By Rachael Turk
The national executive of the Australian Writers’ Guild has unanimously decided to resign its membership of the Australian Screen Council, due to concerns of what AWG executive director Jacqueline Woodman calls “financial mismanagement”.
Despite acknowledging the value of ‘strength in numbers’ when it comes to Government lobbying, Woodman said frustration with the inactivity of the Screen Council initially prompted the guild to step up to be its public officer.
“We undertook a lot of proactive tasks in this role, however the majority of our time has been take up in getting governance in order taking over from the previous public officer, being the [Australian] Directors’ Guild. The state in which things were left was more than a little unsatisfactory,” she said.
Woodman said the AWG had also “lost confidence” in the ADG.
“When we expressed our concern about financial mismanagement in writing to the ADG, the response was extremely concerning. The Board felt it had no option but to remove the Writers Guild from sitting at the table with them,” she said.
The AWG’s resignation from the management and accountability of the organisation has immediate practical effect.
The Screen Council aims to “unite the Australian screen production industry, speak with one voice to Government, increase its nett returns and enhance its cultural contribution to the Australian and international communities”.