Minutes of the Annual General Meeting, held at Manning Clark Lecture Theatre 3, The AustralianNationalUniversity, 9th December 2004

Members Present

Boris Gutnik, Denise Donlon, Jan Meyer, Carl Stephan, Neville Bruce, Maciej Henneberg, Bruce Floyd, David Netherway, Neil Mann, Kate Domett, Dave Cameron, Alan Thorne, Monica Domaracki, Sheila van Holst, James Ridgley, Brilliana Katterfeld, Wade Corderoy, Emma Dove, Susan Clifford, Judith Littleton, Linc Schmitt, Peter Obendorf, Robert Kidd, Robert Degabriele.

Apologies

Nick Milne, Renata Henneberg, Cathy Bennett.

Previous Minutes

The Minutes of the 2003 AGM were confirmed.

The motion that the Minutes be accepted was moved by Denise Donlon, seconded by Linc Schmitt; accepted unanimously.

President’s Report

This year’s ASHB student travel scholarship was awarded to Rebekah Candy, Wade Corderoy, Brilliana Katterfield and Kasie Mearns.

The number of members taking up life membership has increased markedly.

The abstracts from the last ASHB conference have now appeared in HOMO, and Maciej has copies for distribution to authors.

HOMO is now well supported by members who are submitting manuscripts in increasing numbers.

The motion that the President’s Report be accepted was moved by Alan Thorne, seconded by Robert Degabriele; accepted unanimously.

Secretary’s Report

The 2003 student presentation prize winner was Andrew Clarke.

Correspondence was received on 10/11/04 from the Adelaide Convention Centre inviting ASHB to hold our annual conference there. In reply, they were informed about how/where our meetings are held.

The motion that the Secretary’s Report be accepted was moved by Jan Meyer, seconded by Neville Bruce; accepted unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report

Last year’s small loss has been turned into a reasonable profit this year; the main contributors were a doubling of interest income, and the number of life memberships.

The statements and auditor’s report will be presented on the ASHB website.

The motion that the Treasurer’s Report be accepted was moved by Linc Schmitt, seconded by Maceij Henneberg; accepted unanimously.

HOMO Editors’ Report

The journal is becoming more firmly established and is now listed by ISI. The name “HOMO, Journal of Comparative Human Biology” is changing to “Journal of Comparative Human Biology, HOMO” with a view to becoming “Journal of Comparative Human Biology”.

Two of the three editors are members of ASHB (Maciej Henneberg, Stanley Ulijaszek). Maciej will become chief and managing editor in 2005, with the editorial office moving to Adelaide.

Papers will appear on-line as soon as they have been accepted for publication, ideally within six weeks of submission.

The motion that the Editor’s Report be accepted was moved by Judith Littleton, seconded by Linc Schmitt; accepted unanimously.

New Members

The list of new applications for membership was presented to the meeting.

The motion that all applicants be ratified as members was moved by Linc Schmitt, seconded by Robert Degabriele; accepted unanimously.

Membership dues

The meeting decided to retain the present level of membership dues.

The motion that membership dues remain unchanged was moved by Robert Kidd, seconded by Denise Donlon; accepted unanimously.

Venues and dates for future conferences

The next Annual Scientific Meeting will be held in Sydney in 2005, to be organised by Denise Donlon and others, with assistance from Robert Kidd and Robert Degabriele. Peter Obendorf and Neil Mann tentatively proposed Melbourne for 2006, and Kate Domett tentatively proposed Townsville for 2007.

General Business

The cost of maintaining the current credit card facility is excessive in proportion to the quantity and value of transactions it makes possible. Therefore, Robert Kid moved from the Chair that other options be explored, including: negotiating a percentage-based fee; moving the business to another bank; BPay; direct deposit, etc.

The motion was accepted unanimously.

Robert Degabriele

Secretary