What's happening at (to?) the Oberon RSL Club?

August 8, 2024

It's hardly a secret around town that there are problems at the RSL Club. Changes to opening hours, restricted nights for the bistro, some regular activities cancelled, ...

Just some of the members gathered to hear the news.

At a meeting on August 7, the extent of the Club's financial problems were revealed and some options to save the club were brought forward. The news was not good.

The Club board faces the members.

A report from a financial consultant came up with three options:

1. 1. Seek out a "White Knight" to bail out the club with an injection of cash.
2. 2. Enter into voluntary administration.
3. 3. Amalgamate the club with another licensed club.

The first of these would provide immediate relief, but it is extremely unlikely to happen. Without concrete plans for turning the Club's finances around - getting more members to spend more money, reducing running costs, sales of underutilised assets - nobody is likely to simply hand over a cheque. Without those plans it would just be postponing the inevitable.

Voluntary administration is sometimes a way for a business to get relief from creditors while restructuring into a form that can continue operating, but it is expensive and the administrator has first call on any money after staff entitlements are paid. Without enough liquid assets to cover the administrator's fees the immediate response from the administrator would be to move to receivership (which also implies that at least some of the business can be saved) or direct to liquidation. The latter would be most likely in this case given the very low amount of cash in the bank, and would result in permanent closure of the Club.

The third option would see another club taking over the operations and management of Oberon RSL and assuming the debts.

Several large clubs were approached, and Dubbo RSL were receptive to the idea of taking over Oberon. This would require a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the rights and responsibilities of both parties and would have to be approved by the members of both clubs. One obvious condition would be that Oberon RSL should retain its identity.

The Club is an important part of Oberon's community identity and history, and this was brought up by several of the members that spoke and asked questions. Nobody wants to lose the club, but something has to be done and done quickly if it is to be saved.

Bill Wilcox from the RSL Sub-branch told of the history of the Club
and made an impassioned plea for its future.

The serious question is how the Club managed to get into such a parlous position in the first place. Financial disasters don't happen overnight, and this has been building fort some time. Fingers are being pointed in all directions, but the board has to take ultimate responsibility. There has obviously been a total lack of communication between club management and the board for a long time (and there has been no senior management for some time due to illness), but it's the board's job to ask for financial reports on a regular basis and to ask questions about them. As well as good management policy this can be a matter of self-preservation - directors can be held personally responsible if the organisation is found to have been trading while insolvent. It's the job of management to make sure these reports are prepared on a timely basis and to have policies and procedures in place to track the business's activities.

Everyone hopes that Oberon RSL Club can be saved, but whatever happens has to happen quickly. Suggestions to sell off part of the club are fine, but there probably isn't enough time to do anything like that before someone turns off the lights and locks the doors.

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