Queensland President's message December - Where we have come from and where we are going Friday, 05 December 2014

This will be my final article as your Queensland Division President. I would like to welcome Chris Warnock to the role for 2015, who along with the Division committee and staff I have ultimate confidence in.

I can summarise our success over the last 12 months with a simple anecdote. In January this year a Minister for the Federal Government announced an enquiry into a port bund wall. The terms of reference for that enquiry specifically mentioned the Design and Construct aspects of the wall be reviewed, something that in Queensland is specifically listed as a professional engineering service. In the panel appointed to lead the enquiry, however, there wasn’t a single engineer. A few years ago Engineers Australia would have refrained from commenting, but our members have clearly told us that they want us engaged in debate on engineering issues. We took an active media stance, getting picked up in print and on radio, and as a result of that approach the enquiry panel wrote to us and requested a list of suitably qualified engineers they could engage as part of the review. In an ideal world they would have immediately appointed an engineer to an engineering review, but what we were able to achieve through media was to influence a positive outcome on behalf of the profession and community.

In November I was at an event and a Queensland Government minister who we had engaged with during the year came to me and told me that he was assembling a board to manage a key issue in his portfolio. He said to me that he needed an engineer, someone who could interpret technical submissions and sort the wheat from the chaff and find solutions. He made a comment to his advisor that he felt he had enough lawyers and accountants but that he needed an engineer. We immediately provided a list of suitable names and while board is still under development, to me that typified where we have come as an organisation in the last 12months and what we can achieve as we keep going. We are slowly restoring the status of our profession which as we know will lead to more logical and informed decisions on behalf of the community.

Although I would love to claim this success as my own, it is not the result of 12 months work but five or more years of work, starting with the compilation of a long term strategic plan for our Division and bolstered each year by each of my predecessors and I know, to be ramped up and continued next year by Chris. The organisation and Division has a good strategic plan and my focus this year has been to support that plan and to drive consistency in approach. While there are a lot of areas that we can improve on as an organisation I am confident in our direction and I believe that consistency of approach is what will cement these outcomes and galvanise our position.

Our achievements for the year can be found in the Annual Division Report.

I feel that we have made good progress and I am very proud looking back over the year that has been. I have loved and am always enthused dealing with our members and volunteers.

What have I learned over the last 12 months? That our approach to media, community and government engagement with working and that consistency is now the key. I have learned that we need to continue to work to create an inclusive profession acknowledging the role and contribution of our Associate and Technologist members, our overseas qualified members and continue to push for greater participation of women in engineering. We have passionate members and groups in each of these areas and we need to continue to support the good work that they do.

While the engineering market is tough I have seen a number of small specialist companies doing very well, based on specialist knowledge and a strong client focus. We need to encourage more of these businesses and as a state and a country we need to do more to innovate to create a high-value, high-tech economy, in which engineering has to play a major role. From an organisational perspective, Engineers Australia is evolving and like any change there are challenges. As long as we keep our members at the centre of our change and as long as we keep dialogue open with our volunteers I feel that we will find a way.

Finally, we should be proud to be engineers, to be proud of what we do. The things I have seen this year and the people I have met who have achieved amazing feats, then quietly patted themselves on the back. We need to continue to celebrate engineering success, both inside Engineers Australia and in the community. We really do have a great story to tell and we need to do so.

To all of you, your companies and families, I hope that 2014 has been a successful year and that 2015 is even better. Please enjoy the holiday period, be safe and enjoy the friends and family who are really the most important things in all of our lives.

I would like to thank each of you one last time for your continued support of your profession, of the Queensland Division of Engineers Australia and of me as your 2014 Queensland President.