Aust Vet J Vol 78, No 7, July 2000 431

News

THE AVA’s new President-elect is DrRobert Baker, of South Australia.He won the post in last month’s

AVA Elections, outpolling the othercandidate, Dr Tom Lonsdale, of NSW, by1,252 votes to 157. Meanwhile, the vacantthree-year position on the Board was wonby Dr Norm Blackman, of the ACT, whoheld a one-year spot on the Board prior tothe ballot. He defeated Dr Breck Muir, ofNSW, by 1,168 votes to 237. Dr Muir ranon a joint ticket with Dr Lonsdale. The results of the two ballots wereofficially announced during last month’sAVA Conference in Perth. The officialcount of votes was conducted at NationalOffice under the supervision of the AVAReturning Officer, Dr John Plant, on 20June. Dr Baker will now serve 12 monthsas President-elect before moving into therole of President for 12 months – at nextyear’s Melbourne Conference. His three-year term will be completed when he thenserves a year as Vice-President of the AVA.

A former President of SA Division (1998),Dr Baker is a former long-time Director ofthe Adelaide Zoo and, currently, isDirector of ANZCCART (Australia andNew Zealand Council for the Care ofAnimals in Research and Teaching). He iswidely known across Australia – andinternationally – because of his work inanimal welfare. His vision for the AVA is to raise its profileas an organisation with expertise in thewelfare of all animals, companion animals,production animals, wildlife and animalsin research. Dr Blackman’s main aims areto: broaden business opportunities forveterinarians; achieve National VeterinaryRegistration; raise the profession’s publicprofile; utilise AVA programs, such asPetPEP, to increase community awarenessof responsible pet care. He also wants tostrengthen AVA’s ties with government andlivestock industry peak bodies andestablish support programs for isolatedveterinarians and new graduates.

Robert Baker newPresident-elect

President-elect: Dr Robert Baker

Board win: Dr Norm Blackman

THE former Vice-President of the AVA,the larger-than-life Dr Geoff Niethe,officially left the Board at last month’s

Perth 2000 Conference. A big man, with acommanding presence, he was an outspokenchampion of the need for AVA to nurture

veterinary students. Aspart of his mission he ledthe way to the establish-ment last year of aregular AVA newsletter,The Speculum, which isdistributed to studentsat all Australianveterinary schools.Noted for his absolutebelief in frank and open

discussion, one of his favourite expressions is:“I like a bit of biffo”. Another quotationwhich he freely uses in is: “The truth will setyou free”. The former President of AVA, DrGarth McGilvray, has now moved into theposition of Vice-President.

Goodbye, Geoff Niethe

THE AVA’s new President, DrIan Denney, was officiallyinducted into the role during a

ceremony at last month’sPerth Conference. He has awealth of AVA executiveexperience, having pre-viously served on the NSWDivision Board, as NSWPresident and spent twoyears on the AVA Boardbefore winning the post ofPresident-elect last year. DrDenney has had a diversecareer – having spent 15years as a practitioner, three years as aNSW TAFE teacher and seven yearsas Director of the Western Plains Zooat Dubbo (NSW). He is currentlyDeputy Chief, Division of AnimalIndustries, at the NSW Department

of Agriculture, where he also serves asDirector of the Elizabeth MacarthurAgricultural Institute, at Menangle,

on the south-west fringesof Sydney. Dr Denney hasa range of objectives asPresident of the AVA, notthe least of which is adetermination to try toensure that increasingnumbers of veterinariansbecome convinced of therelevance of the organi-sation – whether or notthey are currently members

of AVA. This idea includes establishingchannels of communication tofacilitate younger veterinariansexpressing their views andparticipating in the AVA’s decision-making processes.

Ian Denney takes the helm asAVA President for the next year

❏ The publication schedule for the AVJ means that the July issue will be completed shortly before the Perth 2000Conference takes place (in the last week of June). Therefore any coverage of the events in Perth will not bepublished until the August edition – set to be mailed to Members on 26 July.

Dr Ian DenneyDr Geoff Niethe