National Outlook Winter 2010 by awardmagazine

from the president Paul Reed is the President of Consult Australia and WA Regional Director for consulting firm, Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia

august 2010 As we hit the middle of 2010 it is interesting to look at a few of the many issues being dealt with by your Association. I and many of the Consult Australia Board members were fortunate to recently attend what has become the annual Built Environment Meets Parliament event in Canberra. For those who are not aware Consult Australia is one of five industry bodies that present thought leadership on the built environment to the Federal Government at ministerial level. This year’s event was focused on the role of cities in the future of Australia and how long term strategic planning is being progressed across all our major cities. In reflecting on the outcomes of the day, it is my view that this event now has a very strong profile with all sides of Government at the Federal level and that there is genuine interest in the

combined views of the industry servicing the Built Environment. There was a strong sense of engagement from the several senior politicians present for parts of the day and a genuine interest in what was being presented. Consult Australia is recognised for its part in the planning and delivery of this important opportunity for our industry to actively influence policy thinking. The National Office team have also had some recent success with the publishing of the “Liability Risk Assessment Guide for FMA Act Agencies” by the Commonwealth Government. The Guide is for use by Federal procurement agencies to determine the most appropriate approach to liability in Contracts as part of the risk assessment process. The availability of this Guide means that member firms can use it as a basis for negotiation where it is considered that inappropriate risk allocation and liability requirements have been included in a proposed Contract. I would encourage you to become familiar with the Guide and its application. Consult Australia has confirmed that our members are, in principle, supportive of registration for engineers in Australia. To this end we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Engineers Australia and APESMA to support a collective position that a uniform registration scheme be introduced and implemented across all State jurisdictions. We have agreed that this should be achieved through the National Engineers Registration Board (NERB).

Our position on this important topic is based both on the outcomes of a members forum held late last year in Brisbane and also as a consequence of discussions held with the large firms CEO’s recently in Sydney. Consult Australia holds the view that unless the industry takes a pro-active approach to the establishment of a pragmatic and cost effective registration system it is likely that a disjointed, State-by-State system will be imposed on us by the political desire to provide consumer protection. At this stage there is a considerable amount of work required to fully define a workable registration system and it is my intention that member firm consultations will be an integral part of any future progress towards an outcome. I have made it clear to the other parties that it is essential that the industry supports a registration system if it is going to be effective in delivering to expectations of Government and the community. These are but a few of the many activities being undertaken by your Association. To get a broader coverage of all our efforts on your behalf, I would encourage you and your senior personnel to regularly read the Chief Executive Update that is issued every fortnight.

Paul Reed Consult Australia President

National Outlook

Editor Julia Lemercier Communication & Production Coordinator Matilde Ejlertsen Advertising Enquiries Brandon Vigon (03) 8844 5822 *112 Email: brandon@nationaloutlook.com.au

National Outlook is produced by Consult Australia. Phone: (02) 9922 4711. Website: www.consultaustralia.com.au and MediaEDGE Communication Australia. Phone: (03) 8844 5822. Fax: (03) 9824 1188.

Mixed Sources

This Magazine has been printed with Vegetable Based Inks using Certified Environmental Management System ISO 14001, on Mega Recycled FSC Silk made up of 50 per cent recycled post consumer waste and 50 per cent FSC certified fibre.

National Outlook winter 10

President Paul Reed Chief Executive Megan Motto National Operations Manager Julia Lemercier Director of Policy Nicola Grayson Senior Policy Officer Jonathan Cartledge Business Relationship Manager Benjamin Jung Events Manager Nicole Pusic Education & Training Coordinator Daniel Condon Finance & Membership Coordinator Yingying Lin Executive Assistant (CEO & Policy) Kerri Clifford Executive Assistant (Operations) Morgan Bailey Immigration Officer Svetlana McNeil Editorial Submissions GPO Box 56, Sydney NSW 2001 National Outlook © 2010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, internet or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publishers accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication.