Opinion piece by Chris Warnock FIEAust CPEng RPEQ, President Engineers Australia Queensland Division.
There are now signs of a critically significant Federal Government shift in infrastructure policy, which may have major positive implications for Queensland.
With the change in Prime Minister, and the subsequent creation of a cabinet Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, there now appears to be a change in federal policy, from only supporting road infrastructure to now including public transport projects.
This shift in policy reflects a position that Engineers Australia, on behalf of members, has been actively advocating for some time now. The position to invest in only road infrastructure at the expense of public transport was always difficult to comprehend. High profile promotion of our advocacy position on issues is vital to address the backlog in our infrastructure, realise much needed new infrastructure projects, and secure a brighter future for engineers, particularly in Queensland.
An immediate beneficiary of this policy change is likely to be the Gold Coast Light Rail (Stage 2) project. Read Engineers Australia’s media release “Is the Gold Coast Light Rail a new dawn for infrastructure in Australia”.
As a result of this release, Engineers Australia was invited to give an interview on ABC News television on Friday 2 October to further discuss the project and its significance to Queensland’s future, particularly in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.
In a recent Australian Financial Review article, I stated that uncertainty in the engineering profession has been caused by the end of the construction phase in the resources industry. I reinforced that we need planning and direction from governments, and a system that is bipartisan.
We will be officially launching our Infrastructure Policy discussion paper this month at our major Infrastructure Breakfast in Brisbane on 20 October. Our keynote speakers are David Quinn, CEO of Building Queensland and John Pickhaver, Co-Head Infrastructure, Utilities & Renewables, ANZ, Macquarie Capital. I encourage all members in the infrastructure space to attend.
Another topic with over 200 media articles, including being broadcast on ABC and SBS news and even across to Europe, is the Inskip Point incident in Queensland where Engineers Australia’s spokesperson Allison Golsby educated the community on the “slip or slump failure”.
Since September, Engineers Australia has also played a role in the commissioning of the new Global Engineering Learning Hub at University of the Sunshine Coast, which members should familiarise themselves with since it is truly a world-class facility. Together with The Cube facility at Queensland University of Technology, Queensland now has some of the best engineering learning and research facilities available.
In October, we will also be hosting our Engineers Australia CEO, Stephen Durkin, as we undertake a series of meetings throughout northern Queensland with our local office bearers to discuss key regional matters.
Are you interested in hearing more about Queensland's infrastructure future? Find out more about our breakfast event and register now."