The new Queensland Government has now had its first Parliamentary sittings. Engineers Australia has continued to advocate for the de-politicisation of essential infrastructure planning and delivery processes. For those who missed it, the following link is to an editorial piece that was published in the Courier Mail The political process is trashing infrastructure planning and projects with the public paying in spades addressing this issue.
This fragmented approach to infrastructure is a nation-wide issue, and our advocacy in Queensland is reflected by other Engineers Australia Divisions across Australia as well as our national office at Federal Government level. I also draw members’ attention to the recent national advocacy positioning of Engineers Australia in matters of the nuclear energy debate and Defence investment (particularly associated with Australian submarine procurement).
The Declaration of Results for the Engineers Australia Membership Ballot 2105 has now been issued by CEO Stephen Durkin as Returning Officer. An historically-high member voting participation rate was recorded for the ballot, with strong support for all four proposed reforms. It’s great to see this level of engagement from members in shaping the direction of the organisation.
Also for members’ information, there are a lot of activities underway within many of our Queensland regions at present. Members continue to play an important role in the clean up after Cyclone Marcia, as the profession does after any natural disaster.
The recent success of the policy briefing hosted by Cairns Regional Group on the Northern Australia Plan, presented by Warren Entsch MP, is a great example of an event which offered invaluable insight into the long term planning for our country. It attracted almost 70 people, many of who were not engineers. The Gold Coast and Townsville Regional groups have also recently held successful CPD events, topics including coastal management (120 people) and due diligence (90 people). These are fantastic examples of the collaboration in our regions to bring relevant and timely CPD content to members.
The Northern Regional and Southern Regional Forums are also approaching and I encourage all members to take a look at the programs for these events. The Southern Regional Forum program is currently available online and early bird registration has opened. Keep an eye out in upcoming Event Alerts for program information and registration for the Northern Regional Forum.
Chris Warnock FIEAust CPEng RPEQ
President
Queensland Division