http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-league/le...amatta-20140505-zr53s.html?rand=1399290992923
By ADRIAN PROSZENKO
He is one of Australia's most respected businessman, a Parramatta diehard prepared to devote to lend his considerable nous to resurrecting the once proud club. But on Monday night Bill Moss was turned away.
Of the numerous special resolutions put forward at the annual general meeting at Parramatta's League's Club, the most important was the introduction of an independent director.
Moss, a lifelong Eels fan who grew up in a Guildford West fibro and went on to become the boss of Macquarie Bank, was touted as chairman Steve Sharp's preference become the board's eighth "independent" director.
In order for that and the other resolutions to pass, the motions required 75 per cent of members to back the proposal. In relation to Moss, Sharp didn't have the numbers and the motion was defeated resoundingly.
Sharp claimed he put forward Moss' name for the purposes of transparency. But in the highly politicised environment that is the club's boardroom, some interpreted the move as as a number-stacking
one, with Moss perceived as being a voting lackey.
Moss has gone on record that he is his own man and will act only in the best interests of Parramatta.
On Friday, Sharp wrote to members outlining Moss' impressive credentials.
"In my view, the Club needs someone who loves our Club and who has extensive Executive experience in a blue chip business," Sharp wrote.
However, Sharp didn't confer with many of his own directors before sending out the correspondence, despite the fact those very board members would need to approve the new appointment.
However, the matter didn't even clear the first hurdle after a sceptical membership moved against the motion.
One member, who grilled Sharp about a number of matters, concluded with: "A vote against the resolution is not a vote against Bill Moss."
In knocking back Moss, there are fears they may well have lost him for life.
Moss, who retired from Macquarie Bank with a payout of $40 million in 2007, had approached the club on previous occasions in an attempt to help out the blue and golds.
A muscular dystrophy sufferer who has given millions to charity, Moss indicated before the meeting he wished to be involved with the club regardless of the vote.
It was always going to be a fiery AGM. The meeting hadn't even started when Terry Leabeater was frogmarched from the auditorium after being told his membership had been suspended.
Leabeater, a former premiership-winning forward, was a vocal critic of the current regime.
Former long-serving chief executive Denis Fitzgerald, the self-proclaimed "Emperor" of Parramatta, took Sharp to task over the a motion to extend the term of future boards from two to three years.
Fitzgerald claimed the wording of the resolution was "unlawful" under the Registered Clubs Act.
"If it is put to a vote now, it is unlawful and there will be action taken against the club," Fitzgerald said.
In an embarrassing backdown, the board heeded the warning, and the matter was not put to a vote.
In making his point, Fitzgerald, previously a vocal supporter of Sharp added: "I have a complete lack of confidence in the chairman."
One of the more contentious issues was a resolution to pay the directors an honorarium of $20,000, with the chairman to be paid $60,000. The latter was a point of contention at the meeting.
When pressed on why the chairman deserved such a pay rise, company secretary and chief executive officer Paul Bevan described that part of the motion as an "error". It was voted down.
