"Those noble souls who donated to charity,/ Savants were they, with vision and clarity…
They gave us a true gift, with no stipulations,/ Yet now, we are faced with trustees and tribulations!
With brother pitted against each other,/ One from a Parsi, another perhaps, from an Iranian mother?...”
These are some of the lines from a poem by Sorab Daver sent to Parsiana by reader Jimmy Sarbh indicating that there were divided loyalties towards the trustees and the management committee (MC) of the Australian Zoroastrian Association (AZA) of New South Wales. When we asked Sorab Daver to explain the context of some of the lines, he directed our queries to the current president Zubin Appoo as did past Association secretary Mithi Daver. Both of them expressed confidence in the current committee and its president who have been at the helm since April 2022. "After years of disengagement and disinterest” a number of younger people contested the elections in that year, stated Appoo.
From l, 1st row: Zubin Appoo; jashan in Sydney;
2nd row: activities for seniors and juniors;
above: enthusiastic members of the Australian Zoroastrian Association
According to Sorab, there have been
"Endless attacks on this young MC, back and forth,/ Debates, arguments, threats of court!...
The MC, trustees, or members; who has the last word?/ Endless discussion, whose voice will be heard?
Not the trustees or MC, but the members must have the last say,/ So in generations to come, our youth still have their AZA…”
"The Association has suffered for some years with an organizational structure problem and constitutional irregularity to do with the roles of the ‘trustees’ vs the MC,” stated Appoo. "The AZA is not a trust unlike many Zoroastrian associations around the world and as such having undemocratically elected ‘trustees’ caused confusion and problems for the Association for many years.” Rather than take up this "complex and time-consuming” trusteeship issue at their last annual general meeting, an extraordinary general meeting was held on December 10, 2023.
Sorab had urged his fellow members:
"Use your wisdom, set your minds free,/ Choose wisely, ensure you save our tree,/ Yes, we can flourish with just members and an MC!
Thus, enable our youth and their seeds be reborn./ And allow our next generations to herald the dawn!”
A "resounding” 790 members or 93% of members exercised their franchise, with 86% voting for the removal of the role of trustees. "This is the largest voter turnout ever in the Association and the largest voter participation in history as well,” stated Appoo when responding to queries from Parsiana.
In addition to the seven elected MC members, there were seven others who functioned as trustees since the 1990s. Three of them would be elected by members and four were appointed by the historical donors who contributed large funds in the 1990s. Their primary duty was to ensure the donor funds were spent on the intended purpose and to ensure the MC maintained the property.
Commended Sorab:
"Under its branches, ancient prayers recited,/ Jashans and navjotes; a community united.
We salute the foresight those pioneers display,/ Treasured souls, many still amongst us today.”
In the last five or six years, "many have realized that having trustees is not compliant with the law (Associations Act) and also doesn’t seem right given four of the seven were not elected by our members. The goal here was to rectify the organizational structure issue, maintain full respect for the original major donors (Ostowari family, The Guiv Trust and The Zartoshty Brothers) and allow members to no longer feel confused about the management of the Association,” clarified Appoo.
The AZA was registered in Sydney in 1971 under the Charitable Collections Act, as stated on the Association website. After many years of fundraising activities and a sizable donation from Nawzer and Akhtar Ostowari, the Association was able to purchase five acres of land with a house in Annangrove. Following years of selfless voluntary work by members and generosity of benefactors Arbab Rustom Banoo Morvarid Guiv Trust, the Association property was developed and the Darbe Mehr erected in 1994.
Currently AZA has around 1,000 members of whom 200 are aged over 65 and classified as seniors. Family membership includes 233 children and youngsters under 25 years of age. Over 500 members would be between 25 and 65 years old.
Appoo is emphatic, "There is no split. We see this as a very positive step to healing and mending fences and we believe that the vast majority of our members see it that way too.”
He is enthused that "we have attracted a number of youth in their 20s to want to become involved in the leadership of the Association.” Currently the 42-year-old president heads a committee where the youngest member is 30 years old and the eldest, 50. Working with him on the committee are vice president Sarosh Batliwala, secretary Anya Panthaky, treasurer Behzad Panthaky, along with Rashna Govekar, Farhad Malegam and Iyanoosh Reporter. Reelected to their second term at the annual elections in May 2023, they "have improved the Association considerably.”
The committee takes credit for installing security cameras, Wifi and Internet on the premises; implementing an archive system that stores five decades of AZA documents, as also a number of checks and balances to safeguard the Association’s property and financial assets; applying for and receiving government grants; organizing numerous activities and providing funding to our seniors, youth, Working Bee and Sunday School subcommittees; modernizing processes and adopting a robust technology platform to maintain their membership register, website and event payments.
As Sorab remarked,
"Then over time, more good seeds were sown,/ Lush gardens flourished and meadows mown.
Young and old alike, working as bees,/ Nurturing, nay growing, this Annangrove tree!”