The geography of Australia imposes problems for participation in national organisations (such as our museums association) similar to the problems of ICOM. Some states are so far away, others are so poor, that it is impossibly expensive for representatives to attend council meetings and conferences. (4/5 of Australians live more or less on the east coast between Mebourne and Brisbane). At various times the association has subsidised expensive airfares, but each time, the small budegt of the association blows out, and subsidies are withdrawn. The problem boils down to a struggle between justice/democracy/equity and financial efficiency. Alas, we have still no elegant solution - only the perspective that the organisaiton must make a deliberate choice for one or the other. It is, if you like, an ideological choice. To be honest, though the issue has been articulated, the association has never grappled directly with the problem in these terms, ie has never made that choice. Dr Linda Young Research Fellow History, Research School of Social Sciences Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Tel: 02-6249 4008 Fax: 02-6249 3969 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Change ICOM-L subscription options and search the archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html