Ron Hacker FARS, Chair, Publications Committee.  Email: ron.hacker@crt.net.au

Launch of new web site

In late December the Society’s web site was launched on a new platform and with a new host. For users the new site will be identical in appearance and functionality to the old although members will need to create a new password (or re-use the old one) to access the Members Area. Behind the scenes the site represent a compete rebuild of the original using the industry-standard WordPress platform rather the custom platform used by the previous provider. This rebuild has taken almost 12 months during which time the web site, still hosted by the previous provider, was essentially running on auto-pilot as the company had gone out of business. There are still some teething issues to resolve, especially in relation to subscriptions, loading of the newsletter, and reloading of some archival material that was lost in the period when the site was unsupported. I expect that these matters will be resolved in the near future and apologise the members for any inconvenience. Any difficulties with the web site should be reported to the Web Site Editor, Russell Grant, at arussellgrant@gmail.com

Vacancies on the Publications Committee

Two long-serving members of the Publications Committee, Wal Whalley and David Eldridge, retired on 31 December 2019. The experience and wisdom which they brought to their service on the committee was much appreciated and will be missed.  As a result an opportunity is available for other members of the society to step into this space. The Publications Committee plays an important role in the functioning of the society, being responsible for the oversight of The Rangeland Journal, Range Management Newsletter, the web site and social media activity. The committee usually meets by teleconference six times a year, with meetings running for about 90 minutes. Face to face meetings occur at the biennial conferences. The work is interesting and for general committee members not particularly onerous. Appointments are usually made by Council for a three year term with the option to extend. If you would like to find out more about this opportunity to make a significant contribution to your society please contact me at ron.hacker@crt.net.au .