Written by Engineers Australia, Queensland President Dr Peter Ho AM FIEAust CPEng RPEQ.
Engineers in Parliament event
The annual Engineers in Parliament event was held on Tuesday 11 October 2016 with a number of Queensland Parliamentarians, including Ministers, as well as Engineers Australia senior office bearers and CEOs from industry in attendance. The following presentations were delivered:
‘Infrastructure Planning: Engaging the community in future vision for Queensland’
By Chris Warnock FIEAust CPEng RPEQ
Engineers Australia Queensland Infrastructure Spokesperson
‘Infrastructure Finance: Options for infrastructure financing’
By Michael Arnott
Principal – Infrastructure Advisory & Contestability at Deloitte Australia
‘Energy: Transitioning to a renewable energy state’
By Blake Harvey FIEAust CPEng RPEQ
Engineers Australia Queensland Past President
The presentations were well received, with the speakers taking questions from attendees about infrastructure planning and renewable energy.
We look forward to continuing this event, providing an additional avenue to interact with Parliamentarians on key engineering issues that affect the growth and wellbeing of our state.
Childcare facility fire safety issues
In recent times, there has been an increase in the number of childcare centres opening in multi-storey buildings within Brisbane’s CBD.
It is the role of engineers to help ensure public safety is prioritised in all aspects of design and construction. One of our retired members, Chris Buck, raised the concern of putting child care centres above ground level in regards to fire safety, including evacuation protection.
I attended a meeting with Chris and fire engineer Steve Burton MIEAust CPEng NER with Brisbane City Council planners on Monday 10 October 2016 to discuss this issue, which we shall continue to follow up.
Annual Division Meeting
The Annual Division Meeting and End Of Year Celebration was held at Rydges Hotel on Thursday 3 November 2016, where I presented a short review of my term as President and presented 41 newly elected Fellows of our beloved Institution.
Three eminent engineers were inducted into the Hall of Fame, with family members present to either accept the honour on the inductee’s behalf or to celebrate with the inductee. Congratulations to the following Hall of Fame inductees:
Prof Don Nicklin
Emeritus Prof Ray Whitmore AM HonFIEAust
Dr Mike Sargent AM HonFIEAust CPEng(Ret) EngExec
At this event, the incoming 2017 President Chris Nielsen FIEAust CPEng NER was inducted and spoke enthusiastically about his goals as President-elect. Chris’ term will commence on 1 January 2017. Until then, I still have a number of commitments, such as final management and Division meetings and regional visits. I will provide my final report in December in which I will reflect on how the year went.
As your President, I am here to promote our profession in any shape or form. Please do not hesitate to contact me about your views on any areas of interest. Members are welcome to email Dr Peter HoAM FIEAust CPEng RPEQ.
Image: Four of the newly inducted Fellows at the Annual Division Meeting and End Of Year Celebration Susan Jaques FIEAust, Jo Kirby FIEAust CPEng NER, Jennifer Charlesworth FIEAust CPEng NER and Louise Abell FIEAust (left to right).