VMA Statement: The removal of Chapter 6 from the VCA Vic Inc’s Constitution
5 January 2024
Vietnamese Museum Australia Ltd – Statement
Re: The Vietnamese Community in Australia – Victoria Chapter Inc (VCA Vic Inc.) and the removal of Chapter 6 of the VCA Vic Inc’s Constitution
Dear Community Members,
It has been brought to our attention that the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Victoria Chapter, Inc. (VCA Vic Inc.), one of the five current members of the Vietnamese Museum Australia Ltd (VMA), held a special meeting to seek its members’ support to remove Chapter 6 from its Constitution. The Executive Committee of the VCA Vic Inc. gave notice to the VMA on Tuesday 2nd January 2024 of its withdrawal as a member of the VMA.
In 2019, Chapter 6 was included in the VCA Vic Inc.’s Constitution to give the Executive Committee the authority to establish a separate legal entity for the Museum (Museum Entity).
Chapter 6 in the VCA Vic Inc. Constitution outlines some key principles of the identity of the Vietnamese refugee, such as:
- The Museum Entity recognises and uses the Yellow Flag with three horizontal red stripes as the symbol of representation.
- The Museum Entity does not accept communism, anti-democratic values, or dictatorial regimes; and
- The Museum Entity always defends and promotes human rights, democracy and freedom in Australia, Vietnam, and other places in the world.
It was subsequently established through sought and received legal advice that, at the time, the Executive Committee did not need to amend the VCA Vic Inc’s Constitution to establish the Museum Entity (being the VMA) as a separate legal entity. However, the stipulations outlined in Chapter 6 concerning the Vietnamese refugee identity and relationship principles have been incorporated into the VMA’s Constitution.
As such, the Board of Directors of the VMA (VMA Board) holds the view that the decision made by VCA Vic Inc. does not impact the VMA’s existence, objectives or workplan. We believe that this decision helps provide greater clarity to the Vietnamese Victorian public and provides the VMA Board and the VMA more generally, with more extensive access and avenues to engage and communicate directly with them.
The VMA is an organisation set up to build and operate a museum which preserves the stories and legacies of Vietnamese refugees in Australia. It is a project funded by the Vietnamese and Australian community, the Commonwealth and Victorian State governments to tell the story of the flight to freedom of the Vietnamese boat people, and the successful settlement in Australia. In 2019, the VMA received $4.45M from the State government. The VMA collected more than 12,000 signatures from the public nationwide in support of the project, and as a result, received a further $5M from the Commonwealth Coalition government. This was followed by a further commitment of $4.7M by the Commonwealth Labor government in May 2022 and $2.3M additional funding from the Victorian government, announced in October 2022.
It is a visionary project for the Vietnamese Australian community and the Australian community at large. The VMA Board continues to be committed to the project of building the museum in partnership with the Vietnamese Australian community, including our members, being VCA Federal, VCA NSW, VCA Wollongong and VCA Queensland, and have every confidence in making this once-in-a-lifetime visionary project, a reality in the near future.
Yours sincerely,
Board of Directors
Vietnamese Museum Australia Ltd
