MikeB05 said:
Tathradj said:
Yobskin,
You have all the makings to form your own Sate Lobby Group.
Go for it and make it happen bloke.
:Y: :Y:
It will not take much to happen. :rainbow: :rainbow:
yobskin said:
Oh remember when I was challenging Qld laws about water pumps ect...and you were all ....dont rock the boat because it didnt effect you...and now you feel the pinch and ya running around like ya knobbs chopped off.......if this gets off the ground you better hope all states follow the same regulations.
I have suggested a couple of times that a NATIONAL Body with state chapters might have more clout than individual state bodies but no-one seems interested.
We have NAPFA members on here...so let me ask again....if NAPFA wants Australia wide support for the highbanking issue in NSW will NAPFA:
- consider changing its objectives, constitution etc to become NATIONAL Assoc of Prospectors and Fossickers Australia[/*]
- work with PA forum to call for the creation of State based chapters[/*]
If the answer is 'NO' or 'too hard' or 'not interested ever' then maybe the hobby is destined to stay fractured and self centred...so you will then know with certainty that even if NSW resolves the legal use of highbankers using pumps...dont bother bringing them into QLD.
Mike,
At the end of the day, decisions like that are a matter for NAPFA members to consider, so comments below do not represent any official NAPFA position, so please don't quote it out of context.
They are most certainly my personal opinion.
In principle a national body is not a bad idea but the reality is that it is extremely difficult to bring about for a whole range of reasons. It is also debatable how effective it would be when mining regulations are state law and there is no compelling benefit at this stage that I can see to putting in the necessary time and money to create a national body. That's because the issues are state-based.
The various executives of our associations (NAPFA, PMAV, TMAV, PANDIANT, APLA) all have their work cut out now dealing with state issues in sensible priority and remaining functional in the face of a diversified group of constituents who so often as we see on this forum can't agree between themselves.
Many fossickers/prospectors are great examples of rugged individuals who don't wish to conform to group ideas and prefer to go their own way. That's good but it makes group action quite difficult to achieve.
How many members on this forum don't support their hard-working state associations, I wonder, even with paid memberships? It is so easy to sit behind a keyboard and stir the pot or to be an armchair admiral. But it is a lot harder to actually bring about legislative or regulatory change even when you know and understand the issues and have resources behind you.
There is a huge time commitment to do the sort of work you talk about properly and it actually requires a professional, and paid national executive, otherwise you may as well forget it. Just this highbanking issue has sucked weeks out of my life, let alone the other things we have under way - like fossicking districts, national park policy, communication to members, building membership, remaining financially viable etc. Even at the level of NAPFA we have committed fossickers in NSW who are not members or who are unfinancial.
Queensland and South Australia are also unorganised and that situation undermines the concept of a national body. You live in Queensland...why is there not a Queensland association of a sort to work on your state issues?
There would be a benefit in all the associations having a meeting once a year to swap notes, but that takes time and money and it has not shown itself to have the necessary priority, otherwise it would have occurred.
With volunteer committees, time is always the most limited resource. Volunteers can only put in the time they can afford to. The time I spend writing this post is time I don't spend on planning my next trip or being out there. Good strong memberships obviously encourage committees to do more.
So if individuals want to help then they can do so by becoming financial members of their associations and solving the issues they can, first at a state level by being actively engaged and getting on with it. When that is happening, there may be a fertile environment to look at better national coordination.
Just my personal thoughts.
Stephen (aka, NAPFA President).
