--- In otmushrooms@..., nick4mony <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> I've successfully submitted a letter to the AFR.
>

I think that while we've got the chance, others can also write letters,
focussing on different insolvency issues.

I purposely chose 2-3 core issues and stayed away from other issues, in the
interests of conciseness.

Ideas that others could develop:
* expand my code "more prescriptive requirements" => creditors must be paid in
full in a DoCA, and must stay in a DoCA until creditors have physically been
paid.
* Destruction of business value: if this problem was removed (eg if suppliers &
major customers were still tied to their contracts), it would remove a major
incentive for insolvent trading.
* For employees: do you know that GEERS no longer pays out in a DoCA situation?
They only pay in cases of liquidation (if a DoCA proceeds to a liquidation,
they'll pay but payments MAY be reduced).
* For employees: There is Schedule 8A, but I'm still not convinced, even today,
that a DoCA is compelled to follow it (but a liquidation must). Schedule 8A
dictates the order/priority of payments amongst the various classes of creditor.
* For employees: absolute requirement on administrators to produce group
certificates (this is a problem in a surprising number of cases).
* Conduct business electronically to save costs.
* Attending meetings by telephone: make this an absolute right (this was not
possible for Mobilesoft meetings).
* Creditors have no feasible way of putting forth alternative DoCA proposals.
* Most creditors have no feasible way of finding out what's brewing (in terms
of the DoCA/negotiations between major creditors, customers, and the directors).
* Variation to round-robin idea: that ASIC chooses 3 sets of professionals, and
creditors choose one by popular vote, with fixed renumeration (eg $20K + 1% of
debt) for the losers.
* Andrew Heard's letter (April 29): rebuttal - allowing directors to run a
company in administration seems a bit unwise.

Regards,

Nick.