Society needs a strong engineering capability and capacity to build the infrastructure that supports our cities and towns and to build and develop the manufacturing, mining, forestry, farming and tourism infrastructure that underpins the economy and our cultural activities.  The government, therefore, has an important role to play in ensuring we have the engineering capacity to meet both the current and future needs of Tasmania.

It is Engineers Australia’s vision “To be the trusted voice of the profession. We are the global home for engineering professionals renowned as leaders in shaping a sustainable world.”  With over 100,000 members nationally and 1400 members in Tasmania, we are the largest and most diverse professional body for engineers in Australia.  As a profession, we are committed to creating solutions that make the world a better place.  We, therefore, see it is important for both our engineers, employers and the Tasmanian community that we seek to influence public policy.  The most effective time to do this is, now, during the lead up to a State election where we have the best opportunity to influence the candidates and political parties.

Over the past few months, the Tasmanian Division committee and staff have developed the division’s election strategy and I thank all involved for their work and valuable input.

The purpose of this strategy include:

• Raising the profile of the EA during the election period
• Increasing political parties’ knowledge of Engineers Australia’s position statements
• Increasing communication with industry
• Increasing member awareness of the Division’s advocacy activities and increasing pride in their membership

The key policy areas of the strategy are:

Energy – including energy efficiency, transport energy, electricity generation and climate change and adaptation,

Infrastructure – planning principles, delivery and optimisation of asset life-cycle management, and

Industry and the Future Workforce – educational foundations, skilled migration, diversity and inclusion, Workforce capability.

Our message is that we want the Tasmanian Government to be an informed policymaker on engineering related matters.  We will be promoting two key actions that can be implemented immediately, those being the appointment of a Chief Engineer and the introduction of registration of engineers.

The 2018 Tasmania State Election Priorities.