."
I had only one go at it...
5 months...
20,000 visitors...
I can’t keep up with the stories...
WIRES is freaked out...
I’m still going...
I only had one go at it... and it was a red hot go at that too. So report that to the CIA & WIRES! Don’t threaten me - it only makes me annoyed!
Love always,
Spartacus.
P.S. Thank you to all of you once more for your support. To my companions in this project I have only one thing to say: WE did it!
A warning to members and others a call from Wires has been detected to have others listening in on what was thought to be a private conversation.
Surely we should be able to put in place at Branch level what is expected of a WIRES volunteer!
A gathering of more than one is a threat.
People might communicate with each other.
What if that one person is a bully they might upset or pick on themselves.
Real leaders don’t put up their hands for the job. They get dragged up to the job by the multitude because they want them there.
Real leaders don’t receive complaints about them.
Weak leaders sit on their complaints.
This ex member/author had an idea. Everything man achieves starts with an idea. That’s how Wires came about. Imagine if that idea was quashed. hmm! ( I guess I would have more money and time).
Maybe it was the thought of members having afternoon tea together that upset the Board . It certainly is likely “To scare the shit out of management”. or is it that they felt excluded from a social event. We can’t go around discriminating against the bored.
How can you discredit a chair the chair must have credit to begin with. much like Wires bank account .
If you join a group out of your area maybe you are not welcome locally. Maybe your are there to cause trouble? maybe you were not wanted?
The beauty of resigning is you have the opportunity to vent your spline. They never refute it. When people do not refute allegations they are either accepting it or lack fortitude to stand up for themselves this is not an asset of leaders.
What next .
Division? Is what management fix or create? Wires is much like society without a court house. they divide members into groups of one, line them up like ducks and pop them off. The only Defence and pressure to get change is for branches to go on indefinite leave. i.e. pull their cards
Since giving Wires management the Rissole I have been able to see that management and the board are not looking after members. They spend their Time and our money looking out for members who communicate. Who have potential. ideas. skills. recognition. character. personality. integrity and nip it in the bud.
The man from TUBICRQ.
Do you know why this food co-ordinator was reinstated?
No - that is confidential
yes, we do know why she was reinstated. She is "friends" with chairman of the board and the secretary. She is allegedly their "spy" in the branch and can run to them with every little thing. Members are reluctant to order food from her I’m told, because it usually ends up in a political lecture, giving her versions of what should be done. She has personally campaigned to eliminate the newly elected Possum coordinator its alleged, because she said the job belonged to one of her friends. This member has reported on the in house facebook page set up to give everone a chance to interact and share experiences. Some of those stories and photos were downloaded and given to the Board, how sick is that.
How many Wires members across NSW have the Chairman’s private mobile phone number and can reach the Secretary anytime. Why don’t some of you Wires members out there try to ring the Chair and see how lucky you might be. Let us know if you are successful..
I’m putting two and two together to try and make four.If the board investigated the Illawara branch one must assume that either or both the chair and secretary attended.A good friend of theirs was one of those investigated.Instead of making four,doesn’t that make one humungous,stinking conflict of interest?
Does anyone know someone at ICAC?I’m sure they be interestd.
Re the possum coordinator.Is that not bullying and harrasment,which was hastily added to most of the policies awhile ago?I thought it was frowned up. Oh I forgot,not if your a friend.Do what I say not what I do.Coordinators are elected.If the friend was not elected then they have to swallow cement.
Running to the board with photos and stories from facebook. Far out what is the world coming to.
Keep it up ReformWIRES!
Unfortunately this Board in my opinion is incapable of making a decision without putting aside their own. So you see will never win with these people as when they seem to not be able to win they change the rules.
At the May 2010 BMC meeting, a quorum was not present, so a motion was passed “As there is not a quorum of attendees the meeting will proceed, with decisions and motions made at this meeting to be ratified at the next meeting. Moved Vanessa Martin. 2nd Llyris Wood.”
The minutes were taken by a VISITOR (Judi Wood), although she was not a member at the time. By comparison, MEMBERS are not allowed to attend BMC meetings in this branch, even as observers, unless invited.
At the next meeting (June 2010), it was “Moved that the Minutes and all decisions from last meeting be ratified and accepted as there was no quorum - by Vanessa Martin Seconded: Megan Karl”.
Decent and dissenting members standing up for the rights of an animal to live and reach its destiny.
None of my correspondence with WIRES has ever resulted in the Management mentioning the consideration of any wild life.
Management has always been Defensive of criticism with no inflection or consideration, never seeking debate consultation or other.
Always insolent and rejecting of members and their vast knowledge of everything.
Within the management’s personal need to feed their inadequacies, they ignore the international library of experience around them. Good management is good people with experience, understanding and the ability to extend trust for loyalty or an acknowledgement of sincerity.
The writing is on the wall the management have their back to it. They know it is there they can see yet they wil not.
The Board of wires have gone beyond their destiny.
This could be done by the members standing up to management and demanding it, which is very unlikely as most are fearful of the consequences if they do.
The government is not prepared to do anything as it needs Wires to appear to be properly caring for its wildlife. The government doesn’t want to take over this job as there is nothing in it for the politicians and it would cost the budget dearly. It looks to me as though the government is willing to ignore the animal welfare issues that have been raised over a long time and the unfair treatment of members, for the sake of being able to say it has Wires to look after its responsiblilty and it can’t be blamed for any problems.
Continuing:
So it is left to the donors who give their hard earned money to tell management that they require major changes and reform. They should be demanding to look at the books and ask for an explanation as to how the money is spent, require their donations and bequests to be used to support the members instead of management, demand that animal welfare issues are properly referred to RSPCA and the Department for investigation and demand that a proper governance structure is brought in to give all members an equal say in the election of management and the right to stand for election.
It is easy reformwires to contact the donors. The list is in the annual report and addresses can be obtained from the electoral office.A good publicist could also help to present a fair and accurate cover of all these problems in the press which would notify the donors of the situation and ask for their help.
holiday. The staff member profusely apologised as I am down for "No rescues" and only caring for a particular type of species. They acknowledged that, and asked whether I could do a rescue anyway of two birds, as there was no other person to do it and they had tried several people in my branch with no success. After questioning them further, asking for a description of these birds, I realised that they were most certainly non native. I wondered how I can figure this out, by questioning these call centre staff, with just 3 questions, when they can’t establish this themselves, so that they can refer the MOP to the RSPCA or a vet instead of wasting a volunteers time. Getting me at a weak moment, I agreed to go pick them up after telling the staff member that they were probably non native and that the caller should have been referred elsewhere. As expected, I picked up 2 non native birds, exactly what I thought they were, and now I have the dilemma of what to do with them. This is a waste of my time and so frustrating.
I was not long back home and I received another call from the WIRES call centre but a different person this time. They apologised for bothering me again, but asked whether I could I do another rescue. Slightly irritated, I reminded them I am down for "no rescues". They apologised, but they were so desperate and said they have tried everyone. Being an animal lover, I felt sorry for these animals so asked what did they have and where.
I could take a choice of 3, one in the next suburb, the other two I
figured were at at least 30 mins drive away. I made some suggestions of people they could phone and they said they had tried these people. After questioning the call centre staff member, a different one to the previous one, I realised that the rescue closest to me was another non native bird. I told them to tell the MOP to take it to the vet or to the RSPCA as it was a non native. She asked me whether I could call this MOP and explain this myself. I said "no"to this but agreed if they tell the MOP that they can deliver the bird to my place, and if it was a non native I will be writing a formal complaint to Wires, including the name of the call centre employee regarding this issue. The call centre employee told me not to worry about the rescue then and she would try to get someone else or to get the MOP to take to a vet for identification. Isn’t this also wasting another volunteers time if the volunteer agrees to do this?
I rang another member in exasperation and they also said they had received a call from the call centre, just prior to my call and the member also told them that it was a non native and to take to RSPCA or vet. The call centre staff was also told by the MOP that the bird was a non native. So even the MOP knew it was a non native bird.
They wonder why they are so busy when they are organising the rescues of obvious non natives. I explained to the call centre employee, that if I get a non native bird, that I would have to take it to the vet to get it euthanazed or take it to the to the RSPCA and that is not why I joined Wires. It seems that the call centre staff have no knowledge of how to ID an animal, or how to advise a MOP interim care procedures until a rescuer can come to pick them up. I realise, that sometimes, it can be difficult to ID, but when it is really obvious there is no excuse. I am sure they can employ staff who have this knowledge of native animals. They used to previously. The call centre staff used to be well informed. Are the current call centre employees pressured to get volunteers to pick up everything that a MOP asks to pick up for a public relations exercise? I don’t know. Where are all the great call
centre people we used to have? Have they been driven away?? Now they employ people who know nothing about our native animals and try to get volunteers to deal with these difficult situations. I did not join Wires for for this. I realise that there are many political issues, but this simple thing is frustrating, and I believe is one of the reason why members are leaving in droves.
PS. The reason why I am down for "No rescues" is the exact reason what I am complaining about here.
And to Guest: I am not surprised you have been asked to collect non-native animals. I know some WIRES members who not only rescue them, but raise them and release them - even when those animals are known to wreck havoc on our native species.
These members should belong and work for animal welfare not wires. Their philosophy is that of animal welfare groups, not wires which focuses on wildlife only and therefore cannot support the fostering and supporting of ferals knowing that it would be at the expense of natives.
All ’rescued’ ferals should be euthanased immediately - never released.
Let’s come up with some new meanings for the acronym.
I’ll begin:
When Is Reason Ever Supported
There are so many people in here with the same complaints and issues that we are experiencing in our Branch. Just makes you wonder, what are we all doing???????
I
Ran
Embarrassed and
Screaming
Support this site with facts and fortitude
Mass resignation.
Personal resignation. You are no longer implicit or sanction the alleged lack of integrity of Wires management or neglect of duty of care.
I resigned and took my loyalty, my time, money, and my helpers to another place.
My resignation was well considered by myself but was unanimously opposed by my branch. I was advised indirectly by a Wires consultant and directly by experienced members. I received an apology from DECC management for its mismanagement of my FOI enquiry. It seems that DECC requires more than its resources can afford to provide me with the information on issues concerning WIRES.
My personal opinion, in the interest of the ideals of Wild life care, is that the membership is intimidated by the Board and the Board does not have the fortitude to face up to the most simple of enquiries. Such as, may I have a copy of the managers complaint and and an answer to my letter to the chairman. Or may I have a copy of the constitution before I donate.? or attend a training course.
a guest
Hello! You seem to have missed the point Animal Lover. This is not about members abilities. This is about Governance. Common decency and management. You may not know it but others are attending to the inefficiencies of WIRES without complaint or support from Wires. They care for the animals first and retain their members. They have dispute resolution systems. And add value to their contributions. everything is open. That is all that is asked of WIRES management.
Simple remedy - join a different organisation and they can then put up with your whinging!
That would solve the problems, as hoardes of experienced carers could gain authorities under a different, more progressive group, & leave the archaic festering WIRES system. Those power mongers remaining would have to address WIRES current failures to both the wildlife & the carers to enable the organisation to continue.
So, despite your intended nastiness, & crudeness in the delivery, you actually have suggested an ideal solution.
:)
Because.
The Board are always right and the members and the donors are stupid?.
I can assure you that no animal has ever suffered in my care and for you to suggest every one on this site had committed an indiscretion with animals in their care is bang out of order.
Just because some of us are not happy with the way the organization is run does not give the likes of you the right to take a filthy low blow pot shot at the majority who are genuine carers and it equates to defamation so go and pull your damn head in!
Is that all you can say?
Are you representative of Wires?. If so I suggest that you are representative of the problem/attitude. Have a nice day.
What level of professionalism is that? Does the lift really go that far down? It sets up this idea that they are separate from everyone else and shows they treat everyone else with contempt. The management of wires is theirs to do with as they please, as has been shown by the fact that when they were voted out they just changed the rules to put themselves back in power. Giving themselves a gang-name is just the outward sign of the arrogance within.
I’m trying to think of another culture in Australia that has a proper noun for its older people as specific as "elder" is to Australia’s indigenous people and I can’t think of one. I think you’re showing a slight racism batfink.
adj.
1. Greater than another in age or seniority.
2. Superior to another or others, as in rank.
n.
1. An older person.
2. An older, influential member of a family, tribe, or community.
3. One of the governing officers of a church, often having pastoral or teaching functions.
4. Mormon Church A member of the higher order of priesthood.
[Middle English eldre, from Old English eldra; see al-2 in Indo-European roots.]
elder·ship n.
Usage Note: The adjective elder is not a synonym for elderly. In comparisons between two persons, elder means "older" but not necessarily "old": My elder sister is sixteen; my younger twelve. (Eldest is used when three or more persons are compared: He is the eldest of four brothers.) In other contexts elder does denote relatively advanced age but with the added component of respect for a person’s achievement as in an elder statesman. If age alone is to be expressed one should use older or elderly rather than elder: A survey of older Americans; an elderly waiter. Unlike elder and its related forms the adjectives old older and oldest are applied to things as well as to persons.
elder1
(say ’elduh)
- adjective
1. older: `And Ned shall come, too’ she added, with a consoling glance at her elder brother’ - HENRY HANDEL RICHARDSON, 1917.
2. senior: an elder officer.
3. earlier: in elder times.
- noun
4. a person who is older than oneself; one’s senior: ’meeting with a man sufficiently her elder to encourage her to talk’ - MARCUS CLARKE, 1874.
5. an aged person.
6.
a. (sometimes upper case) a senior person of status in an Aboriginal community, especially one who holds knowledge of traditional language and culture: my nana’s an elder.
b. an older person of high standing and influence in a community, clan, tribe, etc., often a chief or ruler.
7. presbyter (defs 1 and 3).
8. (in the Mormon Church) one holding the higher or Melchizedek priesthood.
[Middle English; Old English eldra, etc. (comparative of ald, eald OLD)]
The point is, and has been made many times, that this word has a very specific meaning culturally in Australia. Quoting an AMERICAN English dictionary does you no favours.
The use of this word by the board of WIRES has racist overtones simple as that (it is at least insensitive). Your defence of it, and your unwillingness to appreciate it’s hurtful value, is an example of the "insidious racism" that exists in Australia. The truth hurts!
6. a. Aboriginal Elder - "(sometimes upper case)" denoting a PROPER NOUN - a formal name. It is the first listed proper noun.
TASTES LIKE ELDERBERRIES.
That is their choice not to comment or join in the debate.
People are questioning what is going on not only in WIRES but other wildlife groups and government. Wildlife volunteers are very special people not only do they fork out $1000s each year of their own money, the time they give to care for the animals is 24 hour 7 days a week. When members leave it impacts the animals, the volunteers who are left and weakens the organisations abilitity to fulfill its aims.
The current situation in WIRES has gone on for far to long. When something is wrong we change it, we don’t say this is what happens everywhere so this is ok. WIRES just happens to be the largest wildlife rehabiltation organisation and should be setting an example to others.
I have now vowed to never be involved with another group - ever.
hope this forum just doesn’t become another avenue for ’more of the same’, but educates & actually achieves something worthwhile at the same time!!!
ps ( how many have read this article ? will someone give their name and verify if it is true & correct, PLEASE.
If there is nothing to hide it shouldn’t be a problem
Comments posted here reflect not only on WIRES, but on the perception of wildlife carers by anyone who reads the blog.
If you have a genuine issue, pursue it vigorously. But please do so in a manner that is considered and ethical. Contribute positive ideas, and suggest new ways forward, rather than rehashing previous incidents.
Let democracy prevail: If there is a genuine need for reform, make it happen by force of numbers. If there are not the numbers, then accept that your view may not be that of the majority.
This will be my only contribution to this debate. I thank you all for your ongoing dedication to wildlife. Keep up the good work.
Kind Regards,
Steve A
Unfortunately consideration and ethics are not evident on both sides.
You do not know what you are talking about. You do not know what it is like to be involved in WIRES. The frustration and dissapointment of being lead by primary school bullies who have no appreciation for civilised communication and no knowledge of leadership. Only pigheaded selfishness and lack of respect for their post of responsibilities.
The Board could have stopped this site by being Humane Open Democratic and having a dispute tribunal. By proper management and appreciation of the hard earned money donated for animal care by those who cannot physically donate or appreciate life and diversity. By the Board savoring and preserving the talents and experience of members. The Board could have stopped all of this and diverted all of this effort into Wires care. The Board could have learned to respect their best assets. Members.
The Board do not listen to suggestions. They do not recognise there failures. If you are not up their cloaca you do not exist and you are expendable. If you have followed this site you would know that Democracy and Governance is replaced by contempt for members and donors. With respect Stevo. I think you do supply protest too much. There is nothing wrong with the ideals of Wires it is just that it is not acknowledged by those who think that they know how to run a Business a hospital and a Convent a soup kitchen and motel for wounded and sick without interpreters a heart and soul blood sweat and tears. This Board brings all of the negative damnation upon itself. Every body other than the Board are outraged. Unfortunetly this is not a democratic organisation and most members are too decent and loving to speak up because of the animals need for their care.
Frankly The Board should hang their heads in shame. When they awake in the night I just want them to think about how unimportant they are in the scheme of life and what damage they are doing to such a fine humane Australian Ideal. I hope that they realise That they are despised by a greater majority of members more than they might think. This organisation should be pulsing with vibrance good will happiness and content. It should be reflecting in every aspect of the movement and creating a need to be involved. Instead of a greed. a few on this site are speaking from the heart and most are speaking from a point of responsibility expierience and wisdom. My message to the Board is sleep tight if you can.
SET THE BODY CLOCK
For 1.22. 1.22 1.22. and 2.22 and 3.22.
Maybe that's why your post is nothing short of a rehash of his comments.
- yes, let the WIRES Board release the minutes of their Board meetings so that transparency and honesty can be discussed openly. There is far too much secrecy in now, thanks to the instigators of this web site, the truth can finally be revealed. The Council has no power whatever - the Board - the all important nine members - make the decisions for the whole of New South Wales. It should be the other way around - come on members of the Council - STAND UP AND MAKE YOUR PRESENCE FELT. Most members don’t have enough time to become fully involved because they are busy caring for our previous wildlife and the NINE controlling members know this. I urge everyone to enable their grievances to be heard through this web site and I praise the instigators for allowing us the opportunity to now TELL THE TRUTH.
A forum for all the Gutless and bitchy whingers whos egos have been dented in some way. And I thought you guys were in it for the animals.
There are many of us who joined WIRES to help animals. Before anything else, before our responsibilities to committees, to politics, to looking after easily bruised leaders, we want to give the animals that humanity hurt a second chance... or a third, or however many they need. They come first.
I will not reveal any more information than I have to because it’ll identify me and start the bullying again, but I was one of six people in my branch who specialised in looking after a particular group of animals (macropods, raptors, birds, pick any group and it’ll be the same story). This included four people ’above’ me in the WIRES hierarchy, NONE OF WHOM ACTUALLY TOOK ANIMALS IN.
In my entire region, I took more than 90% of this family of animals. My local vet knew my number off by heart, I took in every animal I was asked to, and I loved looking after them.
Sometimes when life required, I had to pause my care, like we all do. You’d think as a community with five other people marked to look after this group of animals, someone could have helped.
Instead of having four of the leaders above me, or my one peer in the region help me, I was criticised for leaving a place open for animals to die. I was abused over the phone bluntly by two leaders, and anonymously via phone and email from others. I had NO support, and even worse, the animals I was unable to care for because of family concerns had no support and many were put down at the vet because none of the other carers who were meant to be looking after these animals would take them.
I don’t just mean from time to time, I mean almost all. In the last four months of my WIRES membership I cared for twenty two animals. Only *TWO* of these kind of animal went to anybody else, and that was my fellow peer.
Four leaders who don’t take care of any animals but are marked as carers, vs one person taking most of the workload. That’s not fair to begin with, but to end up abused when I needed time off, and abused even more when I spoke out about this mismanagement and mistreatment is just ridiculous.
I had a breakdown and spent time hospitalised because of the abuse I suffered in both open and anonymous phone calls. I can’t do that any more. Even writing this has me in tears, for myself, for the animals I now cannot help, and for those who’re left behind still trying to look after animals but being treated like turds by people with the responsibility to actually manage.
WIRES is a wildlife rescue organisation in name only. In a practical sense it’s packed with leaders all jockeying for more and more senior positions, many of them are disregarding the animals. What’s the point of so many members in a leadership position who never care for animals?
You thought right Danny. We were in it for the animals. We still are. Lawfully altruistically and economically.
There is very little more contemptible and pathetic than those who pour poison in the ears of others from the refuge of anonymity. WIRES Board is democratically ELECTED every year. Every WIRES member has the opportunity to participate in the process. Not everyong will be happy - I didn’t like eleven years of John Howard as PM - but his election was democratic. So is WIRES Board. If you don’t like the Board vote it out, starting in your own branch AGMs. Cowardly and anonymous whining is purely destructive. No thanks; I dont want a subscription.
Stan Wood.
Former chair of WIRES Board.
How can you suggest that the Board was/is democratically elected when Standards Teams (consisting of a handful of members) are granted the same representation as a Branch of 100-200 members?
Joh Blelke-Peterson had a similar view of democracy, although not quite so blatant.
Also you were the Chair when the Council was asked to give standard team representatives the right to stand for the Board, which allowed a fellow Board member, presumably a friend of yours, to be re elected to the Board in 2010 and again in the recent AGM. This happened just after that Board member lost the vote at the Branch AGM to be the Branch representative and as a result would not have been able to stand for election to the Board shortly afterwards. So that is your idea of how a democratic system works.
Members of the public can visit Parliament and watch their reps “at work”. Why can’t ordinary WIRES members attend BMC meetings as observers?
Why is it that in your own Branch of WIRES, members are even denied access to minutes of the BMC?
And why are Honorary Life Members of WIRES being told they are no longer Life Members simply because the Woolgoolga Branch (of which they were founding members) has amalgamated to become the Mid North Coast Branch?
If you prefer people to be open and honest, perhaps you could set an example by releasing all the documents associated with the “investigation” into the infamous Kurnell 2009 incident ... for a start.
And it is not necessary to advise me again to get a solicitor. I already have one!
This hectoring, somewhat intimidatory, offensive approach is absolutely typical of Stan when he was chairperson. I recognize his style very clearly, from some letters I received from him a few years ago when I dared to question some of his associates [EDIT] in our branch [EDIT]. I don’t think Stan understands what democracy means. He behaves autocratically and encourages his mates to do the same. While he pulls the strings, whether up front or behind the scenes, the organisation will not work democratically, and wildlife will therefore suffer as good carers continue to receive this kind of short shrift if they dare to differ. Could someone explain exactly what power Stan wields, officially and/ or unofficially, within the organisation? I would also like to know the nature of Stan’s [EDIT] relationship with the NSW Wildlife Council, and [EDIT] National Parks and Wildlife Service?
It’s time to break the “FAMILY HOLD” held over members heads and allow those that have grievances to come forward without the fear of hitting the wall by having no one with a varying opinion to back you up, instead of having the fear of being thrown out held over our heads if we dare to have a different opinion from those on the Committee..
I am also well aware of your failure to recognise & welcome the integrity & abilities of some members you & your cronies hounded out of the organisation.
I thought you had crawled back under a rock; that you would dare to continue your toxicity is totally abhorrent to me.
Leave WIRES to be run by people who are not in it for their own egos.
the zep
What are you smocking Dood.
The Wires Board Democratic?? I fell off the chair and wet my nappy when I read that.
We wouldn’t mind John Howard taking over The Wires Chair. The DEMOlition would turn into DEMOcracy
To condemn a member without right of reply because the Wires Manager Miss lie anne Muffat was afraid to admit that she was scared off by the hairy legged truth her incompetence and lack of people skills. Stan! The whole Scenario of Ms Muffat was a lie a mere fiction of her sensitivity and nobody from the Board has denied it. Because it would be a subject for litigation. It Seems Stanley that you have done it again and passed the batten onto Little Willy Thomson Who with the guidance and manipulation of the Secretary Merrilee GoRoundInCircles. AKA The Pied-Piper of Hamstrung are heading like lemmings into the abyss instead of into the labyrinth of Knowledge Skill Altruism and Experience. Wake up to yourselves before you and little Willy destroy what Hard Working Caring Volunteers have built from scratch. Stan. You have had your fair go and stuffed it. Maybe you should take up taxidermy.
You can count on me for the purchase of a stuffed Chair or two.
Unlike the Members of wires You can reply to this and it will be considered. But my mind is made up so don't waste your breath. There is a new game we have invented. It's called "Where is Willy".
He doesn't seem brave enough to come out of hiding and face the fans? or justify the lack of an annual report.
Behoven to non.
The Un elected Manipulator. Can't get in with Integrity so sneaks in through the doggy door.
The Mad Bell Ringer of Notre Dame. "look at me .Look at me".
Pulling all the G strings and F sharp ropes jumping thither and yon. While the multitude ridicule and demise. You should meet some of her creepy 'facelessbook' fiends. I am two of them.
You can fool some of the volunteers all of the time. And all of the volunteers some of the time. But Merryillme you can make a fool of yourself on 'Facelessbook' any time. Trust me I'm your friend and you tell me fibs and bullshit me all the time.
Does anybody have the bell ringers music for ‘Ding Dong the Bwitch is dead.’ We will need somebody to learn it and play it.
Ps. MVH says she never reads this site. Let’s see.
And the recent changes to the licencing means that new groups can not fill that defecit.
Let’s hope other WIRES and ex-Wires members, as well as members of the public who have had “experiences” with WIRES, will have their say.
Thanks.