Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle and Perth - all in the last seven days. As IPWEA’s CEO, things can get a tad hectic at times!
Less than nine months ago, I had a conversation about bringing together the numerous parties that make up the street lighting and smart controls industry under one umbrella.
After innumerable meetings with CEOs, presentations to industry organisations, trips to Canberra and New Zealand and sharing of ideas, IPWEA formally announced last week the commencement of the two-year street lighting and smart controls (SLSC) Program.
Held at Sydney's Town Hall, more than 60 industry’s CEOs, peak organisation CEOs and Australian Government representatives committed to working collaboratively through IPWEA’s SLSC Program for the overall betterment of the industry and the community we serve.
We have been awarded four contracts and the first of these is to write the Roadmap for the next two-year period to accelerate the take-up and rollout of LEDs and smart controls across Australia. We are working with our partners, ALGA, ENA and LCA to ensure that industry’s views are accurately and comprehensively reflected in the Roadmap.
The day preceding, we hosted at our new offices in North Sydney, the release of the 9 Point Infrastructure Plan for Australia. This is a joint statement by eight peak industry organisations (championed by ALGA) calling upon both major political parties, in the lead up to the election, to commit to no less than 5% of GDP for infrastructure investment for Australia’s economic sustainability. There are eight more points worth reading.
Every politician in Canberra has been issued with this; it has received wide media coverage, and IPWEA has since taken it to every capital city.
It will be reinforced at ALGA’s upcoming 2016 National General Assembly, at which IPWEA Australasia has been asked to present.
IPWEA SA’s State Conference provided great insights into the issues confronting the state, as it faces the auto industry close-down and is forced to reinvent its economic base. The recently announced shipbuilding contracts will of course help, but these are some time off and will require re-skilling of the workforce. How regional SA is coping has provide some gems of innovation and inspiration.
IPWEA has firmly established its credentials in the thought leadership space. The SLSC program, Smart Cities participation, infrastructure leadership, ISO 55000 Australian representation, and our newly launched Hoopla 4 Jobs website offer irrefutable proof that IPWEA’s leadership is about converting vision into reality.
Robert Fuller
CEO
IPWEA Australasia