Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou,
As you will be aware the draft Constitution was discussed at the AGM last year and members were then invited to give feedback. Thank you to those who responded.
This feedback was consolidated and tabled at a Council meeting on 27 November. Council asked a small group to meet in January to look at the practical aspects of the feedback wording so that a new revised document could be produced for members to discuss further.
This meeting took place and a revised draft document will be tabled at the next Council meeting at the end of February. Following Council feedback and input it is proposed to hold regional meetings in the first instance to get further feedback.
The Executive Officer, Helen Dowthwaite, will be contacting regional liaisons to set up meetings for March. It is hoped that she or the Administrator will attend all meetings to answer questions and to receive feedback. This will ensure that more members are able to discuss the document and provide feedback and advice on how the organisation will be operated in the future. We hope you will take the opportunity to be involved.
If you are not in a regional group and would like to be part of a meeting by zoom or other means let Helen know. We want as much feedback as possible.
From there we will get a sense of where we are heading. There is no rush as not all the regulations to the Act have been produced yet. We are not required to be re-registered until 2026 and believe that is better to take time over this process and get a good document that reflects music therapy in New Zealand.
The AGM will be another opportunity for discussion but will not be the end point.
This advice is to keep you informed about our progress and we encourage you at any time to give feedback or ask questions. We will do our best to answer. Barbara Lewis is co-ordinating the process and in the first instance contact her: admin@musictherapy.org.nz.
Noho ora mai,
Stephen Guerin
Chair, MThNZ
