Meeting 20 August 2026

 

Pres David then announced the apologies:

PP Ian Stacy, PP Keith Cameron, Jo Kwok, Glenys Hitchen,

PP Pat Kearns and Paul Laband.

 

Meeting Highlights

 

 

Secretaries Announcements

PP Norm Thomes

Re-districting within Rotary Zone 8 - Voted at Club Meeting

Mark & Bronwyn Stephens: fined for being inducted as new members of our Club;

PP Julie Avery: Fined for being best Travel Agent at Brighton Travelworld;

Keiran Cromie: Fined for being the second best Travel Agent at Brighton Travelworld;

North Melbourne, Collingwood, Carlton supporters: Fined for different things to do with their Clubs;

Eric Barr: Fined for not asking Tim Wilson a political question at previous meeting;

PP Tom Buxton: Fined for being far too fit for his age;

Geoff Cunningham: Fined for just being a great Rotarian;

PP Colleen d'Offay: Fined for doing the Loyal Toast;

Anthony Langley, Pres David Frauman, John Schmoll, PP Norm Thomas & Stuart McIntyre: Fined for attending Brighton Secondary School Mobile Cafe presentation;

Rob Pinchbeck: fined for buying a second Bentley in last 12 months.

 

Last week's Raffle Results

 

 

The raffle was run by Stuart McIntyre with help from Damien Louis. The winners were Merve Boztepe and Di Allen.

 

 

Speaker Andrea Coote

 

 

About Andrea:

Andrea was a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council

from 1999 to 2014. In that time she held many senior

positions including Deputy Leader of the Opposition,

Manager of Opposition Business, Shadow Minister for

Environment, Housing, Community Services and Aged Care.

From 2010-2014 she was the Parliamentary Secretary for

Families and Communities.

Andrea was a Member of the influential joint Parliamentary

Committee which investigated Child Abuse in non-

government institutions and responsible for the historical

Betrayal of Trust Report in 2013

As a Member of the Victorian Parliament Former Members

Association which was responsible for commissioning the

influential Transitioning to Life After Parliament Report 2020,

she Chaired the Support and Well Being Committee which

oversaw the implementation of the report’s recommendations.

Andrea was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (AM) for

services to Parliament and Aged Care in January 2026.

 

A summary based on Andrea's talk

Adjusting to life after politics can be deeply distressing and financially taxing for many former members of parliament, a new Deakin study shows.

 

Overview & Key Findings

Psychological & Financial Strain: Transitioning out of politics is deeply distressing for many former Members of Parliament (MPs), often leading to mental health issues, grief, relationship breakdowns, underemployment, and financial hardship.

Loss of Identity: MPs who leave unexpectedly (e.g., through losing an election or losing preselection) often feel a severe loss of status, purpose, and identity, as well as feelings of abandonment by their communities.

Myth vs. Reality: Contrary to the belief that former MPs are “set for life” or easily enter lucrative roles, many face major difficulties finding work, including career discrimination based on their political background.

Impact on Governance: Failing to support former MPs leads to a loss of valuable skills and creates a disincentive for highly qualified individuals to enter politics.

Study Context: The Deakin University report (Transitioning to Life After Parliament), led by Dr. Nethery, surveyed 93 former Victorian MPs and interviewed 39. In Victoria, 45% of MPs leave parliament unexpectedly, and the average career lasts eight years.

Andrea as Chair of the VPFMA Support and Wellbeing Subgroup said speaking to members who had lost their seats following the 2018 election was a salutary experience. They were overcome by the raw emotion, anger, distress and depression of those who had left parliament involuntarily. The Deakin University report, Transitioning to Life After Parliament, will give recognition to the very real issues faced by former MPs and lay the foundations for a better system to be established in the future. It was an important democratic principal that where possible, all unnecessary barriers and disincentives to pursuing a career in politics should be removed. The report includes a number of recommendations designed to better support MPs during and after they leave parliament. These recommendations will establish internationally best-practice supports for former MPs and ensure they continue to contribute to their full potential in post-parliamentary life.

Editors note: As Andrea's talk was not recorded I sourced the above from the Deakin University website and it refers to much of what she spoke about.

 

Brighton Secondary College Mobile Cafe

Recently, at Brighton Secondary College, President David Frauman and members of the Rotary Club of Brighton were invited to join students and staff, for the mini-launch of the Brighton Secondary College Mobile Cafe! We got a taste of this exciting initiative which will support students to gain vocational skills and hands on experience - establish a mobile café and training platform to support students undertaking VCE Vocational Major (VM) and VET Hospitality/Cookery programs (Thanks to the students who joined us for a delicious morning tea). The food trailer will operate as both a mobile classroom and community-based social enterprise, generating revenue that is reinvested into vocational education programs and community initiatives. We’re really excited to be involved in this unique project with Brighton Secondary College (BSC), which has been made possible with the support of the Rotary Club of Brighton Charitable Foundation. Look out for the newly branded bus which will be towing the mobile cafe around Bayside very soon!

 

Seyha's Journey in August

​​​​​​​Dear Colleen and the Members of the Rotary Club of Brighton,

How is your life going in August so far? Anyway, I strongly believe that you are all doing wonderfully.

I am pleased to share my life journey with you this August. I feel that time has gone so fast because I just sent another update last month. So, today is another month moving away into a moment in time, and here I am in August, making more wonderful progress on my journey. In Cambodia, it is now the rainy season. I think it is my favorite season because after the rain, I can see everything becoming green, and especially when it rains at night, the sound helps me sleep peacefully. Furthermore, I am excited to share that I’ve done a lot of fulfilling things this month, and I'd like to walk you through what I have done. I hope you enjoy reading it.

As a university student, I am currently in my second year, first term. However, I recently took a midterm exam. I was a bit nervous because I did not spend much time reviewing my lessons before taking it. However, I still did better than I expected. Even if I did not do well this time, I am going to improve my next presentation, which counts toward my midterm score, so I can raise my GPA and score better in each subject. I honestly did not spend much time preparing for my exam this midterm because I was having a bit of a tough time joining the activities at my NGO. This August, CRST had a group of guests from Australia, including Aviv, our founder, MJ, and Jan, my sponsor from Australia. They not only came to visit us but also conducted a four-and-a-half-day Business Class.

A favorite highlight for me from business school was having special guests from Australia. Under the theme “Life and Leadership by Design, plus the Importance of Core Values,” Aviv, Jan, and MJ made the class more insightful and interactive at the same time. I really appreciate the way they delivered the lessons to the class, combining their lessons together day by day and putting the speeches in order. In the morning, Jan was the presenter. She is a phenomenal woman in the business field. She is the first female leader of Burgess, a successful business in Australia. I remember her sharing about the history of her family business, and each custodian is remarkable and inspiring. The significance of her success is reinvention despite consistently maintaining its core values. MJ was also inspiring through her journey, which has left an impression on many of us, including me. To me, she is an incredible role model and an empowering woman.

Besides this insightful business class, we also spent some quality time together on movie night. We watched a movie called “Mamma Mia!” We did not just watch the movie; we also prepared a lot of amusing things to surprise them. It was very entertaining to watch, with a lot of good music in the movie. Moreover, I was excited to take this opportunity to prepare some wonderful performances for them. As we are now running the Glee Club and Guitar Club, I was extremely delighted to bring them onto the stage, where they could show their potential. Even though I did not join the performance, I was still happy to see that they could be a part of it. It was not easy to achieve this wonderful performance. My talented trainer, Bong Vibol, and I struggled to make them perform together. Nevertheless, I think I learned so many things from my Glee team.

One more activity that I joined was MBM, which is part of Project B – Bicycles for Education. Together, we went to fix bicycles for the children at Don Sva Secondary School in Pouk District. For the whole day, we divided into groups. There were fixer teams, a cooking team, a photography team, and a spare-parts preparation team. Importantly, Aviv, Jan, and MJ also joined us. We really appreciate their time and generous support in helping us make an amazing impact on my community. I am also an organizer of this incredible event, as I am on the operations team of Project B- Bicycles for Education. I was delighted to see that the passionate principal of this school was curious to support his school and students. It made me truly excited for the students.

So, that is all about me in August. I wish I could meet you and your team in Cambodia so that I could arrange the Glee and Guitar performance for you all. Thank you so much for reading my journey. I know I shared a lot this month, but I hope you still find it enjoyable to read. What about you? What is your favourite highlight in August?

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Have a wonderful day and a wonderful time with your club!

Seyha,

 

Seyha Mek

Public Image Committee Chair

Rotaract Club of Siem Reap