SSAA NSW

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 3 professional conservation in Australia selected only two organisations as examples worthy of note in his speech. SSAA NSW was one organisation to be mentioned, along with FAME (Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered species). Our work with Devil Ark along with our work with National Parks and other feral management programs and also the work of other SSAA bodies with their conservation programs has achieved recognition as a valued resource in the conservation environment. This is an extremely high value position for us. If the professional conservationists value our contribution, then this practical truth can be promoted as a key message that supports the ethics of our SSAA NSW in the broader community. This was another pivotal moment in our development as a professional organisation able to contribute to conservation. Our relationship with National Parks and the SPC program is another significant conservation achievement. We all know shooters are great conservationists in the modern era. Now the conservation professionals agree. Now, after all of this good news I have something disagreeable to bring to your attention. For a while now there has been a very small group of around 30 or 40 people, not all of whom are SSAA members, who delight in attacking the good work of this Association and even more disappointingly, some of the key people in our organisation. People who are working diligently to bring you the best SSAA NSW possible, with the best support for your sport. The people who are bringing our association into disrepute are generally bullying and vilifying our key people via social media – usually under assumed names. We have recently banned most of them from our social media sites, but they still appear on other sites outside our management. Some of the examples that I have seen are absolutely disgraceful and I am putting these keyboard cowards on notice. Our office has been instructed that all examples of the bullying and vilifying of our staff and volunteers on social media are to be collected and this information will be delivered to the Police for investigation. All bullying and vilifying of staff is against the law. These trolls are not going to be allowed to bring our SSAA NSW into disrepute. The flip side of this problem is 99.5% of our approximately 58,000 members are good people who deserve a better environment in which they can enjoy our sport. Those good members are why so many volunteer to help at all levels in our organisation and why our staff are so keen to make SSAA NSW the very best it can be. To make our SSAA NSW better we would prefer you to ask us a hard question than ask nothing and remain unsure or dissatisfied – we cannot fix what we don't know. Chances are we are already working on the improvements you want, for example the Communication project was being readied for the last AGM where the delegates clearly felt that better communication was essential. In that case hard questions can have simple answers. On the other hand, if what you propose is new there is the potential for new and exciting projects to help improve our Association. If you have any ideas for improvement of SSAA NSW, please email them to me at lancem@nsw.ssaa.org.au Lance Miller President - SSAA (NSW) Inc. SSAA NSW PRESIDENT RETIRES After 8½ years as President of SSAA NSW, Paul McNabb has decided to retire. The SSAA NSW Board has appointed Board Member Lance Miller to fill the casual vacancy until the 2018 SSAA NSW Annual General Meeting. During Paul's time as President the various Boards have taken SSAA NSW to a new level of growth and professionalism; the Board was tasked with developing innovative ideas, strategic plans, range additions and improvements, increasing funding and support at the grass roots level and new Constitutions. SSAA NSW is now without question the leading shooting organisation in New South Wales and highly respected nationally. Today, the position of SSAA NSW is made stronger by our extensive political connections within the State Government, Firearms Registry and Office of Police. Going forward, new President Lance Miller will be well positioned to develop these established relationships to further protect our members and the State's shooting sports. Paul will continue as Senior Vice President of SSAA National and as a member of the SSAA Insurance Brokers Board. The SSAA NSW Board wishes to extend its thanks and appreciation to Paul for his leadership and achievements during his term; and looks forward to continuing its successes under the leadership of Lance.

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