THE CANBERRA • BUSHWALKING CLUB 7 INC. NEWSLETTER GPO Box 160, Canberra ACT 2601 VOLUME 36 MAY 2000 NUMBER 5 MAY GENERAL MEETING 8pm Wednesday 17' May Speaker: Tom Widdup of the Colong Foundation on "Wilderness 2000 - Protecting NSW Wilderness Areas" Dickson Library Community Room Make the most of the evening andjoin other members at 6pm for a convivial (BYO) meal at the Pho Phu Quoc restaurant in Cape Street, Dickson. Try to be early to ensure there will be ample time to finish and get to the meeting in good time publishing costs. A proposal on the party and decide on transport President's Prattle level and source of such funding will arrangements forthe trip be included in the draft 2000-200 1 • to obtain any necessary consents budget to be considered at our next or permits The Walk Secretary recently Annual General Meeting. • to ensure that trip details (route received an e-mail from a member and participants) are readily seeking some ideas on how he could In the interim, I have replied to accessible by the Club's Search prepare himself to lead walks for the the member's e-mail advising him and Rescue Contacts if the trip Club. Among other things, he sought that I believe he would have the does not return as planned clarification of his responsibilities as following responsibilities if he a leader. decided to lead a Club trip: On the trip. Better definition of these Before the trip • to brief participants on plans for responsibilities is one of the tasks the trip • to plan the trip route (including that the Duty of Care Working • to check regularly that no alternative routes in the event of Group is currently addressing. The participant is left behind at any unforseen circumstances) using group will shortly present to stage maps, guides, weather forecasts members a proposed framework for • to be alert for and address any and discussion with other the sustainable management of duty physical or psychological walkers as necessary, of care issues within the Club along problems within the party • to provide information to with detailed documentation on key • to monitor 'progress against prospective participants on any parts of this framework. plan' (including route followed, special equipment, skills or Implementation of the group's time taken and changes in experience that they might need recommendations is likely to require weather conditions) and make for the trip funding to cover such things as legal any adjustments necessary. advice, training subsidies and • to set a limit on the size of the I also believe that members who This year's arrival of Canberra's Also in this Issue: take part in Club activities have a first frosts sees some of our regular Item Page responsibility to develop and leaders preparing to escape to GST Update 2 improve their own bush skills. Gary wanner parts of the country for a few S & R Matters 3 May Meeting 3 Trevean's injury on a recent Club trip months. As a result, the activity Walk Waffle 4 provides ample evidence of the programme is starting to thin in Notice of Motion 4 importance of possessing these skills. places. The gaps are obvious and Membership Matters 4 Letters to the Editor Gary fell and broke his leg in steep volunteers are needed to fill them. Meg McKone .4 terrain on a descent from Devils Peak Please contact Rob Horsfleld if you Jeff Sennetts 5. in a relatively inaccessible area. The can help out. Walk Report S resulting difficult evacuation took Corin Road 6 Terence Uren, President Activity Programme 8 many hours and was carried out at night in the rain with the police rescue squad and paramedics. Gary GST UPDATE was fortunate in that the trip leader, After the trip Chris Roper, knew exactly what to Over the past few months the • to advise the Club's Check-in- do and did it. How many of us Committee has been examining the Officer of the safe return of the would be able to do the same? impact of the GST on the Club's party. Gary's injury is a reminder to us all finances. Having considered the of the importance of taking options open to the Club, the I also advised him that the Walk advantage of the regular training Committee has. come to the Secretary, other Committee members opportunities provided by the Club, conclusion that the Club should not and a number of eNperienced walkers as Chris has done over a number of register for the GST. More details within the Club are available to years. I am sure that all members follow, but first some background. provide assistance and support to will join me in wishing Gary a new leaders if necessary. trouble-free convalescence and a Under the new tax system, clubs speedy recovery. that register for GST purposes will be required to pay GST on Members who take part in Club membership subscriptions. activities also have certain Details of the Committee's final Registration is compulsory for clubs obligations. Put simply, my view is position on the GST are included in with an annual turnover exceeding that if you take part in a Club trip, it this issue of IT. In summary, the $100,000, but not for smaller clubs is your obligation: Committee is proposing to apply for like ours. Clubs that register may • to ensure that you have the an Australian Business Number for claim an offset for the GST paid on experience, skills, fithess and the Club but not to register for GST any business "input costs". These purposes at this stage. This means confidence to complete the trip include the costs of any goods or that members would not be charged • to carry food, water and services used in the Club's GST on their annual subscriptions equipment appropriate for the production of goods and/or services but that the Club would not be able trip, including a compass and for end-user consumption (eg It). For to claim input tax credits for GST relevant map(s) and a first aid GST-registered clubs, the monthly or kit. paid to its suppliers of goods and services. The cost of GST to the quarterly returns (called Business • to advise the leader if you are Activity Statements) required by the taking any medication, have any Club is expected to be in the order of $450/annum. Australian Taxation Office make physical limitation or suffer from financial record keeping more any condition that might affect complicated and impose an you or others in the course of a Vance Brown, Janet Edstein, Rob additional workload on the Treasurer. trip. Horsfleld and Gosta LyngA have For any small club, like ours, Leaders can provide you with started work on a proposal for a registering for the GST could only be information that may help you make publication to mark the Club's 40' advantageous if the GST offset on a decision on whether or not you Anniversary for presentation to input costs was more than the GST seek to take part in an activity but members in a couple of months. on membership subscriptions. This any decision you make in this regard Please contact them if you have would normally mean that the club is your responsibility. You should particular views on the form the was being run at a loss and probably not expect others to assess your publication should take or would be wouldn't be around much longer! capabilities or stamina. interested in contributing to its production in some way. So, if we register for the GST, almost all Club income becomes subject to a 10% GST, increasing Canberra Bus/twa/king Club ITMay 2000 page 2 overall costs by nearly 1 0%, apparent ongoing costs to having fmancial record keeping becomes one, the Committee has decided to May Meeting more complicated and more work is apply for an ABN on behalf of the imposed on the Treasurer. Club. Wilderness 2000 is a joint Conversely, analysis of the Club's campaign by the Colong expenditure records shows that the Janet Edstein, Treasurer Foundation for Wilderness, the GST will only increase the Club's Nature Conservation Council of expenses by 7-8% (i.e. somewhere NSW, North East Forest around $375-450pa, or roughly Bushskill Training & Two Alliance, Total Environment $1.20-1.50 per member). In other Call-Outs in Two Days Centre, the Wilderness Society words, registering for the GST would and the National Parks cost the Club more than not On the 8-9 April, four of us Association of NSW. registering. The main reason for the proceeded to the Cataract Scout GST's impact on our Club is that, Tom Widdup of the Colong Camp to participate in the Foundation will talk about the until now, we have had a sales tax Confederation S&R training campaign and the effect it is exemption on It printing and this weekend. This is a number of events having on achieving increased exemption is going to cease on 30 that the Club has participated in over protection for native forest June 2000 - there is no equivalent the past few years that have been wilderness areas. GST exemption. initiated by the Confederation to up At this stage, the Conunittee is the wilderness rescue skills of not making any proposals as to how Confederation members. The areas the GST's costs should be met. That covered over the weekend included somebody prior to an ambulance will be considered in the context of first aid, navigation, and leadership arriving.