CCF SA PRESIDENT'S SUNDOWNER & AGM 2022

With CEO Rebecca Pickering emceeing the event, the AGM was one to remember.

It included a couple of firsts – new President Charles Hatcher delivering his maiden State of the Federation Report as dusk was settling in, right next to Adelaide’s animal kingdom (another first). Among other matters, he spoke about the current state of affairs of the civil industry and the uncertainties associated with training future civil workforces, but assured all present that CCF SA will always be there for its members. The Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, and Minister for Energy and Mining delivered the keynote speech. Stressing that the government is here to fix things deemed not working, make the right decisions, and act to achieve the best outcomes for the economy and community, the doyen of the state government held court like no other.

We sincerely thank our sponsors ResourceCo and AusPress for their generosity and assistance in making this event a resounding success.

By Sarah Goh

“Morning or Evening?” Which translates loosely to: Hearty breakfast bacon and eggs with a strong wake-up brew, or dainty finger nosh washed down by the top notes of an SA tipple while the sun goes down? What do we want for our next AGM?

Seriously, this question from the CEO required a vote count by a show of hands from the attendees.

Indeed, when people thought it couldn’t get any more interesting than the sort of rhetoric that often surfaces at a typical industry association AGM. But then again, we were sitting practically next to the lions and baboons… before long, their primeval instincts could make us raucous with the fading of the light. Thankfully, Charles Hatcher put the day’s proceedings in order with The President’s State of the Federation Report by declaring the successful delivery of strategy a significant milestone in his first year as President. On the matter of governance, he graciously thanked his predecessor Paul Davison and paid tribute to his excellent leadership. As the Board farewelled two members – Michael Jeffery and Emma Ebert, it welcomed Simon Abrahams, Kerry Yeates and Sharon Van Kempen. Hatcher noticed that people are getting increasingly busy nowadays. With the 500% increase in civil works happening over the next four years, are we optimising the procurement process and engaging with our supply chains efficiently to take on the increased workload? In other words, are we busy fools? He reminded businesses to genuinely engage with the supply chain, build on strong market tested contracts and adopt smart, and planned procurement to build strong relationships. There is also the need to ensure probity and transparency in business to boost productivity. Are there better reasons for better planning? Sure. That could shrink contract management time and procurement resources that cause bottlenecks, and improve productivity in the process. And that could translate into direct carbon emission savings. The Board is also thinking about its biggest need – Getting Boots on Ground resources. It is something Hatcher thinks should be done to get kids ready for the next project, not just waiting for the next project. “We want parents to know kids can have a respectable career in civil, and that it’s not just what they do when all else fails,” said the President.

With CCF SA successfully training and getting more than 97 apprentices on their way to a productive career in the civil sector (with many already employed), Hatcher expressed his sadness that we are now unsure of our training future, and encouraged everyone to fight to keep the funding for our civil apprentices and training. Does industry succession matter? According to him, right now, the economy is ‘hot’. With no slowing down in sight as ‘The Horse Has Bolted’. What are the implications for the industry in SA? We want a net migration of workers. We need an industry that can self-deliver, and at the same time also deliver a good legacy. “Lean on us. We’re here for you,” said Hatcher.

That was followed by the Treasurer’s report from Tim Bishop that went without question, and the appointment of auditors, bringing the AGM to a close. The guest speaker, the Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP, needed no special introduction. Having sparred in the political arena for 26 years, mostly in opposition (which sucks), the spritely 51-year-old joked about how good it was to see no tears had been shed so far at the AGM.

DATE: Thursday 29 September 2022 TIME: 4pm – 6pm VENUE: The Sanctuary – Adelaide Zoo MAIN EVENT SPONSOR: ResourceCo SUPPORTING PARTNER: AusPress

He started by sharing how highly respected Rebecca Pickering is in the Adelaide business community, and the good relationship we have with Labor even when it was in opposition, thanks to Paul Davison who he thinks holds his position in industry very well. Admitting he gets a lot of complaints on the job regularly, processes for improvement are continuously being put in place so “Keep us informed,” said the Minister.

He hopes that contractors and industry can mutually benefit from the infrastructure spend. With the money committed to the duplication of Main South Road, Grand Junction Road, Port Adelaide, the Interchange at O’Halloran Hill etc, the government wants locals to be involved as there is more than $18 billion in the investment kitty. Especially with the Torrens to Darlington Motorway, the government is working to ensure as much of the work that can be done using local resources, will be. In addition, it is fixing the design of this project to get it right as it is such an important piece of infrastructure. For example, the exit points must be right and the tunnel usable, to mitigate the incidence of queuing and crashes, and certainly to avoid the development of gridlocks. “Be patient with us so we can get this right,” pleaded Koutsantonis. “It’s about our economy,” he continued. According to him, the government believes in upgrading regional roads and is delivering a dramatic sum of money for this purpose… more than $50 million. Social infrastructure is also very important to this government. Like The new Women’s and Children’s Hospital to be built at the heritage listed SAPOL Barracks site. “A right choice. Forget the politics…” He asked people to forget about the protest… the heritage… for experts have worked on getting the best outcome from building where the Barracks are. (We could almost detect the roar of a lion…) In fact, nobody can visit the Barracks anyway as it is a work building. “And we’re making a decision for the next 100 years.” (Were the heritage conservationists in the room starting to fidget?) As far as procurement is concerned, the government is working to get more SA people employed and in business so taxpayers can get more value for money, jobs can be created, and trainees skilled. Processes have been put in place to enforce 90% labour hour minimum by SA workers on major infrastructure projects, construction contracts focusing on local suppliers, reporting obligations, and repercussions for those who do not meet them.

To support SA businesses, the government will mandate lead contractors on government projects to pay subcontractors within 15 days, and the government to pay contractors within 15 days. With so much happening, department staff are being kept up to date with policies and changes, and procurement information will be published three months in advance to give people adequate time to prepare tenders, to bring about a win-win situation for the government and the people. In the long term, he envisages it will get more people employed (local providers, local people on site, local architects on the job etc), more infrastructure projects undertaken, and ultimately, more money into the economy. Other topics covered included the breaking up of public projects valued at more than $5Million into smaller parts so more people can get involved, and the early use of tenders and contractors to cut back on project delays. At Question Time, a gentleman asked from where will the bums on seat (for us) come from? Looking at our population, how can we fill the void? “We’re our own worst enemy,” Koutsantonis conceded, noting that UniSA has struck Surveying from its list of courses. And everywhere, it’s happening – less bums on seat. We need more migration, more training. Importantly, we need to change our thinking too. Maybe people don’t need to get a Uni degree. Maybe get into a trade. That said, we can’t just flip a switch to change the mindset – it’s an education process for the long term. In the short term, skilled migration will help fix the gap. In any case, it’s a good problem to have. “Who’s complaining about full employment?” he quipped. “The pandemic has taught us we’ve been relying on the rest of the world for supply. We’ve got to stop. We need to develop our local industry. There’re tough decisions to make.” Other questions included issues on land tax and payroll tax, and how our resources are often made up of foreign based directors. And also the concerns about the peaks and troughs for work in the industry. To the latter, the Minister replied that the increase in infrastructure expenditure will help to improve consistency in that area and we’ll get our bang for the buck. Finally, when asked: “Are you living the dream after being with the new governing team for six months?” he replied: “It’s a great honour to be a minister.” This boy from Cowandilla is very proud man. With that, the official part of the event concluded as the nocturnal zoo residents came to life.

So, back to “Morning or Evening?” Well, with the crowd mingling freely without having to rush back to work, it’s not hard to guess how they voted. See you next year for another Sundowner AGM. We may even let some ‘owls’ in to ask the treasurer a few questions on dollars and numbers. Hoot! Hoot!