One of the rewarding opportunities of being the Australasia CEO is to attend the Division State Conferences.

Having a few months ago attended the impressive New Zealand conference, to be followed only last week by the warmth of members at the Tasmanian conference, it is heartening to witness first-hand the camaraderie that binds our organisation. NSW’s conference, also held last week at the Hunter Valley, was a resounding success with record attendances. Queensland’s conference is on next week, and I’m certain is going to be another outstanding success. I was able to attend both of these last year, together with SA, WA and Vic’s this year.  

The single greatest value of attending these conferences is in the knowledge sharing that takes place. This is not limited to the excellent papers presented, or the technical sessions or tours, but includes the discussions that occur throughout the conference program. These informal chats often devolve into deep discussions about the hot topics and issues that the industry is facing. Varying opinions, ideas and possible solutions are shared among small groups of keenly committed peers.

The trade exhibitors, without whom our conferences could not happen, regard IPWEA’s state conferences as ‘must be at’ events as this is all too often the only time that they get to talk face-to-face with the decision makers and practitioners. Just as our members need to keep up-to-speed with changing developments, new products and services, so too, our suppliers value your feedback and engagement. It is also a fertile place where our respective IPWEAs pick-up on the grass roots issues that members want to express. For many members, this is their annual CPD update and the opportunity to catch-up with their peers and IPWEA executives.

I haven’t been to one IPWEA conference where I’ve not come away feeling uplifted, albeit also exhausted from so much engagement. 

The simple maths is this: IPWEA puts on the best value conferences with the best speakers. I am dumbfounded and befuddled why some in council management decide to spend up to $3000 pp on attending commercially run conferences from organisations that take from our industry but put nothing back. These commercial operators plead with our IPWEA industry experts and icons to be a featured speaker at their conferences, trading off IPWEA’s reputation and membership networks. Then they get 20-30 people at their conference, or they cancel it and move onto the next topic/industry.   

Next time one of these flyers comes across your desk from a private commercial conference organisation, think about whether this is really the best use of your scarce training budget. Dollars spent on attending IPWEA conferences are at the very least being multiplied over for the benefit of our industry. Besides that, they are far better value for money with the real experts of the industry speaking.

Robert Fuller 
CEO, IPWEA Australasia