Our distinguished guest arrived in the car park just as I arrived. Former Governor-general, District Court Judge, Ombudsman, Chancellor of Waikato University with numerous other achievements, Sir Anand Satyanand was dressed not "in a scarlet robe trimmed with vermin" but in a charcoal suit. Somewhat nervously I asked how I should address him. "Just call me Anand" came the reply. "And I'm Susan," said his wife. He was our guest speaker for the night.
Anand has been in Rotary for many years and takes delight in the fact that he has remained "a foot soldier". He has, nevertheless, had extensive involvement in Rotary International and supports the proposed structural change. This was the subject of his talk.
In the 1960s there were 12,000 Rotary members in New Zealand, in 250 clubs organised in six districts. This meant New Zealand had one of the highest per capita memberships in the world. Men, and only men, joined for service, for companionship, advice, knowledge, and support.
But society has changed, modern amenities and the web have taken over some of those functions and our numbers are declining, yet we still have the same structure. Ireland has approximately the same population as NZ, but it has only one Rotary District. Rotary in Ireland can thus speak with one voice and have a higher national profile. We have too many districts and perhaps too many small clubs. We should also make better use of modern technology to have more flexibility. For example, our club which meets in the Avalon Pavilion in the district of Avalon could find clubs in Australia, Britain, or USA, who also use the name Avalon, and develop a twin relationship with them.
We should also consider abandoning some of the old constraining rules of attendance or location. There might be an "Accountants Rotary Group" in a wider area, of Lawyers or Teachers etc. holding meetings by zoom. Meetings might not always follow the same pattern. Anand's own club has two dinner meetings a month and two less formal drinks and nibbles meetings. Equally, there could be joint memberships for couples. All that really matters is that such groups follow the Four Way Test.
Importantly there would be one Rotary New Zealand President who could speak for all our Rotarians. New Zealand would be one District with a unified structure. Local initiatives and projects would continue but there would also be encouragement for work on a national scale such as support for Outward Bound, the Asthma Society, Defensive Driving and other such projects which incidentally have all had considerable Rotary input.
To read a full transcript of Sir Anand's speech, click HERE