2022-11-28
This year has seen a successful Federal Election Campaign/Result and an increase in our equity.
By Heather Lonsdale and Sue Etheridge
We live and work on the unceded lands of the Whadjuk Noongar (Heather) and Gubbi Gubbi (Sue) people and pay respect to elders and ancestors of this country. We recognise that we walk on stolen land and that Sovereignty was never ceded. We also recognise the fight for truth telling, treaty, justice and peace continues.
It has been a very enjoyable year as Treasurer/Deputy Treasurer; in large part due to the collaboration with others who have been working hard to improve our processes. We are grateful to our fellow office bearers, Australian Greens staff, state and territory treasurers, National Councillors and in particular the Governance and Finance Committee, who have all worked alongside us and made the year both productive and enjoyable.
Budget vs actual
The initial Australian Greens (AG) operating budget for the 2021-2022 financial year anticipated a very slim surplus of $11,000. The budget was set when there was still ongoing uncertainty about the level of Member Body contributions to the budget, and the unknown result of the Budget and Funding Model Review. The final result for the 2021-2022 financial year ended up being slightly higher, with a surplus of $16,230. The difference between this surplus of $16,230 and the audited surplus of $344,469 is the net increase to our Specific Purpose Reserves.
Areas of income that were higher than budgeted included appeals, regular giving and major donations, a testament to the hard work of both the Engagement and Campaign teams. Expenses that were under budget were in communications and systems, mainly due to work being delayed or not yet underway.
Committees and collaboration
The Governance and Finance Committee continued to meet twice a month, to carry on with the work of the Budget and Funding Model Review, along with the initial work in setting up a National Risk Management Register, and preliminary work being undertaken in preparation for our Strategic Planning Review. A big thank you from both Heather and Sue to everyone involved in these meetings including Anne Picot, James Ross, Ella Webb, Nick McKim, Dominic Wy Kanak, Brett Constable, Jess McColl, Catherine Garner, Matt Roberts, Jonathan Parry and Gemmia Burden.
The group of State and Territory Treasurers continue to meet monthly, and it is a welcoming space for collaboration and collegiality. It has been great to see all the regular faces on our Zoom chats, and to welcome new Treasurers along with farewelling of others.
We would like to express our big thanks to Brett Constable, whose hard work is invaluable across all of the party, but in particular underpins much of the Treasurer role. We would also like to thank the rest of our fellow office bearers; we are a close-knit team who work very well together. We are very fortunate to work with excellent people across the party, both staff members and volunteers, and this past year has been a great example of what we can achieve when we all work towards a common goal.