Forming a Review Panel for reviewing the implementation of the Vietnamese Australian Cultural Centre and Museum Project for VCA-VIC
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
RE: Forming a Review Panel for reviewing the implementation of the Vietnamese Australian Cultural Centre and Museum Project for the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Victorian Chapter (VCA-VIC)
Melbourne, 30th December 2022
The Executive Committee, by the solemn request of the Advisory and Monitoring Council, voted unanimously a few weeks ago to set up an independent Review Panel for reviewing the implementation of the Vietnamese Australian Cultural Centre and Museum Project (hereafter called ‘the Project’). To date, the implementation of the Project has caused confusion and controversies in the Vietnamese community.
It is worth noting that the review of the legality of the Project was a crucial part of the current Executive Committee’s election platform. Since the election, the community has consistently demanded that the Executive Committee fulfil that mandate.
The Review Panel comprises some respectable community members with knowledge and experience in company and incorporation laws and finance and their unbiased stance on the Project. It has been given clear objectives, defined terms of reference, and a finite time to completion. To protect its independence and objectivity, the Review Panel will NOT receive any directive or instructions from the Executive Committee during the review.
As planned, the Review Panel will provide an information session to the community by mid-February 2023 about its plan, program of activities and work methods. It is anticipated that the findings and recommendation(s) will be made available by the end of March. Hopefully, the review will provide needed clarity and help heal the community’s deep division towards the Project.
The Executive Committee must stress that the review object is the Project itself, NOT the Vietnamese Museum Australia Ltd (by Guarantee) (hereafter ‘the VMA’). Nevertheless, we have also invited the VMA to participate in the review process to ensure the referenced documents’ correctness and the collected information’s truthfulness.
Recently, on Saturday, 24/12/2022, the Advisory and Monitoring Council brought another matter to our attention and requested the Executive Committee to issue a non-ambiguous communication about its position. The matter was about the planned distribution of fundraising lottery tickets organised by the VMA at the VCA-VIC 2023 Tet Festival site.
The Executive Committee firmly believes that this matter will likely create unnecessarily further tension in the community while the review is underway. As a result, we decided that the VCA-VIC would not support the distribution of the said lottery at its 2023 Tet Festival site. The Executive Committee will duly notify the VMA of its decision.
Best regards,
For the Executive Committee,
Van Pho
Secretary-General/Spokesperson
