This is in reply to two similar policy/manifesto questions from Stephen Mulliner (Nottingham list) and Ian Davidson (Australian list).  Ian only took up croquet in February - it's good to see newcomers to the sport showing such interest.

Bruce Fleming and I don't have a detailed policy platform because our aim is to improve ACA administration by opening up the culture and encouraging involvement.

This contest (assuming there is one) is about approaches to governance.  Should Australian croquet players be encouraged to publicly voice their opinions on ACA matters, or should they be told to desist?  Should the constitution and by-laws of the organisation govern decision making, or are they an inconvenience to be worked around when they do not support the desires of the executive?  Should decisions regarding the location of ACA events be governed by the long-term developmental needs of all six states, or by a concern to support one facility?  (I am not anti-Cairnlea.  I would love to see it succeed - but not at the expense of development in the other states.)

We believe that constructive criticism of policy and administrative decisions should be encouraged as it is an indication of the health of the body politic, and that a capacity to withstand scrutiny is a hallmark of a healthy decision-making culture.

I understand that some might say that the preceding remarks are all just motherhood statements, but we are talking about a cultural problem in Australian croquet that has implications beyond the diminishing of the available pool of administrative talent.

Allow me to illustrate.

One of the issues that is often raised in Australian croquet is the loss of funding from the Australian Sports Commission.  Whenever it is mentioned the ACA response is, broadly, "The ASC has been cutting funding for minority and non-Olympic sports and there isn't much that we can do about it."  Such a response doesn't reveal the full picture.  There is much that can be done to put Croquet Australia in a better position to compete for funds if they do become available (and nobody knows what will happen under the new Federal Government).  In the days leading up to my resignation from the position of ACA Secretary, I had a two hour meeting with a senior official from the ASC who was visiting Brisbane and wanted to know what was going on.  He understood my decision to resign, but encouraged me to consider staying on and trying to reform the ACA culture.  (Unfortunately, at the time I saw little prospect of success.)  His comments on funding were quite clear.  If money becomes available and a choice has to be made between croquet, with it's old-style closed culture, and another sport that has reformed it's administrative culture, then the chances of the funding coming our way would be very slim.

Finally, I know that there are some people out there who don't know me very well, and know only Bruce Fleming's sporting achievements.  The following (very brief) profiles might help.

I have been playing croquet at local, state, and national level for 15 years (though not with the extraordinary success of the other Bruce).

My professional experience (in the public and private sectors in Australia and the UK) includes;

- management;

- policy development;

- business analysis;

- information technology consulting;

- project management; and

- project planning and management consulting.

I have a strong commitment to ethical, transparent, accountable, and consultative governance, and that commitment is at the heart of my decision to nominate for the ACA Presidency.  Further, I am keen to put my professional skills at the service of the ACA.

Bruce has been playing since 1982 and has represented Qld and Australia as a player, and served as team captain on numerous occasions.  He is a registered level 2 coach under the ASC National Coach Accreditation Scheme and has coached state and national squads.  He has served on the Qld and Australian selection committees (including as chair of both).  He is also an international croquet referee.

Bruce has considerable management and operational experience in the electricity industry, including managing online and offline operations for NEMMCO (Australia’s electricity market and interconnected power grid) and managing NEMMCO training.

Cheers,

Bruce Mitchell