7 minute read
ARAMA Report
ARAMA REPORT United we stand, divided we fi ght!
For everyone involved in the business of Management and Letting Rights (MLR) an important maxim is to concentrate on the things that unite us, rather than those that divide us.
Because most ARAMA members work and live on-site in close proximity, they are oft en the target of people’s frustrations, and it can be a very stressful environment. Resident managers are there to create harmony, and not disharmony, but neighbourhood batt les can be so toxic that Queensland had to introduce the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011. This was designed to overcome the increasing prevalence of neighbours in the suburbs bickering across their side of the fence. When residents are living cheek by jowl and on top of each other like they do in strata, problems and disputes are amplifi ed. Stresses are further magnifi ed by those who would do harm to the business model of management rights, whether they be outside real estate agents trying to poach from the lett ing pool, lawyers trying to create disputes with an aim to resolving them at a high price, or hostile committ ee members opposed to longterm management agreements and not understanding the benefi ts that they bring. ARAMA provides the A-MAP mental health assistance program for members because some of them feel under so much pressure that they simply cannot cope anymore. Oft en this is a result of dealing with neighbourhood disputes infl icted by people with an undiagnosed condition who are also aff ected by the pressures of modernday life in and around strata. A harmonious working relationship is the goal for most people in business especially the resident manager but even more so when some of our managers are available 24/7 and surrounded by confl ict. The art of diplomacy is a crucial skill that resident managers must develop, and it’s part of the advocacy work that ARAMA performs every single day on behalf of its members.
Advocacy is a slow process, not a sledgehammer solution. ARAMA is not a highly politicised association, and our members support candidates across the political spectrum. But politicians are lawmakers and if we want laws to change then we need to include politicians in our advocacy work. A good example of that was at the ARAMA 30th Anniversary Celebration Dinner which was held on the Gold Coast in May to celebrate ARAMA’S 30th birthday. We had politicians from the Queensland Opposition there, and we invited people from the Queensland Government though they declined to att end. It doesn’t’ really matt er who is in government because our advocacy work is undertaken right across the political spectrum. The process is all about making connections and using logical argument, and it doesn’t matt er if the team in power is red or blue, green or teal, advocacy remains the same and the good governments are the ones who understand that good governance comes from consulting with industry even if the conversations are uncomfortable.
My experience in the decade and more that I've been advocating for ARAMA is that we achieve good outcomes because we are responsible, we are trusted, and we are listened to. We don’t have to win every argument and we don't threaten. There are other groups that pressure politicians in an eff ort to obtain their desired outcome. They threaten to run media campaigns against the government, and they warn politicians that they will get their members
Trevor Rawnsley,
CEO, ARAMA
out on the street protesting if they do not get their way. We’ve had members from ARAMA wanting to take part in protests, especially during the darkest days of the COVID pandemic when it was illegal to have a holiday in Queensland. I had members ringing me in tears saying that we should rally the membership and march on Parliament House in Brisbane and protest the border closures. While I fully understand their feelings, ARAMA is not a protest movement. The kind of thing we do that can make a diff erence is talk regularly to governments and bureaucrats. And we do that every day. I learned a long time ago to succeed at advocacy you really must work eff ectively and collaboratively with people that you may not always like and accept that you may not always get everything you want. I recently undertook a series of roadshows with a prominent body corporate management company. The theme was how to create harmony in strata communities. Resident Managers can do that beautifully. We encouraged members to att end these roadshows to see the reasoned and respectful arguments that ARAMA puts forward in favour of MLR, and how resident managers can contribute to harmony within a scheme. The roadshows also showcase how the process of advocacy can defuse the hostility of those people connected with the industry who may have a completely jaundiced view of the work done by our wonderful resident managers.
These shows can be a bit daunting. During the latest series, I was speaking on a panel between two high power lawyers who are both anti long-term agreements (one more so than the other) we continued the advocacy in an atmosphere that could be hostile if not managed correctly. It's a tricky dance. The hostility can come from angry owners who are usually fi red up by someone looking to feather their own nest commercially. At a recent roadshow that was examining ways to create harmony there were people there deliberately trying to create disharmony for their own benefi t. At one show, there was a plant in the crowd who was asking about what he called “unconscionable 25-year agreements”. He made a number of outlandish and inaccurate statements about the “evils” of management rights. I told him that what he had said did nothing to create harmony or goodwill in a scheme, and the comments were actually divisive. I explained that if a manager was doing a good job, what did it matt er if they had a 10, 15, or a 25-year agreement? He asserted that there were more disputes because of long-term agreements, but I was able to show that his claim was incorrect, and in fact there are less disputes in residential schemes in Queensland then in any other state. And there are more schemes under management rights in Queensland than in any other state. The facts don’t lie.
The att acks on long-term caretaking service agreements are counterproductive. When outside infl uences are constantly trying to reduce terms, or to damage the business of MLR it’s akin to being a good worker doing a really great job and then the boss comes to you and says “hey you're doing a really good job, but we now want to pay you less, and if you thought you had long-term job security here forget it. We don't want you here for that long.”
How does that make sense? But that's what sometimes happens in our business when outside infl uences att ack MLR. How would you react in a situation like this? Would you fl ight or fi ght?
The length of term of a caretaking service agreement is irrelevant, it is the quality of service and the behaviour and performance of the resident manager that matt ers.
This is a message that ARAMA promotes as just one aspect of our constant advocacy on behalf of our members. Advocacy is a process about relationships, and ARAMA is working all the time to paint the work that our wonderful members do in the best possible light. And to create harmony within our industry.
One day, soon I hope, the strata industry will unite so that we can avoid the need to fi ght!
Damian Quinn
Management Rights Transactions
One of the Sunshine Coast’s most experienced firms in on-site management rights transactions.
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Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association is the peak industry body representing the interests of people who are involved in management rights.
