Interim directors of Logan’s charity trust, who stepped into the roles in September after the entire board resigned, have had their appointments extended.
Russell Postle, Matthew Lang and John Gilmore were in September approved to serve as interim directors of the City of Logan Charitable Trust until 31 March 2025.
On Tuesday (26 November), their service period was extended by one month to 30 June.
Discussions between councillors about the motion were had behind closed doors, lasting almost two hours, but their votes were declared publicly.
The motion passed by just one vote, with councillors Jon Raven, Karen Murphy, Tony Hall, Tim Fraser and Natalie Willcocks voting “for”.
Councillors Teresa Lane and Mindy Russell offered “cautious” votes in favour of the motion, whie Lisa Bradley, Nathan St Ledger, Paul Jackson and Miriam Stemp voted against, and Jacob Heremaia abstained.
The five former directors of the trust – Sohana Maharaj, Keith Bailey, Christine Knappstein, Matthew Watts and Amanda Mather – were criticised by the councillors in July for raising a meagre $1000 for local charities over the course of a year.
They raised even less, if excluding interest.
The unimpressed councillors gave the directors three months to prove their ability to raise funds, which is the entire purpose of the trust, otherwise it would face being “wound up”.
Instead, the board tendered their resignations on 12 July to take effect on 31 July.
But legally they were not allowed to resign all at once, with the Corporations Act 2001 requiring there be at least one director.
They agreed to stay on until September.
The interim directors will help contribute to a review of the trust, which will aim to make the beneficial enterprise more productive.
