Open Letter to Vision Australia Directors

Speaker 1 00:29

Hello there, welcome to this episode of New Horizons, I'm Vaughan Bennison, thanks for your company. This week we discuss an issue which has rapidly become extremely important to the blind and vision impaired community in Australia.

You might know that recently Ron Hooten, who for 11 and a half years has served as Chief Executive Officer of Vision Australia, announced his resignation. The Board of Vision Australia, and I must stress here, the Board contains at least four members who are blind or vision impaired, has decided that rather than going to market for an open and transparent recruitment process to which all blind and vision impaired people might apply, has decided to appoint its next Chief Executive Officer through a process of internal expressions of interest. This has significantly exercised the blind community in recent weeks, and in fact in two consecutive programs, Jonathan Mosin on his Living Blindfully podcast has discussed it at great length, and you can go and look at that podcast if you want to hear what Jonathan has to say about it.

I'm speaking now with Graham Innes. Graham has started an open petition which is available for signature, and at the time of recording has well over 200 signatures. Graham, thanks once again for joining us.

Speaker 2

Great to be here Vaughan. 

Speaker 1

Transparency and accountability as well as words like co-design and inclusion are very much the buzzwords of the day. Why are they so important at the moment?

Speaker 2 01:57

I think that following the recommendations of the Royal Commission and the serious investigation into disability issues, the people with disabilities are becoming far more aware that we have a voice and we should use it to speak up and be involved very much in our own affairs. And that includes all of those things, transparency and co-design and also includes the running of organisations.

Speaker 1 02:29

It absolutely does, and particularly the consumer organisations - and we know that for a very long time Blind Citizens Australia in particular has been run by a blind or vision impaired person and it goes without saying that this is a very clear benefit for an organisation that focuses on the needs of blind and vision impaired people. We're currently faced with a situation though where Vision Australia is about to recruit or appoint a new CEO after 11 and a half years. They've chosen to go a different direction. Can you outline what it is that Vision Australia is doing about the appointment of its CEO and why it's a problem?

Speaker 2 03:13

Well, they've decided that after the last CEO was there for 11 and a half years to make an internal appointment. And I think that's a problem because of the length of time that that CEO was there. And also because of the expressed views in the Disability Royal Commission. And it's also a problem because people who are blind are not having the opportunity to apply for the role. And there are many of us out there who could be successful in the role. I mean, I'm confident that I could have been successful in the role. Not that I would apply now, but, you know, I might have 10 years ago. I'm confident that people like Mary Ann Diamond who've run a global organisation could be successful in the role. And there are many, many others out there. Vision Australia is not letting blind people have the chance to show our wares.

Speaker 1 04:09

So, just to be clear, you said that they're recruiting via internal appointment. That means that the expression of interest process is only open to current Vision Australia employees and presumably board members. Is that correct?

Speaker 2 04:22

I don't even think board members, I think current vision Australia employees, I'd be pleased if it included board members because that would open the field a little bit more to blind people, but you know, whichever one of those it is, it's internal so people outside the organisation can't apply and there are some really talented people in Australia and around the world who could perform the role if they were given the chance to demonstrate that.

Speaker 1 04:52

To be clear as well, it's not like anybody saying that there isn't somebody within Vision Australia who could be the next Vision Australia CEO. The point here is about transparency and accountability.

Speaker 2 05:03

Absolutely, and there are two people who were blind people who were direct-reports to the CEO and I would expect that they would apply. I'd hope they would apply and they should be considered.

Speaker 1 05:16

What can we do about situations like this? You know, this is becoming more and more of a problem as time goes on and, you know, disabled people absolutely have the right to lead, to govern and to run organisations that provide services directly to them and provide advocacy and information to and about them. How can we stop this from continuing?

Speaker 2 05:39

Well the first thing I think we need to do, Vaughan, is back ourselves. I think that disabled people, blind people, need to confidently take the view that we are as good if not better than other people without disabilities who may apply for these roles. And then once we've determined that, and we're united in that position, and I hope this exercise will help to encourage that, once we've determined that, then we need to advocate for, as we have done, the united blind leaders have done, we need to advocate for the opportunity to apply, we need to mentor each other, encourage each other, and be clear that blindness in this case is actually a criteria because lived experience of this disability is something that no one who is not blind can bring to the role.

So in that respect, people who aren't blind are disadvantaged. Many of us contacted the board, BCA took a position on this issue, and President Fiona Woods advocated on the same basis. But the board made a decision, announced to staff and volunteers last week that it was having heard all that input, it was going to appoint internally and for that reason, united blind leaders wrote the letter that we have and started the petition we have.

Speaker 1 07:13

But how can people find out more about the process, more about the petition and add their signature?

Speaker 2 07:20

The link for the petition is posted in many areas of social media, it's with change.org. So if you go to www.change.org, that's where the petition is and we would welcome the support of blind people and of our allies in this important cause.

Speaker 1 07:42

What possible justification could there be for Vision Australia taking this approach?

Speaker 2 07:49

Well, the justifications that I've seen, in my view, don't stack up. They're saying that they want continuity and they want to focus on the good running of the organisation. I think any forward thinking organisation these days after they've had the one CEO for 11 and a half years need to take a step back, have a look at the whole field, including the talented blind people who are out there and consider their options. You can't do that if you just make an internal appointment and have business as usual. And to me, that's the sign of a board with a quite limited broad view.

Speaker 1 08:29

Graham Innes there, and I'm going to read you the open letter now. This open letter has only been available for less than 24 hours at the time of recording and it already has well over 200 signatures. It's headed Open letter to the directors of Vision Australia urging open CEO recruitment process... and the letter reads.... 26th of August 2024.... 

To Vision Australia directors, we the undersigned blind and vision impaired individuals and our supporters express our dismay regarding the decision to appoint a new chief executive officer CEO through an internal expression of interest EOI process. As Australia's largest provider of blindness services, Vision Australia has a responsibility to ensure its leadership reflects the lived experience of our community. We urge the board to recognise this approach and commit to an external search prioritising the appointment of the organisation's first blind CEO.

The final report of Australia's Disability Royal Commission underscores the need for inclusive and representative leadership in organisations serving people with disability. It states leadership should reflect the diversity of the community it serves including the lived experience of people with disabilities. The report emphasises that effective advocacy and leadership require that people with disabilities lead ensuring their voices shape policy and service delivery. While we acknowledge the talent within Vision Australia and its commitment to employing blind and vision impaired staff, most work and client facing and middle management roles lacking the executive experience required for the CEO position.

By opting for an internal EOI process, Vision Australia risks missing the opportunity to appoint an experienced progressive leader with fresh perspectives capable of advancing the organisation. A blind CEO would not only bring invaluable lived experience but also serve as a powerful symbol of empowerment for the community. Such a leader would be uniquely positioned to address client needs, implement necessary changes and drive the organisation's mission forward with genuine insight and authority. Unemployment remains a significant barrier for blind and vision impaired individuals.

A 2019 World Blind Union survey found only 24% of blind Australians were in full -time employment lagging behind countries like New Zealand and Canada. Additionally pathways to executive leadership for blind and vision impaired talent are limited. Appointing a blind CEO would demonstrate Vision Australia's commitment to providing an open inclusive process and addressing these disparities. We appreciate the board's intent to maintain momentum and ensure continuity. However an external search is essential for transparency and inclusivity especially given it has been eleven and a half years since the role was last advertised. An internal EOI process may not fully capture the diverse perspectives required for effective leadership.

The Disability Royal Commission called for transparent and merit-based processes that value the perspectives of people with disabilities aligning with an external recruitment approach. We respectfully urge the Vision Australia board to revoke its decision for an internal EOI process and undertake an external search committing to appoint a blind or vision impaired leader as CEO. This will demonstrate the board's dedication to promoting the employment of blind people and meeting current expectations for disability leadership. We hope our concerns will be considered and we look forward to a process that reflects the principle of nothing about us without us and the high standards Vision Australia strives to uphold.

12:26

And as a further reminder, if you want to sign that open letter you can go to change.org united blind leaders ... as I said before it has well over 200 signatures. I don't want to get into the debate in this program as to whether it should be an internal or external process, I think that speaks for itself. What I do want to say though is one of the points that Graeme made in the interview we heard earlier was, the community needs to back itself - and what I mean by that is that the community needs to very seriously consider the fact that there are very well qualified blind people in this country who could easily be the next CEO of Vision Australia if allowed the possibility.

If you are a blind person and you genuinely believe that the blind community doesn't have what it takes to find within itself the next CEO of Vision Australia and if you believe that committing to the employment of a blind person as Vision Australia's CEO might lead to a tokenistic appointment, then shame on you. There are so many well-qualified people who have run Australian organisations, worldwide organisations who have chaired major blindness self-help organisations, as well as service provider organisations. There is absolutely someone out there, not only in Australia, but even internationally, who could be the next CEO of Vision Australia. This community needs to stand with itself, and it needs to stand for itself.

The blind community is not a large community when considered within the scope of Australia's population, but it has demonstrated repeatedly, over many, many years, that it is powerful, and that it has what it takes to lead itself, and to lead the organisations that provide services and represent it. Vision Australia, you're on notice. If you'd like to get in touch with Blind Citizens Australia, you can call 1 800 033 660 ... 1 800 033 660. If you'd like to email BCA, you can contact bca@bca.org.au ... BCA at BCA dot org dot AU.

I'm Vaughan Bennison, I'll be back again next week.

Speaker 2 14:38

We'll achieve the rea...

Speaker 1 14:39

... realisation of our dreams, of our dreams...