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   JOIN THE WIA   
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   This is WIA President, Scott Williams (VK3KJ) and welcome to all listeners to   
   WIA National News Broadcast this week.   
      
      
   This weekend has been a huge couple of days for the WIA with our AGM taking   
   place in Bendigo Victoria at 3pm Eastern Standard Time on Saturday 3 May. The   
   AGM was held in conjunction with the Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics   
   Club (BAREC) who are holding a technology festival on the Sunday 4th May at   
   the Bendigo show grounds.   
      
   The AGM was held at the beautiful historic Shamrock Hotel and was also made   
   available via Microsoft Teams, so it was great to connect with so many   
   members across Australia and some from around the world.   
      
      
   I would like to read to you my Presidents address at the AGM. It not only   
   covers the performance of the WIA but also outlines important activities of   
   the WIA throughout 2024. More importantly, it acknowledges the wonderful   
   contribution of so many people who make the WIA the trusted peak body of   
   Amateur Radio in Australia.   
      
   My address:   
      
   Like last year, I am going to keep my Presidents report short and to the   
   point as there is already a considerable amount of Information that has been   
   supplied within the Annual Report, and I am mindful there is still a fair bit   
   to get through today.   
      
      
   As reported, the WIA membership dropped to 2908 members in 2024, this is a   
   reduction of 24 members on 2023. This reduction also included 23 members that   
   sadly became silent keys.   
      
      
   The WIA acknowledge the difficult 12 months of 2024 with significant cost of   
   living pressures, and this is one of the reasons the Board resolved in 2024   
   to freeze membership fees at $95.00 for another year. It is now 10 years (in   
   fact 2014) since membership fees were last increased, despite the Institute   
   absorbing significant increases in operating expenses over this time.   
      
      
   We acknowledge the loss of some members, about 0.8% if you remove silent keys   
   however, the Board believe given the challenging economic times, despite this   
   small loss is disappointing, it is also understandable.   
      
      
   Of the 24 members that did not renew their membership, many sited that it was   
   for financial reasons they did not renew. Many also said they would   
   re-activate their membership in the future when costs of living pressures   
   reduce.   
      
   I am pleased to report that as last week, the WIA had 2942 members, that is   
   more than in 2023 and of course more than in 2024, so our membership is   
   trending in the right direction. We are currently seeing around 10 new   
   members join every month and it is again pleasing to see the return of some   
   past members.   
      
      
   We have made some advancement with our IT systems and in November 2024,   
   automated renewals and reminders were implemented. This was previously a very   
   manual driven process with considerable time spent however, the new process   
   has improved consistency and reduced resource time internally. One of the   
   next projects is to introduce payment instalments for membership, which we   
   hope will assist our members financially. The goal will be to allow members   
   to pay in instalments automatically via Direct debit or credit card. We hope   
   to have this operational in the coming months and we had hoped to commence   
   this new benefit from the start of 2025.   
      
      
   The WIA also commenced development of our new website. Work is well underway,   
   and a South Australian based company is undertaking the development work. The   
   current WIA website is complex, busy and not a very friendly site to   
   navigate. The new site will have a fresh contemporary look with easy   
   navigation and will be user friendly. Content is being populated in the   
   background as we speak, and the site will be launched in the coming months.   
      
      
   I am delighted to report, the WIA has reported a modest surplus of $23,429   
   and also, closed with a net asset position at 31 December 2024 of $923,615 up   
   from $475,186 in 2023   
      
      
   The material change in our net asset position is due to the revaluation of   
   the WIA National Office located in Bayswater Victoria. The building was   
   professionally valued in 2024 at $850,000 where previously it was shown in   
   our balance sheet valued at $425,000.   
      
      
   I would like to again acknowledge the generous bequest provided by the late   
   Henry Anderson (VK8HA) who allowed the WIA to invest in a building and build   
   today what is a very strong financial position with a balance sheet   
   approaching $1m in net equity.   
      
      
   The WIA also has a strong cash position of around $350,000 made up of cash on   
   hand and term deposits placing us in a very strong position. The WIA has   
   never been in better financial shape and even taking into account membership   
   fees received in advance, our financial position is strong.   
      
      
   The WIA continues to take its role very seriously as the exclusive member of   
   the ITU and IARU from Australia. Attendance at events continues to be   
   financially demanding on the WIA however, we do this to represent and protect   
   your interest in the Amateur Radio community.   
      
      
   In 2024, the WIA funded Peter Young (VK3MV) as a delegate of the WIA to   
   attend the IARU Region 3 conference in Bangkok. The WIA thanks Peter for his   
   contribution and efforts to represent the WIA. Several WIA Directors also   
   took part remotely as observers to the conference.   
      
      
   I would personally like to thank Dale Hughes (VK1DSH), Peter Pokorny (VK2EMR)   
   and Peter Young (VK3MV) for their ongoing contribution to the WIA and for all   
   the work they do with the ITU and IARU representing Australias interest for   
   all Amateur Radio operators. Can I also thank Noel Higgins (VK3NH) for his   
   work with Standards Australia.   
      
      
   I would also like to acknowledge the work of Graham Kemp (VK4BB) with   
   bringing you the broadcast each week, Roger Harrison (VK2ZRH) and the Pubcom   
   committee for bringing you the AR Magazine on time every time and a special   
   mention to the Education Committee chaired by Amanda Hawes (VK1WX) for their   
   outstanding work in the Education area.   
      
      
   The other huge task in 2024 was WIAs submission to the ACMA on Class   
   Licensing. The WIA spent considerable effort consulting the amateur radio   
   community, gaining feedback from surveys, holding online briefing sessions   
   and of course submitting a very comprehensive and balanced response.   
      
      
   Not all areas of the Class License introduction have been smooth sailing and   
   there continues to be some areas of concern that have been identified. The   
   WIA will continue to work with the ACMA on hopefully a positive resolution.   
   Just in the past weeks, we have undertaken a comprehensive survey with over   
   1300 individuals participating, which allowed the WIA to make a further   
   submission with clear evidence to the ACMA on areas that needs addressing.   
   The lack of authoritative callsign certificates and the lack of an online   
   register have been areas that the WIA has made a strong submission to the   
   ACMA seeking change.   
      
      
   There was also a huge amount of work in 2024 in documenting the Repeater &   
   Beacon License Frequency Coordination Standards known as RALI AA1, AA2, AA3   
   and AA4. The work on these documents which required the approval of the ACMA   
   to be published was tireless and I would like to acknowledge the work of the   
   WIA Technical Advisory Committee chaired by Grant Willis (VK5GR). I dont what   
   to single out one individual however, the work undertaken by Grant Willis was   
   outstanding, and I know it involved many months of work. Thank you Grant and   
   to all of the Committee that contributed.   
      
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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