BirdLife Australia
| Public | |
| Industry | Conservation and Research |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
Key people | Paul Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer |
Number of employees | 37 (2012) |
| Slogan | Birds are in our nature |
| Website |
www |
BirdLife Australia is the trading name of a company limited by guarantee formed through the merger of two Australian non-government conservation organisations, Bird Observation and Conservation Australia (BOCA) and Birds Australia. A constitution [1] was drafted in May 2011 for BirdLife Australia, which became operational on 1 January 2012. Their respective magazines, the Bird Observer and Wingspan were succeeded by Australian Birdlife.
History
At simultaneous Annual General Meetings held on 21 May 2011, the respective members of BOCA and Birds Australia voted to merge and form the new company.[2] Over 93% of those that voted from BOCA voted for the merger and over 95% of those that voted from Birds Australia voted for the merger. A combined total of 4517 Birds Australia and BOCA members voted on the resolution, with over 36% of Birds Australia members and more than 50% of BOCA members voting. This was the biggest response to a proposed resolution that either organisation had ever received.[2]
With the merger, BirdLife Australia became the Australian national partner organisation of BirdLife International, a role hitherto performed by Birds Australia.
The inaugural Board of Directors was made up of five board members from each of the merging organisations, with the addition of a "neutral" Chair, Gerard Early.
The inaugural Chief Executive Officer, Dr Graeme Hamilton, resigned in October 2012. Dr Hamilton had served as CEO of Birds Australia from 2005 to 2011, and also as CEO of BOCA in its final months of operation in 2011. James O'Connor served as interim CEO from October 2012, until the appointment of Paul Sullivan in January 2013.
Constitution
The Constitution of BirdLife Australia is loosely based on the constitutions of the merging bodies. The organisation is member-based, and Board members are elected by the membership at an Annual General Meeting. The Constitution also describes a transitional period for the board for its first three years of operation, whereby two members of each original board will stand down at each Annual General Meeting.
Operations
BirdLife Australia's current national office is at 60 Leicester St Carlton, Victoria, at the site of the former Birds Australia office. The office of BOCA was in Nunawading, Victoria, and was still owned by BirdLife Australia. The organisation also leases premises at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush, NSW, and Floreat, WA. BirdLife owns and operates Gluepot Reserve, a 540km2 reserve for bird conservation and research in the South Australian semi-arid mallee region, and leases two bird observatories, the Broome Bird Observatory and the Eyre Bird Observatory, both in West Australia.
Awards
The organisation awards a number of regular prizes.
The D.L. Serventy Medal may be awarded annually for outstanding published work on birds in the Australasian region. It has been awarded for the last 20 years and is the highest award offered to professional ornithologists by BirdLife Australia.
The J.N. Hobbs medal may be awarded annually for outstanding contributions to Australasian ornithology by an amateur ornithologist.
References
- ↑ "BirdLife Australia Constitution". Birds Australia. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Dial M for Merger". Birds Australia. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
- Robin, Libby. (2001). The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001. Melbourne University Press: Carlton. ISBN 0-522-84987-3