1. NAME:

The name of the Union shall be "The Wellington Speaking Union Incorporated".

2. OBJECTS:

The Union is established to carry out the following within New Zealand

(a) To promote the development of public speaking and to arrange, conduct and assist in the arranging and conducting of debates, contests and other exercises in the art of public speaking in all its various forms.

(b) To co-operate or amalgamate with any other Union or Organisation having objects altogether or in part similar to those of the Union.

(c) To acquire by purchase lease or grant any property or rights and to improve or develop the same and to raise money on the security of the same.

(d) To acquire invest borrow raise or secure the payment of money in such manner as the Union shall think fit upon such terms and conditions as shall be deemed expedient and in particular by mortgage or debenture perpetual or otherwise bank overdraft or other securities and to charge if need be such mortgage debentures or other securities upon the floating assets or upon all or any of the property of the Union present or future.

(e) To carry out any other activity which may be conducive to the attainment of the foregoing objects.

(f) To make such by-laws rules or regulations not being inconsistent with these Rules by resolution in General Meeting.

3. MEMBERSHIP:

(a) Membership shall be open to properly appointed delegates for the time being of any Club or Organisation intending to participate in the activities of the Union. All Life Members of The Wellington Speaking Union Incorporated appointed in accordance with Rule 5 shall also be members.

(b) Applications for Membership shall be in writing on a form approved by the Management Committee which shall have the right to accept or reject such applications.

(c) Membership becomes effective upon payment of the annual subscription by the delegate's club or organisation.

(d) Any member may resign from membership upon giving notice in writing to the Secretary but his club or organisation shall remain liable for any subscriptions, other monies or other obligations owing to the Union which were due at the time of the receipt of the resignation by the Secretary of the Union.

4. PATRON:

At every Annual General Meeting the Union may elect a Patron who shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.

5. LIFE MEMBERSHIP:

(a) Any person may, upon the recommendation of the Committee, be appointed a Life Member of the Union in recognition of outstanding services rendered to the Union and to Public Speaking in the Wellington area.

(b) Such appointment shall be made by secret ballot at an Annual General Meeting, notice of nomination having been given in the notice convening the meeting. At least two-thirds of all valid votes cast must be in favour for an appointment to be made.

(c) Any Life Member shall have the same rights of holding office as any other person, but will not otherwise have special voting rights. Unless otherwise previously decided by the Management Committee, Life members shall be admitted free of charge to all Union functions.

6. SPECIAL VICE-PRESIDENTS:

The Management Committee may appoint up to three persons as Special Vice-Presidents in recognition of valuable service rendered to the Union. Such appointments shall be announced at the Annual General Meeting and shall expire one year following the end of the Annual General Meeting. Unless otherwise previously decided by the Management Committee a Special Vice President shall be admitted free of charge to all Union functions.

7. HONORARY AUDITOR:

There shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting of the Union an Honorary Auditor who will hold office until the closing of the Annual General Meeting following that in which he or she was appointed. The Honorary Auditor shall audit the books and accounts of the Union. He or she shall not be a member of the Management Committee.

8. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:

(a) A Management Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Union. It shall comprise the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past President and four other committee members, all of whom shall be a member of a recognised club or organisation. It shall meet at frequent intervals through the year at such times and places as it shall choose. The Management Committee shall take office from the end of the Annual General Meeting at which it was elected until the end of the following Annual General meeting.

(b) The Management Committee shall have the power to appoint any member of a recognised club or organisation to any office of the Union that shall be vacant for any reason and the person so appointed shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.

(c) The Management Committee may at its discretion co-opt any Club or person for a specific purpose, but such a co-opted person shall not exercise the rights of a committee member unless already entitled to do so.

(d) The Management Commitee shall have no power to over-ride or set aside any decision properly made by a General Meeting of the Union.

(e) The Management Committee shall make rules for conduct of debates or other contests held under its jurisdiction.

(f) The Management Committee shall fix any entry fee payable by any member or person for entry into any contest organised by the Union.

(g) A quorum for a Management Committee meeting shall be five (5) members of the Management Committee.

9. APPEAL COMMITTEES:

In the event of an appeal against any ruling associated with a decision of the Management Committee, or any person authorized by the Committee, in connection with any contest, the Management Committee shall appoint an Appeal Committee which shall comprise three persons none of whom shall be otherwise involved in the dispute. Decisions of an Appeal Committee to accept or reject an appeal shall be binding but may not override the rules of the contest concerned.

10. PRESIDENT:

The President shall preside at all meetings of the Union and Management Committee. In his or her absence the Vice-President shall take the chair. In the absence of both the President and Vice-President, the meeting shall appoint a Chairman.

The President shall prepare the Annual Report.

11. SECRETARY:

The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Union and of the Management Committee and shall attend to all correspondence of the Union as required.

12. TREASURER:

The Treasurer shall receive all money collected on behalf of the Union and shall lodge the same to the credit of the Union in such financial institutions as the Management Committee shall from time to time determine. The Treasurer shall keep an account of all moneys received or expended by the Union and shall prepare the annual financial statement for the financial year ending on the 30th day of September of each year. The Union Account may be operated on the signatures of any two (2) of the President, Secretary or Treasurer.

13. FINANCES:

(a) Subscriptions shall be fixed by the Annual General Meeting on the recommendation of the Management Committee.

(b) Demand notices shall be sent out and subscriptions must be paid by the end of March of the following year.

14. MEETINGS:

(a) The Management Committee shall convene and hold an Annual General Meeting not later than the 30th day of November each year at such time and place as it shall from time to time determine.

(b) A Special General Meeting of the Union shall be called by the Secretary upon receipt of a requisition signed by or on behalf of not less than one third of the members setting out the purpose for which the meeting is to be called. A Special General Meeting may also be called by resolution of the Management Committee.

In default of the Management Committee holding a properly constituted Special General Meeting, any three members may themselves call the Special General Meeting.

A quorum for an Annual or Special meeting shall be one delegate from each of at least fifty percent (50%) of the financial members.

(c) Every club or organisation participating in Union activities shall be entitled to appoint two (2) delegates to membership of the Union. Each delegate will be entitled to one (1) vote at an Annual General or Special General Meeting of the Union. Life Members shall not be entitled to vote unless they are also club delegates.

(d) The Union rules may be altered, added to or rescinded at any Annual General or Special General Meeting of the Union, notice of such intention having been given in the notice convening the meeting. At least two-thirds of valid votes cast must be in favour for a change to the rules to be accepted.

(e) A notice of the date, place and time of the Annual General Meeting or the Special General Meeting shall be posted to the last known address of each member not later than twenty-eight (28) days before the date of the said meeting and shall include the Agenda, Notices of Motion and, in the case of the Annual General Meeting, a duly audited Financial Statement and request for nomination for the Management Committee.

(f) All meetings of the Union shall be goverened by the Standing Orders of the Union.

(g) Nominations (to be in writing, signed by the proposer and the nominee and designating the position(s) for which the nominee is willing to stand) shall be called for at least twenty-eight (28) days before the Annual General Meeting, and shall close with the Secretary fourteen (14) days before the Annual General Meeting. Nominations shall be received until nominations are declared closed at the meeting.

In the event of there being no nomination for any position in the Management Committee, the Annual General Meeting shall decide whether or not to give the Management Committee power to co-opt. Such co-opted members of the Management Committee shall have the same powers as elected members.

(h) At each Annual General Meeting there shall be elected a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer and four other Committee Members.

15. VOTING

(a) The Management Committee may grant recognition to a club or organization upon application from three or more persons affiliated to that body. Such recognition is subject to ratification at the next General Meeting. Only delegates whose club's recognition has been ratified shall be entitled to vote at any General Meeting.

(b) Voting delegates shall be advised to the Secretary in writing on a form approved by the Management Committee. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted.

16. PECUNIARY GAIN

No member of the Union shall receive any pecuniary gain from the property or operations of the Union provided that this rule shall not prevent the Union from hiring and employing whether casually or under contracts of employment such persons as the Union shall think fit whether members or non-members and paying them in return for services rendered to the Union advances, wages, gratuities and pensions.

17. NOTICES:

Any notice required to be given by the Union to any member may be given by sending it by post to the member at his/her registered address.

Personal notification shall also be valid in special circumstances.

The accidental omission to give proper notice of a meeting to any particular member shall not invalidate the proceedings of any meeting.

18. REGISTER OF MEMBERS:

The secretary shall keep a register of members which shall record the full names and addresses of all members with the date of their joining and the date on which they cease to be a member.

19. REGISTERED OFFICE:

The Registered Office of The Wellington Speaking Union Incorporated shall be at such a place as the Management Committee shall from time to time determine.

20. COMMON SEAL:

The Common Seal of The Wellington Speaking Union Incorporated shall bear the registered name of The Wellington Speaking Union Incorporated and shall be kept in the custody of the Secretary. The Seal shall be used over the signatures of the President and Secretary as and when directed by the Management Committee. If either the President or Secretary is not available some other member of the Management Committee may be authorised by the Management Committee to sign in his/her stead.

21. WINDING UP:

If at any General Meeting of the Union a majority of those present and voting shall resolve that the Union shall be wound up a further Special General Meeting shall be called and held not earlier than thirty days after the date of the meeting at which such resolution was passed to confirm or reject such resolution. If the resolution shall be confirmed at such further meeting the Union shall be wound up and all surplus assets after payment of all costs debts and liabilities of the Union shall be

(a) distributed among such organisation or organisations within New Zealand which is or are not carried on for private pecuniary profit of any individual and with objects similar to those of the Union as the Union thinks fit

(b) or distributed to the Wellington City Council for such purposes similar to those of the Union as the Wellington City Council thinks fit.