NZ Medical Association faces liquidation after 136 years

Stagnant membership and cashflow problems have left the New Zealand Medical Association facing a ‘‘heartbreaking’’ liquidation after 136 years.

The association’s board met on Thursday night and unanimously agreed to recommend members vote to liquidate at the upcoming annual meeting, chairperson Dr Alistair Humphrey said.

‘‘Two decades of stagnant membership and the accumulation of deficits have reached the point where we must dissolve or we will soon become insolvent and be unable to meet our obligations to staff and creditors.’’

Although successive boards and staff had made many attempts to save the association over the past few years, its financial position was unsustainable, he said.

‘‘Despite their best efforts, the financial position has become more and more precarious, and the reality now is that this board and this chair have to convey the heart-breaking news to the members: the financial position of the New Zealand Medical Association is unsustainable.’’

The number of organisations serving New Zealand’s medical community had grown in recent years, contributing to falling membership numbers and undermining the association’s financial position, Humphrey said.

A report to the board, published on May 4, shows a current total membership of 4812, down from 5046 at the same time last year and 5626 in May 2018.

A large number were students, who paid less than $10 per year, and just over 1200 were fully subscribed members – less than 10% of New Zealand’s 17,000-strong medical workforce.

Collection of unpaid membership fees was an ‘‘ongoing challenge, exacerbating cashflow concerns’’, the report said.

Of the $996,263 billed for annual subscriptions this financial year, $192,729 remained unpaid by 632 members.

Established in 1886, the NZMA is a member of the World Medical Association and produces the New Zealand Medical Journal as well as the code of ethics for the medical profession.

Discussions were under way with other organisations in the sector to work out how those assets could be passed on.

The association’s constitution requires members to approve a resolution to liquidate at the annual meeting, to be held on May 30.

If approved, the resolution will be confirmed at a special general meeting in late June.

‘‘The financial position of the New Zealand Medical Association is unsustainable.’’