Parramatta members to be given chance to prevent Eels privatisation raids
Parramatta members will be given a chance to claim veto rights over any bid to privatise the Eels under a proposal that will be put to them at what shapes as a fiery leagues club AGM next month.
The Eels' promising start to the season could be all for nought as the club anxiously waits for the NRL to determine whether it will be docked competition points for alleged salary cap breaches.
The governing body has called former Eels CEO Scott Seward, the scapegoat for a mounting pile of allegedly dubious practices following his departure, to provide his version of events. However, the club will only waive a non-disclosure clause in his release to allow him to be interviewed if head office agrees for two of its officials to sit in on the meeting.
The NRL is unlikely to find the ultimatum unpalatable and there is every chance Seward will be able to give his version of events regardless.
Seward will be free to speak about Parramatta matters when his non-disclosure agreement lapses midway through the year, but there may be opportunities for him to do so before then. The NDA likely goes both ways, so if the Eels have spoken publicly, or to head office, about Seward's tenure, it will likely be null and void. If any matters end up in court, a subpoena for Seward would override an NDA, while there may also be provisions in the NRL's code of conduct that would give head office the unfettered access they desire.
The club was still standing firm on the proviso on Thursday night, despite claiming it was "openly and fully assisting the NRL's investigations".
"It is very important that the investigation is able to proceed free of the current relentless media speculation which has the potential to damage its integrity," an Eels spokesperson said. "That's why the Eels have been reluctant to make ongoing comment.
"We do believe it is important that any and all relevant parties be given the chance to assist the NRL's investigation formally. That why all current directors and staff have been available to the NRL.
"It is a matter of public record that since Mr Seward's tenure the club's governance has been overhauled and is undergoing massive reform.
"The current board and new CEO are implementing the reforms drafted independently by PricewaterhouseCoopers."
The development comes at a critical time for the club, with an AGM called for May 2. The members, if they are able to garner 100 signatures, could table a spill or no-confidence motion in the embattled board.
They will also be given a chance to vote on an ordinary resolution that has implications for Parramatta's ownership structure. As it stands, the board is permitted to sell off part, or all of, the Eels without consulting its Leagues Club members. However, an ordinary resolution, requiring a 50 per cent vote to pass, would give the members the right to make the club a "core property", one that requires any privatisation to be put to the members in a special resolution. That would require a 75 per cent majority and then, according to the constitution, one additional vote to green light any sale.
"The shares in the Eels franchise that the PLC owns 100 per cent of, could theoretically be sold by a board without going to the members," said Parramatta Leagues Club boss Bevan Paul. "The PNRL constitution [currently] allows for part of that to be sold off or all of it in its entirety. There might be a time one day when privatisation is a good idea. But right now, the best owner is the members of the leagues club. I say that because the members get a say on how everything is run, they get to audit the board every year in an AGM and there are elections every two years. That's why I think the leagues club model is the best ownership model for a club."
Former Macquarie Bank heavy hitter Bill Moss, a long-time Eels fan, has previously called for the club to be privatised to free it from the seemingly never-ending battles for control of the boardroom.
