This is the most important question when seeking funding from State Government Departments and sponsors. We contend that State associations are those organisation and that AMSA should only claim to represent the States at Federal level.

Until this question is settled there will be no united Federal organisation.

Do you want a strong State association and a small national body?

Or do you want AMSA only?

Most will know there has been a long dispute between the national AMSA and the State Associations. The states felt that AMSA was not including them in decisions. TMSA, VMSA and QMSA resigned from AMSA, WA was expelled.

The four states met in September 2017 and decided to form a new national body that would be owned by and respect the rights of the State Associations. Its role would be to support the States and represent them nationally.

AMSA went on to change its constitution to make all Sheds direct members, run nationally from Newcastle.

The comparison is stark: Sheds dealing with a State association or Sheds getting directions from Newcastle. Which organisations can best represent the Sheds in each State?

In WA we surveyed our members and found well over 90% support for a state body.

So the path was clear: form a new association. The four states met again. And talked. And talked. And not much else.

Mensheds Australia Ltd (MSA), a one-time competitor to AMSA had faded away to just a handful of people, let it be known that they would be open to a friendly take-over.

After some more time in which nothing happened, three individuals from WA (with the permission of MSWA) took on the task of repurposing MSA. They went through months of negotiation, due diligence etc including developing a new constitution. They took over as interim directors when the original directors resigned.

With a new constitution, new directors and a clean bill of financial health (endorsed by a former Victorian Auditor General), on 23^rd of October 2018 an invitation was sent to VMSA, TMSA, MSWA and the new QRMN to join (and own) MSA.

Tasmania, WA and Queensland accepted and took up board positions. The invitation to Victoria is still open.

We are now in a position to invite associations from NSW and SA together with a director from A.C.T. and N.T. combined to join us.

I urge you to make a decision on this and join TMSA, MSWA and QRMN. We don’t want to be run from Newcastle. We want strong State Associations that know their own state best and can deliver for their people (including negotiating with their state governments). We want a national body that is owned by the States, that serves them – not tells them what to do.

We believe that funding needs to get to the grass roots where it will yield a better return.

MSA is about to review its initial constitution. This will be done by the members, not outsiders. We would welcome other State associations at the table.

Please treat this as a matter of urgency. If your answer is no, that’s fine but please make sure you are doing what is best for the Men’s Shed movement in Australia.

Trevor Taylor – President.

Firstly, let me say there is no power struggle, there is however a very distinct difference of opinion on what culture and governance structure works best in getting information and assistance to Sheds and Shedders across Australia.

Let us keep it simple. Mensheds Australia (MSA) believes in the following.

• Men’s Sheds work best for their members if they organise and govern themselves.
• State and territory associations work best if they are strong, organise themselves and are elected to represent and service the Sheds in their state or territory.
• A national association works best if it represents and services the state and territory associations.

The constitution of MSA has been amended so that the state and territory associations own it and appoint the directors.

Direct membership of a national association by Sheds has never worked, it didn’t work for the original MSA and it doesn’t work now for the changed AMSA model.
Look at the facts, those states associations by their own admission that see themselves as lacking the resources to adequately support their Sheds are Queensland and South Australia. The strongest states are Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia all of which have developed strong state associations with funding support from the relevant state governments.

They have been able to lobby state governments, local councils, other sponsors such as Lotteries, Veterans affairs, racing and gaming and many others for funding and support with men’s health and wellbeing issues. They are able to organize zone or cluster meetings to exchange information and they get goods to supply to Sheds mostly free of charge.

A properly functioning national association should be encouraging and supporting state and territory associations to do all of this and in addition be doing what it can on a federal basis to gain support for them whilst carrying out the duties that are best done at a federal level.

There is a need to make sure the limited funds available are used to get information and services to the men in Sheds where it will have the greatest impact. This is why your Shed and its members should be supporting your state or territory association and arguing for it to be part of MSA in order to ensure a stable future for Men’s Sheds and the health and wellbeing of all Shedders.

Secondly, let me ask would you support your local government council being controlled and supported directly from Canberra by the federal government or do you support having a state government in between?

Trevor Taylor

Following over two years of talking about how things should be at a National level with four States no longer members of the current body, progress is being made on forming a new association.

On the 27th June 2018 Mensheds Australia Limited called a meeting of the Four states in conversation to bring them up to date on the progress of establishing a National association that is owned by the State and Territory associations.

Four representatives from each of the four States were invited to attend by tele conference to hear and contribute to what is happening.

Opening comments were made by the new Chairman of MSA, Trevor Taylor, on the importance of working together in unity to establish an association that is seen as democratic, encouraging and serving the Men’s Shed movement across Australia.

A report was given on the state of the due diligence being undertaken on using Mensheds Australia Limited as the basis of the new organisation. Much was discussed about this as it is a work in progress and although not yet complete shows that there is great promise in using this company and its assets.

There is complete support for a new body and it is just the details that are yet to be worked out with Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia agreeing to get on and use this company rather than starting another from scratch. Victoria is reserved in its support wanting to see the due diligence completed first and also wanting to look at other structures as maybe the way forward.

Following this the State Presidents and others spoke on a wide range of topics covering the starting and running of a National association many of which cannot be agreed until there is commitment from the States to own the new company and meetings conducted on how to structure and run it.

Since the meeting progress has been made on getting the audits finalized which will be the main part of the due diligence after which we can again review our States position and hopefully commit to joining MSA Ltd as full founding members and invite the other States and territories to join us.

Mensheds Australia was established 2006 with the intent of being a national body that Sheds joined directly, without state associations. It was in competition with AMSA, which was then a body owned by state associations. AMSA became dominant, but more recently moved away from that model. Now it will be Mensheds Australia that is the National body based solely on state associations.

The “Men’s Sheds of WA Inc” (MSWA) has discussed this a few times. We have had a talk to the anti-discrimination people and received assurance that they support a Shed’s right to not allow women into it on the grounds that it inhibits men from talking about the things that worry or concern them and this we support.

There are also Sheds that allow women into them as members and sometimes as groups or under instruction with partners and we support those Sheds just as well.

We recognise that all Sheds have the right to decide how they conduct their activities and that they will change their minds and culture from time to time. Some will thrive and some will fail depending on the decisions they make. Just as some men will leave a Shed that decides to allow women to become members and others will not mind.

We would encourage Sheds to ask themselves “are we acting in the best interests of the Men’s Shed movement” before seeking to change things. This is the question that is most important to us all of the time we are acting for the Men’s Sheds of W.A.

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