“Any dirty washing should be kept behind closed doors and not hung out in public,” a member told the annual general meeting on Monday.

Oddly, the meeting was more affronted at the News for airing their dirty washing, than at the behaviour that created the dirty washing.

No-one at Monday’s meeting denied that the organisation has been affected by “very vitriolic disputes”. They just objected to them being made public and scaring away potential sponsors.

Yes, this is a not-for-profit business run by volunteers, but it is also supported by public funds and local businesses, so those in charge are answerable to the wider community.

If internal brawling is distracting them from fulfilling their role in providing an outlet for the views of all the Southern Highlands, that is something that the community needs to know.

Surprisingly for an organisation dedicated to giving a voice to as many people as possible, some members seem not to have grasped the principle of free speech.

Equally disturbing were the derision, crude jokes and hilarity that greeted a resolution that the board be allowed to suspend members found to have harassed another member.

As certain past and present members of parliament have discovered, harassment is not something to be laughed off.

When an organisation’s members are so out of touch with current standards, it is clearly time to consider whether that organisation is still relevant to the community it claims to serve.