Now that the Casino Village has been in operation for some time, it is appropriate that we reflect on the work done in developing the Company and where the project is to date.

In mid 2000 the then Board of Directors considered the possibility of obtaining for the CMCA their own facilities, including economic camping and an environment more conducive to the genera of the motorhomer. The search for such facilities was difficult as it had to have an acceptable environment and be financially viable. Alan Tesch and Vince Moran searched for such a facility and subsequently located a decommissioned airport near Casino in NSW. Approaches were made to the council and a very favourable agreement was brokered. Basically an offer was tabled that the council would grant an interest free loan in the form of a mortgage over a period of six years, against a purchase price of $600,000.

At this point the hard work commenced. Not with pick and shovel but with a blinding array of paperwork. Firstly, the various interested parties had to be approached and agree to the sale, these included the council, the Commonwealth and emergency services. These, however, paled into insignificance compared to the raising of the D.A. (The Development Application). Running parallel, the council, with whom the agreement and subsequent contract had been entered had been the subject of an election, and the mayor and some councillors changed. The new council employed a consultant to oversee the raising of the D.A. and imposed in excess of 146 terms and conditions. Happily and to the credit of Vince, the D.A. with all its conditions was resolved, and the D.A. granted. In the midst of all this activity a concept plan was presented at the Barcaldine Rally, and a call for expressions of interest. In terms of timeline, one might say the CMCA Casino Village was born.

The Village was born, but the Board had the difficult task of resolving how it was to be paid for, and how best this was to be achieved. The Village concept had, in the meantime, been revised and polished from its original basic plan to the all embracing "total" lifestyle and living project as now presented.

To initialize this project, it was agreed that the CMCA would invest funds into the 500,000 one dollar shares. To comply with the law an invitation to only nineteen investors was made to provide the seed capital to launch the project and Headquarters would provide the entire infrastructure, such as accounting, banking, telephone and secretarial requirements.

At the time of the Northam Rally in WA, it became obvious that the CMCA could not fund the project of itself. The CMCA under the strict requirements of due diligence and governance had to ensure and safeguard the financial stability of the Club. Put simply we could not put all our eggs in one basket. There are many calls on the resources of the Club and the most important being the preservation of your lifestyle. This is a continuous and expensive requirement, especially mounting local government campaigns state by state. It is also a requirement of good governance that we have sufficient reserves to meet perceived and unexpected contingencies. Our reserves are of the order of $250,000 which is considered adequate relative to income.

At Northam it was agreed that the Village should become a company in its own right with its own directors and board of management. Initially the CMCA because of the size of its investment would be the holding company and a contract was drawn to this effect with the relationship between the CMCA and the Village clearly defined. This contract would be held until the village achieved further investment against an Offer Information Statement to the sum of $800,000. This being achieved the Village would be in control of its own destiny.

This has now come to pass and the Village is progressing under its own steam. The CMCA is a shareholder, but no longer a controlling shareholder, as the CMCA is presently running at an approximate 25% holding. It was further agreed that the Village would hold the right to use the name CMCA under licence, and both parties have the right to review this.

We were encouraged by the assurances given by the Board of Casino Village that they would have no difficulty in raising the funds necessary to progress the Village but would prefer to raise them from within the membership base of CMCA. The progress of development and the total infrastructure is within the Village management team, and no longer the responsibility of CMCA.

The Village has proceeded to the present stage, with employed staff including a manager, who will no doubt be taking a little of the pressure off Vince Moran.

The Board extends its congratulations to all concerned in bringing the Village to its present position and with the Village's assurances of being able to raise the funding to enable the eventual completion of this excellent project, the CMCA may be justly proud of its association with the Village.