The FABC's Annual General Meeting was held on 27 Oct 2013. Mr Kim Hollow has been re-elected the president.
President Kim Hollow's Report is as follows:
Presidents Annual Report – 1st July 2012 to 30th June 2013
It is again my pleasure to provide details of the Federation of Australian Buddhist Council’s (FABC) activities over the past twelve months.
Our elected committee includes two delegates from each mainland state. Individuals are nominated to represent their respective state Buddhist Council interests, on the FABC. Our ongoing engagement with our spiritual leaders from the Australian Sangha Association, (ASA) remains a vital part of our ability to properly function and achieve our goals within the community.
The ASA comprises around one third of Australia’s senior ordained Monks and Nuns, working in Temples, Monasteries and Dharma (teaching) Centres all over our country. I extend my personal thanks to Venerable Ajahn Brahm, current Chair of the ASA, for his support and the spiritual guidance provided to our Management Committee during the year.
We continue with our community social engagement on many of the topical issues before the State, Australian National & International communities. Matters dealt with by our committee during 2012/13 were;
- Communications with ASIC on registration of “inappropriate” business names using the Buddha’s name
- Recognition and support for introduction of new Legalisation for same-sex marriages in Australia
- Discussions with the Tasmanian Buddhist community regarding formation of a new State Buddhist Council
- Participation in several regional and national radio interviews on current issues of interest to the community
- A response to the Chair of the Victorian Family & Community Development Committee, regarding the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations.
- A Letter to the Myanmar Government condemning the recent religious violence and abuse of their citizens
- A Letter to the Canadian Government regarding Prison Chaplaincy funding to minority faith groups
- Congratulatory letter to Pope Francis on his election as the head of the world Catholic movement.
- Australian Buddhists engagement and support for the formation of a new world Buddhist organisation; the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). The Inaugural Conclave of the IBC was held from the 9th to 12th September 2013, and attended by Buddhist leaders from 39 countries.
FABC committee members and/or our nominated friends participated in various community activities during the year, including participation in meetings of the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations (APRO) at Parliament House, Canberra.
We again received a letter of support from the Australian Prime Minister, the Honourable Ms. Julia Gillard MP, for our Australian communities 2013 Celebrations of ‘Vesak’, the most important annual event on the worlds Buddhist calendar.
I extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Fellow committee members Dr. Jake Mitra, Mr. Stewart Jarvis, Mr. Brian Ashen, Ms. Anna Markey, Mr. Brian White, Mr. Trevor Robertson, Ms. Susan Wirawan, Reverend Eido McIntyre and Mr. Chee Wong for the dedication, commitment and support during the last year with our ongoing goals and objectives.
Thanks are also extended to our Honorary Vice President, Ms. Mohini Gunesekera, Dr. Anna Halafoff and Venerable Bhante Sujato for their important contributions to the functioning of the FABC.
At the time of writing, we have two vacancies on our committee for second delegates to represent South Australia and Victoria. Please assist by circulating this information amongst your state council committee members, to see if there are a couple of willing Buddhists prepared to serve and support our state and national Dharma objectives.
With Unending Metta,
Mr. Kim Hollow
President
Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils Incorporated 27th October, 2013
With Unending Metta,
Mr. Kim Hollow
President
Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils Incorporated