Frequently Asked Questions - COOPERATIVE
Why are we creating a Land
Cooperative?
Kanjini
members recognise that living apart in small units, as most people in
today's society do, is magnifying the problems humanity faces. By
deciding to pool our resources and live together we use less, thus
minimising our environmental impact.
It is our aim to create a
sustainable lifestyle on the Tablelands, producing quality food for
our own consumption, exchange and income. Cooperative living reduces
the individual's workload and the sum of us can achieve much more
than each of us could individually.
Daily interaction within the
cooperative provides us with a rich and diverse experience and......
is fun!
Last, but not least, to effectively meet future
challenges such as climate change and peak oil, we intend to create a
sustainable and largely self reliant community and to be a model for
others.
Why a Co-Op rather than a
company?
A Co-Op can
charge it's members a fee - a company cannot
A Co-Op can buy
shares back - a company cannot
A Co-Op can expel members - a
company cannot get rid of any shareholder
In a Co-Op one member
has one vote, in a company one $ has one vote
In our Co-Op the
shareholders have operational control - in a company, the directors
have control.
Who is the Cooperative?
The Cooperative is a legal entity similar to a trust or company.
made up of all members who each hold one one or more shares (but
never have more than one vote).
What is the decision making
process?
We aim for
consensus and if that cannot be reached a 75% majority is required
for most decisions and up to 90% majority for changes to core rules &
principles etc.., with each full member having one vote. We embrace
transparency, honesty and cooperation in all meetings and decision
making.
Why are the Rules so
long?
The
Cooperative Rules are actually a requirement by the Office of Fair
trading which is the governing body for all cooperatives in
Queensland. The
Model Rules
(which were initially presented to us) have been modified and
adjusted by us to be more equitable and fair for all members, but are
still about the same length. Unfortunately these are a hefty 40 pages
of legal terminology. If anyone wants to volunteer to create a
summary version setting out the most important bits in plain English,
please contact us, we'd be very grateful.
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