Wikimedia Australia/Draft Constitution

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  • Black text is existing text for which there is no proposed ammendments.
  • Grayed text is proposed to be removed, modified, or replaced.
  • Blue text shows the modifications proposed for the grayed text that precedes it. strikethrough represents portions removed from existing text, underline represents text added to existing text. All other text is preserved.
  • Green text shows the proposed replacement text for the grayed text that precedes it. The replacement text completely replaces the existing text.
  • Completely new text

These changes are proposals only.

The Constitution of Wikimedia Australia[edit]

Name[edit]

1. The name of the organisation shall be Teens in Progress Foundation (hereafter referred to as TIPS Foundation).

Aims[edit]

2. The aims of The Organisation are[1]:

2.1 To promote Wikimedia projects and free content in general.
2.2 To encourage the use of Wikimedia projects in education at all levels.
2.3 To provide a first point of contact for media people seeking comment from Australian contributors to Wikimedia projects.
2.4 To recruit people from diverse technical and cultural backgrounds to contribute to Wikimedia projects, educating them on the use of MediaWiki software.
2.5 To organise conventions where members can meet.
2.6 To facilitate research on topics which relate to Australia.
2.7 To defend the right to create, use and share free content.[2]

Structure[edit]

3. The Organisation shall be a non-profit organisation. Specifically:

3.1 The assets and income of The Organisation shall be applied solely in the furtherance of its aims as set out in section 2 of this constitution.
3.2 No portion of the assets or income of The Organisation shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of The Organisation, except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of The Organisation.

Membership[edit]

4. Membership shall be open to:

4. Membership shall be open to any individual that[3]:

4.1 Every individual and legal entity.
4.1 Is not a member of a proscribed organisation. A list of proscribed organisations is to be maintained by The Organisation.[4]
4.2 Agrees to be bound by the constitution of The Organisation.[5]
4.3 Has unrestricted editing rights to all Wikimedia projects[6]

5. A person shall be considered a member if:

5.1 They have completed a membership form, as specified by the committee, and
5.1 They have completed a membership form, as specified by the committee, and[7]
5.2 They have paid a membership fee, as specified by the committee, and
5.2 They have paid a membership fee, as specified by the committee, and[8]
5.3 The membership form is recieved by the Secretary, or in his or her absence, by another member of the committee as selected by the committee.

6. The Committee may, at its discretion, refuse to grant membership to any person, or terminate the membership of any person.

6. The Committee may, at its discretion, refuse to grant defer the granting of membership to any person, or terminate suspend the membership of any person until the next general meeting.[9]

Committee[edit]

7. The committee shall consist of the following members:

An executive consisting of:
7.1 A president;
7.2 A secretary;
7.3 A treasurer.
7.4 A vice president[10]
Non-executive members:
7.5 A publicity officer;
7.6 A social officer.
7.7 regional representatives(approx 5-7)[11]

8. The roles and duties of the members of the committee shall be as set out in...

9. The term of each committee member commences at the end of the Annual General Meeting or other general meeting at which they were elected, and shall end at the beginning of the next Annual General Meeting.

10. The committee shall have the authority to:

10.1 manage the finances of The Organisation, and
10.2 manage the activities of The Organisation, and
10.3 manage affiliations, memberships and activities with other organisations.

11. The committee is at all times bound by resolutions of a general meeting of The Organisation. Any decision of the committee may be overturned by a resolution of a general meeting of The Organisation.

12. The committee shall hold meetings from time to time, as specified by the committee. At such meetings, quorum shall be a minimum of three committee members, at least two of whom must be members of the executive.

13. Unless otherwise provided in this constitution, voting at all committee meetings shall be democratic. Specifically:

13.1 A simple majority is sufficient for the passage of a motion at a meeting, and
13.1 Decisions made by the committee shall be made by consensus where ever possible.[12]
13.2 A tied vote results in the loss of a motion.
13.2 Should consensus decision making fail, the committee may decide to vote in which a qualified majority of 75% is required for the passage of a motion.[13]

General meetings[edit]

14. There shall be one Annual General Meeting of The Organisation every financial year, within one month after the end of the financial year, at which:

14.1 Written reports shall be presented by the president and the treasurer and any other pertinent persons, and
14.2 A financial report shall be presented by the treasurer and adopted by the members, and
14.3 Elections shall be held for a new committee, to take office effective from the end of the meeting, and
14.4 Any other motions shall be discussed and voted on, with preference going to motions of which notice was given before the meeting.

15. Other general meetings of The Organisation shall be held from time to time as specified by the committee, or as specified by a petition of at least one fifth of the membership.

16. At a general meeting, including at Annual General Meetings, quorum shall be a minimum of 15 members or one third of the membership, whichever is smaller.

16.1 A person shall be considered present at the meeting where they are;
16.11 at the venue in person
16.12 or have establish identity electronically and that the connection is a recognised realtime connection.[14]

17. Unless otherwise provided in this constitution, voting at all general meetings shall be...

18. By motion of the committee, or by petition of at least one fifth of the membership, impeachment proceedings may begin against a member of the committee. At the next general meeting of The Organisation, a motion to impeach the member shall be put to the meeting. If the motion is passed by at least a two thirds majority, the member of the committee shall vacate his or her office, and an election to replace the member shall be held immediately. Notice of a motion to expel a member must be given at least fourteen days in advance of the next general meeting.

19. By petition of at least one fifth of the membership, expulsion proceedings may begin against a member of The Organisation. At the next general meeting of The Organisation, a motion to expel the member shall be put to the meeting. If the motion is passed by at least a two thirds majority, the membership of the member shall be terminated. Notice of a motion to expel a member must be given at least fourteen days in advance of the next general meeting.

Dissolution[edit]

20. The Organisation may be dissolved by a resolution of a general meeting.

21. In the event that The Organisation is dissolved, all assets of The Organisation shall be applied to satisfy any debts or liabilities of The Organisation, and any surplus shall be transferred to another non-profit organisation with similar aims to The Organisation.

Amendments[edit]

22. This constitution may be amended by a resolution of a general meeting which passes with at least a two thirds majority.

22(a). This constitution may be amended by a resolution of a general meeting provided:

22.1 The proposed ammendment was presented at the previous general meeting, and
22.2 The motion for the proposed ammendment was passed by consensus or a 75% majority vote. [15]

22(b). This constitution may be amended by a resolution of a general meeting which passes with at least a two thirds majority provided the exact wording of the resolution was available to members for the 30 days prior to general meeting.[16]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Explicit when refering to WMA to avoid confusion
  2. ↑ Proposed to allow Wikimedia Australia to engage in politics for this sole purpose
  3. ↑ Proposed removal of legal entity as this seems unnecessary. Wikimedia is free to associate with other legal entities to forward its aims so membership in this regard offers no benefit. It can also be a loophole - giving these legal entities voting rights for instance makes the WMA easier to stack. Individual person-members of these legal entities are free to subscribe themselves.
  4. ↑ To limit the committee's power over membership, and still allow it to respond adequately to dubious membership applications, this change introduces the concept of a proscribed organisations list that can only be edited by formal decision making powers of WMA.
  5. ↑ Propose upholding of the constitution to be a requirement for membership
  6. ↑ Propose to prevent banned users from having or perceiving to have back door access to and/or influence over Wikimedia projects
  7. ↑ Proposal to reduce the powers of the committee in regard to membership.
  8. ↑ Proposal to reduce the powers of the committee in regard to membership.
  9. ↑ Proposal to reduce the powers of the committee in regard to membership.
  10. ↑ Proposed to enable continuity, where one of the other three members are unable to perform their duties, the VP can act in that role until such time as the absent person is available or replaced.
  11. ↑ Proposed to facilitate representation outside of Melbourne where its impracticable for an executive representative to be present.
  12. ↑ Consensus decision making means we aren't creating winners and losers
  13. ↑ Consensus decision making can sometimes fail - in which case a fallback to voting is possible.
  14. ↑ To enable IRC links, Video or other electronic communitcations, real time is define as an open communication where the person is able to interact unimpeded with all other persons present
  15. ↑ Proposing to make ammendments to the constitution more difficult.
  16. ↑ Proposal making constitutional ammendments safer, but without specifying the decision making process here but leaving it to elsewhere.
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