Gremlins derail college’s revamp vote

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and the RACGP's controversial EGM proved no exception

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The RACGP’s electronic poll to decide fiercely contested governance changes ran aground last night when members were unable to log in to vote.  

About 27 minutes into the online extraordinary general meeting, hosted by Computershare, thousands of RACGP members across the country were still staring at spinning wheels on their computer screens.

A text message went out apologising for “technical difficulties”. Soon after, a decision was taken to adjourn the extraordinary meeting, held to vote on a controversial governance restructure.

If successful, the proposed changes would install a new board of seven members, including at least four GPs, at the top of the college hierarchy.

The existing 14-member Council would retain responsibility for education and professional matters, but with no control over budgets and strategic decisions.

Opponents of the changes had complained that the online format would muffle debate, arguing the vote should come after face-to-face discussions at an annual general meeting in October.

Council Chair Dr Tim Koh said the college would reconvene the EGM at a date still to be advised. 

“Not long after the start of the meeting we were advised by webcastcloud, one of our third-party suppliers, that many members were experiencing high levels of buffering,” Dr Koh said in an email to members. 

 “As the technology issue could not be resolved within 30 minutes, the decision was made to postpone the meeting.”

The college was seeking an explanation and reassurance from technology providers before further use of technology for the EGM, Dr Koh said.

“All proxies submitted to date will be valid for the rescheduled meeting and new proxy nominations may be lodged,” he said.

“I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to all of you, and thank you for your patience.”

In response to a query from TMR, a Computershare representative declined to give any comment on the technical breakdown.

The College executive argues the new “skills-based” board structure would better handle financial, fiduciary and regulatory matters.

Opponents say key voices would be lost from the top table, including representatives of the states, rural GPs, and indigenous doctors, with no guarantee of a more dynamic performance in serving the membership’s needs.