Rys. Vitek Skonieczny |
Recently I received a letter from the Polish Club in Ashfield
with a Notice of Charge:
It is alleged that you are not desirable as a member of the Club.
Particulars
In an article that was written by you and published in Puls Polonii on 27 January 2021 (Attachment 2), you included numerous assertions that included:
1. False and misleading statements which include amounts paid to former restaurant operator and alleged legal costs associated with the Club successfully defending itself.
2. False and misleading statements regarding our adjoining heighbours with whom we collaborated in marketing via JLL
3. False and misleading statements regarding the operation of the Club’s restaurant.
You were not authorised to act or speak on behalf of the Club. You did nor approach the Board to ensure that the statements you would be making were actually correct. Due to the false, misleading and at times defamatory information put out into public arena you sowed doubt with our members and brought Polish Club into disrepute.
On behalf of the Board the letter was signed by two Club’s Directors: Mrs Hania Geras and Mrs Helen Oktalowicz. I have been advised that the Board will hear the charge on 30 May 2022 and I will have the opportunity to defend my case in writing or orally (I refer to the linked letter for the detailed statement).
My article under dispute published in Puls Polonii
was publicly available and so will be my reply to the Notice of Charge.
I disagree with the charge and do not accept the allegations made at points 1,2 and 3. I based my opinions on Court documents publicly available at www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/ where in the search you can use keyword ‘Polish Club’ to find all related Court decisions and reports.
If - after research lasting 15 months - the Club’s Board found eventually any inaccuracies in my statements, I request the Club to disclose publicly and in a written form financial documents showing the inaccuracies.
In particular, I request disclosing details of the final agreement with Mr Gnych, the former restaurant operator and the total of the legal costs of ALL related court proceeding, not only the successful one but including the majority of the lost cases in the dispute with the so-called Opposition.
Rys. Vitek Skonieczny |
My reputation comes from about 50 years of academic research in Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics published in the World highest standard journals, from my tertiary teaching at highly respected universities on three continents (Europe, North America and Australia) and representing internationally both Poland and Australia at international and World conferences.
In the Australian Polonia I am proud being a significant contributor to the successes of Kosciuszko Heritage Inc which are well documented e.g. at www.kosciuszkoheritage.com and in Puls Polonii www.pulspolonii.com.
In 2013 I believed that by becoming a member of the Polish Club I have been adding to the honour and reputation of the Club. I became a member of the Club after Mr Richard Borysiewicz was elected the President of the Club as a rising star bringing great hope towards reviving the Club.
www.zrobtosam.com/PulsPol/Puls3/index.php?arty_id=13298
From the very beginning, in good faith, I have been supporting R. Borysiewicz and also Puls Polonii reporting on Club’s plans and problems. As a photo-reporter I have been present at all meetings of R. Borysiewicz with Puls Polonii and the reports of these meetings are available online.
I have to admit I have been stricken already in 2013 with personal recollections of R. Borysiewicz telling us at a side as he forcibly got access to the restaurant Kameralna then legally run by Mr Jacek Gnych. Though I found it an inappropriate way of looking for a solution to the conflict with Kameralna, I admit did nothing at that time.
When the Club lost its case against Gnych in 2014 (Gnych v Polish Club Limited [2013] NSWSC 1249) I called attention of Mrs Hania Geras (in Polish) and R. Borysiewicz (both in Polish and in English) that the Judge J. Ball was giving the Club a tip (at points 50 and 51) on how to terminate the Kameralna lease legally. There was no response from Mr Borysiewicz, later he claimed he has not received any email in this regard. After sending him a copy of the correspondence his reply was ‘do not send me any emails’. Let this serve as my partial response to the allegation that
You did not approach the Board to ensure that the statements you would be making were actually correct.
Within the last two years I applied to Dr Czernkowski – then a Treasurer of the Club - for the last financial AGM reports of the Club. To no avail, I have not received anything. Let this serve as well as my partial response to the same allegation.
Over time I have been noticing that the arrogance of Mr Borysiewicz began reaching unacceptable for me level, even not being at that time a direct target of his aggression. The level of inaccuracies in his statements was reaching unacceptable level. Unfortunately, his rhetoric became a propaganda aiming only to dominate the Club, mislead the Club members and disregard or eject from the Club anybody who opposed his views or behaviour.
Let me find a moment when I decided that enough was enough, that closing eyes on this type of behaviour was eventually leading me to silently accept this toxic lies and hate as a way our Polonia community operates.
Let me refer to my report in Puls Polonii from a Club meeting
Zebranie Informacyjne Klubu 20 października 2016
Let me recall my words written then in Polish:
Zdumienie i zaskoczenie wywołała makiawelistyczna zmiana argumentacji Prezesa. Rok temu pożyczka bankowa gwarantująca Klubowi przeżycie i swobodę finansową w okresie po przegranym procesie, była przedstawiana jako fantastyczny sukces menadżerski Zarządu i Skarbników. Teraz ta sama pożyczka została zaprezentowana jako zagrożenie bankructwem, i to w szybkim czasie, jeśli żadne innowacyjne kroki nie zostaną podjęte. Ta zmiana propagandy została odebrana jako sztuczne wymuszanie aprobaty członków Klubu dla zaprezentowanego planu.
Okazało się przy okazji, że i sam Zarząd w sprawie przedstawionych planów jest podzielony. Niby nic w tym dziwnego, ale zamiast rzeczowej dyskusji, której najwidoczniej chciano uniknąć, pojawiły się osobiste oskarżenia i pretensje. Okazało się, że część Zarządu, w poprzednich latach będąca wg Prezesa przykładem ofiarności, pracowitości i poświęcenia dla Klubu, teraz została przez niego i jego najbliższe otoczenie odsunięta, uniemożliwiając im wykonywanie statutowych obowiązków nadzoru nad działalnością Klubu. Zostali nagle uznani za nieproduktywnych. I remember being taken aback when at a next Club meeting the Board was represented by five directors, two elected at the last election and three new ones, selected by the Board. It appeared that at least three recently elected Directors have been suddenly removed.
Well, these are my general impressions.
Recently, we are witnessing further cleansing of the Club’s membership. Respected Polonia GP and founder of Katyn Raid dr Richard Dzierzba has been silently deprived of the Club membership. Mr Adam Gajkowski was the next one ‘undesired’ for writing a critical letter representing views of the NSW Federation of Polish organisations. Mr Gajkowski is a President of the Federation and was obliged by the Federation members to express publicly their views. Mr Gajkowski has been suspended in the Club membership for three years. Next came Mrs Marianna Łacek, OAM and over long decades awarded educator, teacher of our kids and grandchildren and reporter of the Polish Australian community. And now it is my turn.
It looks the Club wishes to get rid of anybody in the Polish Community who represents high moral and cultural standards and is critical of Mr Borysiewicz' behaviour.
This looks as a quite clever new tactic of getting rid of any opposition. Let me recall that The Polish Club made recently quite a significant legal case being recognised as ‘oppressive’ with respect to its members, by not admitting them to the Club’s membership or removing from membership for opposing views of the Board. These has even resulted in at least two legal warning publications:
A Board oppression – a cautionary tale/
and
The peril of being a social club director to admit or not to admit new members
Has the Club’s Board learned anything from this Court ruling which made a lasting black spot on the Club’s reputation?
www.zrobtosam.com/PulsPol/Puls3/index.php?arty_id=18978
www.zrobtosam.com/PulsPol/Puls3/index.php?arty_id=19717
www.zrobtosam.com/PulsPol/Puls3/index.php?arty_id=20212
If the Board is really caring about Club’s reputation why are you not issuing a letter to Mr Borysiewicz entitled
It is alleged that you are not a desirable as a member of the Club
for his behaviour brought a non-removable shame on the Polish Club in Ashfield. Clearly, Mr Borysiewicz has no skills to negotiate conflicts, instead he is intoxicating and dividing the Polish community.
Recently, at a discussion of the so called Polonia Leaders Mr Borysiewicz attacked Puls Polonii stating among others that Puls Polonii was created to destroy the Polish Club in Ashfield.
This was clearly an incorrect statement consciously targeted to an audience not or little familiar with the specific of the Polish diaspora in Sydney.
Puls Polonii was created on 4th December 2004, nine years before R. Borysiewicz became a Club Director, and already on 13th December 2004 it was quick to report
AGM of the Polish Club. Nobody ever has made allegations like Mr Borysiewicz. It looks that having no reasonable arguments he is spreading hate to divide and survive.
Let me as well recall the lengthy (and authorised by R. Borysiewicz) interview by Ernestyna Skurjat-Kozek
Od szesnastego do szesnastego, published on 14 February 2014.
A long list of other reportings from The Polish Club is available online from Puls Polonii by using the extended search engine ‘Szukanie rozszerzone’ and keywords separated with comma.
www.zrobtosam.com/PulsPol/Puls3/naszszukaj.php
To conclude my reply to the Board letter it looks that the proper action of the removed Club members – removed for being critical of views or behaviour of either Mr Borysiewicz or even of the Club’s Board - would be to appeal to the Court for protection from the Club who not only has not learned from the ruling
Lukaszewicz v Polish Club Limited [2019] NSWSC 446
but is now singling out individual members for opposing or critical views. Is one black legal spot on the Club not enough? Is the Club able to learn after being instructed by the Court? Do we need more legal articles like this one
A Board oppression – a cautionary tale
Andrzej Kozek
Reflekcje po Klubowym AGM
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