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A letter from our PRESIDENT AND CEO - January to December 2019 Looking back and looking ahead!

January to December 2019

Looking back and looking ahead!

As Christmas draws closer, and 2019 comes to an end, we want to take this opportunity on behalf of our board and staff to thank you for having the confidence in us to be a Member of the Civil Contractors Federation – South Australia (CCF SA).

You can be assured that every minute of every day this year there has been a team of people at the CCF SA completely dedicated and working hard for you (our Members) and our amazing Industry.

In this respect, and looking back over the year, our three main priority areas have been:

• Member Satisfaction – giving good value for your Membership dollar – within the limits of our resources Members have the support required to operate a sustainable business.

• Advocacy and Government Relations – the regulatory and government policy environment supports our Industry and there is sufficient public and private investment in infrastructure to sustain our Industry into the future.

• Training and Skills – our Industry has the people with the skills necessary to sustain our Industry into the future.

The following represent some of the highlights that relate to our priorities.

MEMBER SATISFACTION

We considered this to be defined as continuing to be a visible and robust advocate for our Members and Industry, maintaining a relevant range of Member services activities, and enhancing the image of the Civil Construction Industry in the eyes of Government, the community and media.

During the year, the CCF SA has continued its high level of visibility in the print and electronic medias on a range of issues of concern and interest to our over 500 Member companies. The CCF SA has demonstrated we are not afraid to vigorously represent the interests of our Members (large and small). The CCF SA is apolitical and will always do what is right and speak out for our diverse Membership. The CCF SA has Member support managers in the field all of the time, responding to Member needs. We take steps to ensure that our services are always relevant and of use to our Members. In addition to messages relating to advocacy, we have for the first time run adverts on commercial radio highlighting the importance of Civil Contractors to the growth and prosperity of South Australia. Our flagship Earth Awards night was well attended, celebrating excellence in civil construction projects. Similarly, our Gala Dinner recognised those people in our Industry who have achieved excellence in their respective fields of endeavor. In addition to our other targeted events including technical and legal information sessions, the women in our Industry were recognised and celebrated by record attendance at CCF SA’s Women in Civil events. During the year, our Next Generation in Civil Committee and Retired Members Group

also made a valuable contribution to the life and work of the CCF SA. Overall, we work to ensure that our events and other activities meet the expectations and requirements of our diverse Membership, which includes our highly valued Associate Members.

ADVOCACY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

We considered this to be defined as continuing to influence Government on all matters of interest or concern to our Members and Industry via electronic and print media campaigns, personal and written representations, and commissioning and publishing reports.

Our primary focus was to influence the government to:

• Develop a long term infrastructure plan for South Australia accompanied by a budget, timeframe and schedule of works

• Establish an independent body able to assess and prioritise infrastructure projects, generate public/private partnerships in infrastructure, and create incentives for private sector funding

• Make changes to the procurement policy of Government to protect the interests of smaller contractors

• Enable local contractors, regardless of size, to have access to Government work on a fair, reasonable and equitable basis

• Build local capacity by exercising a preference for local firms

• Reduce the cost burden of doing business in South Australia

• Rebuild and maintain public sector infrastructure

The CCF SA is pleased to report that an Infrastructure SA organisation has been established and is producing a 20 Year Infrastructure Plan for South Australia. We anticipate the plan will be publicly available in January 2020.The CCF SA made a major submission to Infrastructure SA to inform the development of this plan. We are particularly pleased to see Government (State and Federal) budget of $13 billion over the next 10 years for transport and other infrastructure projects. With the encouragement of the CCF SA, $400 million of projects (large and small) statewide has recently been brought forward to sustain our Industry, grow jobs and provide economic stimulus. We were also pleased to see the upgrade to both the bridge at Port Augusta and roadworks at Port Wakefield come to market. Although some works on the Augusta Highway have come to market, these treatments are a long way short of the duplication of the highway which should occur as a matter of urgency. Similarly, the insufficient budget for road maintenance state-wide and the delay in completing the North-South Corridor and extending the tram to the Adelaide Oval and onto O’Çonnell Street, North Adelaide remains a concern. The CCF SA continues to influence

Government to disaggregate projects wherever possible and to better support SA firms down the supply chain. In response to Government invitations, the CCF SA has made major submissions on matters of interest including to the Productivity Commissioner, on Government procurement and Local Government reform.

TRAINING AND SKILLS

We considered this to be defined as positioning our training operations to:

• Develop an Apprenticeship in Civil Construction

• Become a Group Training Organisation

• Marketing Civil Construction as a career in schools

• Exploring interstate training markets

We were very pleased to see, on the initiative of the CCF SA, an Apprenticeship in Civil Construction approved for the first time. This is a game changer for our Industry and provides an important pathway into our Industry for school leavers and others. Similarly, this year saw the establishment, by the CCF SA, of a Group Training Organisation (GTO). The GTO is called Civil Apprenticeships and Careers and has the remit to recruit and manage civil apprentices on behalf of our Members and Industry. Our GTO will ensure that civil apprentices are properly mentored and managed, and graduate with the appropriate skills and attitude. The development of our apprenticeship and GTO has triggered a marked increase in the CCF SA marketing our Industry as a career of choice. The CCF SA continues its work of providing quality and in demand nationally accredited and non-accredited training programs and courses throughout South Australia and the Northern Territory. This year also saw the commencement of Civil Train operations in Western Australia. Civil Train SA remains the largest private Registered Training Organisation in SA. Civil Train SA plays a significant role in skilling people for work in our Industry and others. This is an achievement we should all be proud of.

In closing, we hope this year we have continued to meet the expectations of our Members. The feedback we have been receiving is our activities have and are making a positive difference. Notwithstanding this, our efforts in support of our Members are always a work in progress. As we operate in a dynamic and sometimes very challenging world, we will continue to take steps to get on the front foot and to anticipate as best we can the strategies necessary to continue to deliver useful services to our Members.

Thank you again on behalf of all of us at the CCF SA for your support in 2019. We most sincerely wish you and your family and friends a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

Paul Davison, President and Phillip (Phil) Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer.

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