{"id":4160,"date":"2025-09-10T15:24:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T05:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=4160"},"modified":"2025-09-10T15:27:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T05:27:49","slug":"21-resolutions-in-21-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/21-resolutions-in-21-days\/","title":{"rendered":"21 resolutions in 21 days"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Episode 1: Why AMT needs clear objects in our constitution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the AMT virtual conference on October 19, we will be holding a special general meeting so that members can vote on a series of special resolutions proposing changes to the AMT constitution – 21 resolutions to be precise! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All AMT members are invited to attend the special general meeting, so you’re welcome to attend whether you plan to be at the virtual conference or not. You’ll just need to register here<\/a> and show up at 2.45pm AEDT via Zoom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next three weeks, we’ll explore each of the proposed constitutional changes here – one resolution, one day, one more step towards a stronger AMT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constitutions are hot right now!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The recent fervour around originalism<\/a> in US politics has really put the interpretation of Constitutions into the limelight. Originalists argue for interpreting constitutions based on their pure, original meaning. But even the founding fathers of the US acknowledged that effective governance documents must evolve with the organisations, societies and members that they serve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what would originalism look like in AMT’s case? Here’s how our actual founding fathers defined AMT’s reason for being at the very first meeting on March 8, 1966.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The purpose of this meeting was to call together practising masseurs interested in forming an Association with the aim of: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Reservation of the true concept of the Massage Profession as a therapeutic art. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. To uplift the profession in the eyes of the public of this state of New South Wales<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. To exclude all forms of malpractice.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Handwritten<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    When AMT became an incorporated association in NSW in the 1980s, our Constitution then had about a dozen stipulations relating to acquisition and ownership of property as objects of the association. These sorts of objects were standard in Association rules in the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once were masseurs …<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The minutes from that very first meeting of AMT in Gloucester clearly show there was a time when the term “masseur” was not stigmatic: there it is, up front and centre, in AMT’s genesis as the NSW Association of Masseurs. Could Simon Schot and Peter Derig have envisioned a future generation of therapists who would distance themselves as far as humanly possible from that much-reviled designation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And clearly there was also a brief moment in the 1980s when AMT might have become property magnates, except that AMT President Cynthia Davis was far too busy keeping the Association afloat and fighting to clearly delineate massage therapy as a legitimate, lawful profession in the face of a corrupt police force trying to extract protection money from therapists like her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our constitution should reflect not only where we came from, but where we’re heading as a profession. And it has been over a decade since AMT updated the constitution so it’s starting to resemble a much-loved but worn out pair of trousers. A constitutional zhush is well overdue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The missing piece in our foundations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Somewhere over the years, explicit objects dropped out of the AMT Constitution. While the AMT strategic plan<\/a> articulates a vision, mission and values that inform all of AMT’s plans, projects, and priorities, the absence of objects in the Constitution creates a critical gap in our governance framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The proposed objects clearly define AMT’s purpose: to serve the professional interests of our members and advance massage therapy as a recognised healthcare profession in Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The proposed objects for which AMT is established are to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n