Alcoholics Anonymous – Area C – Australia, 2007 National Conferance Area Delegates Report

Area C Eastern Region Delegates Report 2007 49^th National Conference

I would like to thank all of Area C for allowing me this opportunity to attend the national Group Conscious of Australia - known as the national conference, without the money, effort and time of all Area C Service People and all members that contribute at service meetings I would not have had the absolute privilege of attending the national conference for the last 2 years. Thank You!!! Until you attend in person it is hard to explain the honor you as an Area have given me.

The conference was different this year because of it location, Tasmania was cool and Wrest Point warm and inviting, as well it was the cheapest venue in Australia cheaper by far than the quarantine station on North Head where it was held last year.

We started off on Thursday with our Delegates only meeting which we had wrong it is actually a board excluded meeting but open to observers, its use is as an orientation to conference for people new to Conference.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Positive Attitude – Positive Message” and this was reflected most in our world service delegates report on the Solomon Islands. Ian outlined his visit to the Solomon’s in depth and it’s my view that we should ask him to speak at one of our workshops this year so the local members can hear at depth, what we as a country do to help the still suffering alki in our region.

As your representative at conference I discussed, debated and Voted on maters of importance to AA as a whole, being AA as much was done over coffee and meals as was done in the committee’s I was your representative on, on Friday night we work until 10.30pm at night and on the Saturday we were still working late into the night as well.

I represented Area C Eastern Region on these three committees:

The Finance committee made a recommendation to conference that resulted in the office management committee being able to help struggling Areas reach conference when all other avenues have been exhausted, which made topics 016 and 030 obsolete for that committee we also after much discussion, decided that Districts and Areas are solely responsible for distribution of their funds.

The service manual committee looked at changes to how topics be voted on in Area assemblies, we found that topic 012 was unworkable as presented because it would make a DCMs vote be worth more that a GSRs vote from a non aligned district thus contravening the service manual guidelines, in topic 025 we found that the service manual more than covered the information asked for so a pamphlet was not needed, in topic 028 we also found that the guidelines more than covered the required information asked for in this topic.

In my last committee we only had a joint meeting between the PI/CPC & the T/CF committee in which we thrashed out the guidelines for the national co-ordinators of those committees and made a recommendation that the board look at making a senior paid position at the national office for those positions.

At the Saturday meeting of all committees (the full conference) we rejected some committee’s recommendations which then allowed us to look at the topic again and amendments were made to those topics. We had 3 floor motions passed at conference one on the minority voice where one person changed their vote and amended the floor motion allowing it to pass on the next vote.

Next year’s conference is the 50 year celebration of General Service in Australia all past Area Delegates that attended conference are invited to attend on the Saturday, to facilitate this the Conference will start one day early. We as an Area have had one Delegate to Conference John C to my knowledge if anyone knows of more (I think Garth went one year without being funded) please tell me so we can contact them and advise them of the invitation to attend.

We worked our tails off again at this conference and because we only had one 3^rd Year delegate in attendance it was a little less well run than the first conference I attended, it is essential that all delegates have a sound knowledge of how meetings run by Roberts’s Rules are conducted and how minority voice actually works. Under minority voice I can talk on new ground affecting a topic and try to change a person who voted with the majority’s mind then they can propose a new vote.

Australian events

The Eastern Region (NSW, ACT) Delegates jointly agreed to Area As proposed bid for the 2010 National Convention, this means that we will actively help in fund raising and supplying volunteer workers.

We also as a region agreed to host the first T&CF Forum in 2008 to be held in Area G our Area will supply speakers and volunteer workers.

Area H will hold this year’s regional forum more information as it becomes available will be given to all Areas.

2008 National Convention in Adelaide

2009 National Convention will be held on the Gold Coast

2009 PI&CPC Forum will be held in Melbourne

2013s Convention is open for Area C to bid for at conference I think we should put together a bid for then.

If you wish to be involved, or know anyone else interested in being on the Host Planning Committee for the 2013 national Convention, please contact Area C by email at

convention2013@aa-area-c.org

New appointments

Advisory Action #032/2007

Conference resolved to ratify the election by the Board of John G as General Service Trustee, effective 1^st January 2008, for a four year period.

No disapproval

Advisory Action #033/2007

Steve T from NSW was appointed World Service Delegate (effective 1^st January 2008 for a 4 year term), replacing Trevor H who we thanked for his outstanding contributions to Australian General Service.

Voting: For: 23 (two-thirds majority)

Stories for Australian Big Book

Stories are wanted for inclusion in the new Australian edition of the Big Book which is planned to be published in two to three years.

Any Australian member of AA is eligible to submit his or her story regardless of length of sobriety. Bill W once said that Big Book stories were “personal narratives which describe the drinking history, how the newcomer came to Alcoholics Anonymous, how AA affected him or her and what AA has since accomplished for the person.”

You are invited to submit your story for consideration.

Preferred stories will, as Bill W recommended, be those that reach out to the newcomer who is still looking for the AA solution.

Stories should be no more than 3,500 words and can be submitted by email to ozbigbook@aa.org.au in Microsoft Word format. (If you do not have a computer, someone in your group is bound to be able to help you.)

Your full name, mailing address, email address and telephone number should appear on the first page of the story.

The deadline is 1 April 2008.

Email address for submissions or inquiries: ozbigbook@aa.org.au

** An Advisory Action is a directive to the Board by Conference.

Ian C, Australian World Service Delegate (1st Term), reports on his recent visit to the Solomon Islands, in response to a call to the Fellowship in Australia, for help.....

SOLOMON ISLANDS

I have just returned from my second visit to the Solomon Islands. Since I was there the last time they have experienced a large earthquake which caused a tsunami to hit several islands sinking an uninhabited one completely and killing 35 people in the town of Gizo. It had been my intention to visit Gizo but unfortunately the lack of accommodation and shortage of time did not allow it.

Again I stayed with Archbishop Adrian Smith who continues to be a driving force in all areas and introduced me to many valuable contacts while managing to work an 18 hour day in his archdiocese. I had also initiated contact with various groups before going including the Anglican Church and the Church of Melanesia this resulted in being able to reach a greater number of people throughout the islands.

My first assignment was a meeting with Honiara family support group who come into contact with the results of alcoholism every day. I spoke to about 10 staff members who asked lots of questions, they also took literature for display and to give to clients and one member attended our AA meeting to find out more. This was followed by a meeting with the Church of Melanesia and I had fruitful exchanges with a number of people including Sister Doreen who runs a refuge for families affected by alcohol and Sister Kathleen who amongst other things looks after a plantation called C.D.C. which have problems with alcoholism. My first day was completed by getting together with the three members who have been holding the AA group together.

We decided to try to hold an AA meeting twice a week one on Thursday and one on Saturday and with this as an objective set out to try to advertise these meetings and arrange halls. I was told by one of the Solomon islander ladies when I was attempting to hire a hall to help alcoholics that there was no need for this anymore as in America they had invented a chewing gum that helped you stop. I think she may have been talking about smoking. The first week I advertised in the Solomon Star newspaper but since this proved to be expensive I decided to write a letter to the editor explaining what AA was. This resulted in an almost full-page spread and from those we had five members come who had read the newspaper.

Over the next few days I was able to speak to people from 6 other islands which since there are 347 inhabited leaves a few to cover nevertheless these people attended an AA meeting and took literature which they said they would take back to their island so I am hopeful the seed is spreading.

My next trip was out to the palm-oil plantation which has lots of workers housed in the area. Because of the lack of electricity I had to talk to people illuminated by the light of two trucks on either side.

The first AA meeting while I was there was held on the Thursday night and we had 14 members all Solomon Islanders and all identifying as AA members and although getting them to share remained difficult I found if I allowed them to converse in pidgin English and not bother about me understanding it seemed easier for them (and for me) The Saturday morning which is held at 8.00am we tried something different. The caring and sharing tape library had sent up some cd”s and when I got there we had lots of cd’s but no player. With this rectified the first one we played had our own board member EricB who was much appreciated and it showed how we share in Australia. A funny thing happened at the close of this meeting in that the police dragged away one of the members who then spent the night in jail. This is real AA.

After the meeting I was invited for the weekend to a place called Visale which is at the far end of Guadacanal where lots of kids were being transported in from villages to do their church confirmation. This gave me a chance to talk to lots of villagers and their clergymen and we even had an impromptu meeting. I was also able to trek out to a couple of the villages to carry the message and to swim in the sea although keeping an eye out for crocodiles since a 6metre one had been caught a few days before. Visale runs on electricity from a generator which I suspect is not often turned on and was put on especially for us. Sunday was spent mostly in church, the Archbishop confirmed 157 children a process that took over 3 hours. Monday and Tuesday were spent mostly at home due to an infection I had picked up which had the Archbishop rushing me to the doctor suspecting malaria but luckily it was just something I ate and by Wednesday I was able to travel to Tunagi to speak at the Anglican church and to take our message to the police and courthouse.

Thursday was again meeting day and we had 16 at our meeting 12 of whom had been at the last one so hopefully this consistency continues. I managed to make a deal with the Solomon Star and they are going to advertise both meetings once a month. Saturday and Sunday turned out to be two bad days for me when I had my wallet stolen but was again rescued by the Archbishop who loaned me money to get home and my flight was delayed causing me to miss my connection to Perth and spending an extra night in Brisbane and the cost of an extra ticket for AA.

I feel that AA has now been established in Honiara and it is now up to the members to keep carrying the message. A couple of things that may aid this are that one of the priests who has the problem and who came to meetings with me the first trip is now in the Philippines and is experiencing AA meetings every day for the next three months so hopefully when he returns he will be a driving force. I have also had contact from a group in Hawaii who are thinking about paying the Solomon islands a visit to remember family members who fought there but would combine it with AA activities.

The effect of this experiment by AA Australia is being felt world-wide and I have had messages of support from as far afield as the U.S.A. and the U.K. Tremendous support from our National Office,from my own CSO in Perth who contributed literature and from groups with offers of big books, individuals who copied tapes and the Caring and Sharing Tape Library who contributed cd”s. With all this support AA cannot help but thrive.

Our next goal I feel should be to try to get representation from the Solomon Islands to the Asia-Oceanic conference in 2009 A great deal could be learned by having a delegate attend and I am sure it would boost their membership. I also feel we should produce a guideline on carrying the message to other countries and shall approach the board on both these issues

Ian Comrie (International delegate)

CONFERENCE POLICIES & ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE

Conference recognized the importance of on-line meetings as a part of AA, but resolved that, at present, they are not part of the General Service Conference in Australia. Conference requested that feedback be obtained from international sources to assist in formulating an Australian policy regarding on-line meetings.

If a group rejects the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, 12 Concepts and the Big Book, is it a group of Alcoholics Anonymous?

If a Group or District aligns itself with an Area other than the one in which it is geographically situated, does Conference agree that there should be very good reason for doing so?

It is realized that the autonomy of the group is an important principle as per the first part of the long form of Tradition 4. However, surely the second part of the long form of this Tradition should be taken into account.

Currently there appear to be no checks or balances for ensuring that the stability of other groups or Areas are not compromised when decisions such as this are made.

Suggest that Conference ask the General Service Board to formulate a procedure for a group or District wishing to align itself with an Area other than the one in which it is geographically situated, and that both Areas involved should reach agreement. The Regional Trustee should participate in discussions.

That Assembly’s and all Committee Members take up their positions at the 1st of January.

That the Conference please asks the G.S.B. to restore the National Website listing for the Melbourne Central Office (AKA, A.A. Victoria.)

The supply of DVD/Video for use in “Speaking in Schools” programmers, based on UK video “Young People in AA” or the new UK “A Message to Young People”.

(a) makes available to the Fellowship, as an interim measure, the existing video, “Young People in AA”, revised to include suitable Australian AA contact details, and

(b) considers the production of an Australian version of a video specifically directed in carrying the message of AA to young people.

The supply of a DVD or Video for PI use, explaining to both professionals and public hat follows when you contact AA first, and the reasons for contact, e.g. a combination or adaptation of the two new UK VIDEOS: “Journey to AA” (as seen on UK website) and “An Inside View of Alcoholics Anonymous for Professionals”.

(a) determines what Conference Approved video material is currently available for presentation to both the professional community and public for PI use, and

(b) considers the production of a new video/DVD, specifically addressed to the professional community and public, depicting what follows when people contact AA for help.

Would Conference consider creating an A.A. online multimedia presentation in order to clarify the meaning of the ‘I am Responsible’ Banner?

That a single AA service website be established in Australia, supported and funded by the General Service Board, to coordinate and facilitate the work we do in Public Information and Cooperation with the Professional Community (PI&CPCP) and Treatment and Correctional Facilities (T&CF) and other service activities.

Conference resolved that a single AA service website be established in Australia, supported and funded by the General Service Board, to facilitate the sharing of the work the Fellowship does in PI&CPC, T&CF and other service activities.

The Board recommends that Conference considers whether a link be provided from the National Website to General Service Area Websites, or whether such links should be via the Service Website.

Conference resolved that the Service Website provide links to Area websites but that there be no links from the National Website to Area websites.

The Board recommends that Conference considers the idea of compiling a list of non-alcoholic, non Trustee friends of AA, totally familiar with AA’s principles, willing to be our public face with the media.

Conference resolved that a list be compiled consisting of non-alcoholic, non Trustee friends of AA, totally familiar with AA’s principles, willing to be our public face with the media. Area Delegates to be encouraged to forward nominations to the General Service Board.

Conference resolved to approve the letter re our Singleness of Purpose (with minor typographical changes) and make it available to Groups, Districts and Areas for distribution to health professionals and treatment centres if desired.

The revision and reprint of the booklet “The AA Group Handbook”, to both modernize it and to relate it more to Australian customs.

Conference supported the topic suggesting that the AA Group Handbook be revised and Australianised but made no recommendation as the booklet is currently being reviewed by the Trustees’ Literature Committee as per Conference Advisory Action #023/2006. Conference recommended that this topic be forwarded to the Trustees’ Literature Committee to assist in their review.

An Australia-wide National Meetings Book be published and contact details be included for all Central Service Offices and Intergroups.