2026-10-19
by Alex Breskin
Deputy Secretary of the Australian Greens
Meetings and Administration
I organised and scheduled over 20 Office-Bearers meetings and attended over 20 Governance and Finance Committee meetings. We also held two Joint Office-Bearers meetings, which brought together office-bearers from across the federation. I also served as acting Secretary for the National Council's August meeting in Melbourne. It was a productive weekend, helped along by some excellent New York-style pizza 🍕
Information Handling
I led the development of the new Information Handling by-law. National Council adopted it in September 2026, together with the Cyber Security Policy. It gives the party one shared way to classify information: open, members-only, confidential, or protected. Members and volunteers can now handle party information with confidence.
Complaints Handling
Getting our complaints processing in order has been one of the biggest pieces of work this term.
I worked with Co-Convenors Caroline Atkinson and Gemmia Burden, and with Claire O'Halloran, to set up the Arbitration and Conciliation Committee. This included an expression-of-interest process, checking applicants against the committee's composition requirements, and preparing induction materials for new members. Nine interim appointees were put forward to National Council, and regular appointments will follow this Conference.
Across the federation, the Joint Office-Bearers and the Australian Greens Office-Bearers have put a huge amount of work into the Cross-Member Body Complaints Handling MOU. The MOU sets out how complaints involving more than one member body are handled, so that members get a clear, fair and consistent process wherever a complaint starts. This work continues, with the aim of bringing all eight member bodies on board. It shows how much we can achieve when the whole federation works together.
Risk Management
Since the May National Council meeting, I have led the party's risk management process. I have taken each suggestion from National Council to the Governance and Finance Committee and prepared decisions for National Council to update the risks in our risk register. We are now working towards a complete update, including our Risk Appetite Statement. I hope to bring this through the Committee as a decision pack for National Council on 9 November 2026. This work shows how well Council and the Committee can work together to keep the party's risks visible and well managed.
International
I took part in the international review process. Early in the year, I also helped the Asia Pacific Greens Federation with a governance problem. Under its rules, member parties with overdue fees would have automatically lost their membership. I drafted a proposal, which the Federation agreed to, with two parts:
• pause the fee-related suspension and termination rules for the 2025 membership year
• convene a General Meeting to confirm that affected member parties would stay members
This kept the Federation's regional membership together while members work to pay outstanding fees.
Looking Ahead
I'm proud of the whole National Council and the Office-Bearers for how we worked this term. Their approach has been forward-looking, collaborative, and collegiate, and it's been a real joy to work with this team. Together, we've built strong foundations to deliver our Strategic Plan 2026–2035, and I'm excited about what comes next for the Greens. My thanks also go to the Governance and Finance Committee and National Office staff for their support.