COMMITTEE ROUND-UP

Get to know the Master Builders

The building and construction industry is one of the most important sectors of the Victorian economy. It is the largest full-time employer in the state and enables the government to deliver important crucial infrastructure. Master Builders Victoria represents approximately 6500 members from across the building and construction industry. These include large and small builders, tradespeople across the domestic and commercial sector, apprentices, suppliers, and manufacturers. Our election process, run through the Australian Electoral Commission, helps ensure legitimate representation across the diverse sectors of our industry. Our five committees cover the key areas of Housing; Materials, Manufacturing and Supply; Specialist Contractor, General Contractor; and Country for our many regional members. The committee’s role in consulting and advising helps inform our board in its decision-making to deliver meaningful industry representation through effective engagement and feedback. Joining our sector committees are the first steps to joining our Board and Council of Management, where you can have more powers to manage affairs and decide policies. Our committees’ contribution to each meeting shapes how we work here at Master Builders Victoria, so please share your experiences and knowledge of working in our industry. Master Builder magazine contributor Leigh McClusky spoke to five of our current committee members to quiz them about their roles and what they enjoy about the position. Country Sector Group – Stuart Allen

While builders in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria share many similarities, there are specific challenges for MBV’s members operating outside of Greater Melbourne. According to Chairperson Stuart Allen, one of the biggest challenges for MBV’s regional community is the ongoing issue of a shortage of trades and labour. “It’s always been a bit of an issue with tradespeople being attracted to Melbourne because of the higher wages down there, and that’s one of the things that we find difficult to compete with,” he said. “That drain on the regional trade pool is hard enough at the best of times, but listening to our members, they’re telling us it’s become even harder during the pandemic and with the explosion of work that’s been around lately.” Mr Allen said the Country Sector Group is the first port of call for many regional members. “We get so many emails and messages when they have a query about everything from looking for information about building surveyors, warranty insurance, regulations, you name it, it’s the whole gamut that members come looking for help with,” he said. While COVID-19 has had many downsides, Mr Allen said the unexpected upside for his sector group had been the increased use of online communications. “Given we’re spread all over Victoria, getting together has sometimes been a challenge in the past,” he said. “But with everyone now able to jump into an online meeting, that has been one of the very few benefits of this pandemic.” According to Mr Allen, regional members value that while they might be largely out of sight, they appreciate knowing they have a regional voice, and their concerns are listened to. “We’re lucky in the regions that we get together and have events like golf days and trade days, and they’re important opportunities for us all to connect.” General Contracting Sector Group - Michael Clemenger

Chairperson Michael Clemenger has been a member of the General Contracting Sector Group for more than a decade and says it plays an important role in representing commercial contractors’ views, ranging from small operators to large national commercial builders. “Master Builders as an association is only as good as the voices and input they’re getting from their members, so the various sector committees are a really important link between members and the organisation’s management and Board,” he said. “For all of us, the pandemic has been a major issue for the past 18 months or so. “The committee has played an important role in being able to provide real-time feedback about members’ concerns and queries in terms of what’s happening in the industry.” Mr Clemenger said safety notifications and updates from the regulator are an important part of the committee’s regular conversations. “We’re always looking at new issues that are coming up. Crystalline silica is a big issue for our members and us and an issue we’re keeping a close eye on now,” he said. According to Mr Clemenger, while managing COVID-19 has been a major challenge for the sector, managing the way back to normal will also be challenging. “We’re going to need to keep getting that feedback between members and MBV management about what are the new pinch points for us? What are the things that are bothering us, and what sort of support do we need?” he said. While being a member of a sector committee is a voluntary commitment, Mr Clemenger said he’s found it particularly fulfilling. “I’ve always taken the view that if you don’t do it, who will?” he said. “I see my involvement in the committee as me giving back to the industry that’s served me very well over several years.”

COMMITTEE ROUND-UP

Victoria sector committee members

Housing Sector Group – Paul McMahon

With a large proportion of MBV’s members focussed on domestic construction, the Housing Sector Group plays an important role in ensuring those voices are heard, particularly during the sector’s most challenging recent times. Committee Chairperson Paul McMahon said supply chain shortages and mental health had been two key areas where Victoria’s residential building sector members have been looking for support. “Not surprisingly, the past 18 months have been dominated by the stop and start nature of lockdowns and circuit breaker lockdowns, and how we’ve had to navigate our way through that, along with the impact of those trades and material shortages,” he said. “And while a lot of the COVID-related industry decisions are based on health decisions, it seems to me that sometimes mental health is pushed to the side as a secondary discussion. “We’ve seen the impacts in our business, and for a lot of business owners out there, they need to be able to discuss things like the mental health of their teams. They need to get things off their chest, see how other business owners deal with them and share those lessons. “This is where our committees and the MBV team shine when we can come together as a community and support each other.” Mr McMahon said it was the opportunity to be part of the discussion and support decision making around important policies affecting the industry that attracted him to join the committee three years ago. “It’s been fulfilling. It’s been great to be able to have an opinion on the industry, on what works and what doesn’t work,” he said. “And I think for me it was important to step up and be part of a team where I could share those opinions and get good outcomes.” While wrangling the impacts of COVID-19 has been an unwelcome focus for the industry, Mr McMahon says it has brought out the best of MBV. Materials, Manufacturing and Supply Sector Group – Mark Phillips

While the Materials, Manufacturing and Supply Sector Group may only represent less than 3 per cent of the MBV membership, their combined turnover and the size of their manufacturing and reselling operations means these businesses represent some of the biggest in the country. In his other role, Committee Chairperson Mark Phillips is the Commercial/Builders State Sales Manager for Bunnings; all the committee members are also part of the Victorian building sector’s supply chain. “I joined the committee to be involved more closely with our industry and our customers, who are builders. Being on the committee gives us the chance to have that seat at the table and to be part of shaping policy that benefits the industry from a supply point of view,” he said. “And it also gives us a great chance to work with the other committees in joint meetings where we work with the builders and get to understand what their challenges are and what issues they’re facing so that perhaps we can work with them to help find a solution.” Mr Phillips said the most recent obvious issue for his committee had been the crippling material shortages. “What our committee has been able to do is to be an agile source of information back to the members about what we’re seeing in terms of looking forward, based on our supply industry insights,” he said. “We’ve played an active part in that, and it means we can also get to see firsthand the impacts on members and builders and understand where their touchpoints are, which particular categories are causing them issues, and we’ve been able to use those insights in our strategic planning for our business as well.” And speaking of material shortages, there’s no good news on the short-term horizon. “There’s timber, and then there’s everything else. And in terms of timber, we think it’s not going to get any worse, but it’s also not going to be resolved quickly.” Specialist Contractors Sector Group – Ashley Tonkin-Hill

For Ashley Tonkin-Hill, a 20-year association with the Specialist Contractors Sector Group has given him valuable and ongoing insights into the latest industry information. The current chairperson of the group, Mr Tonkin-Hill, said it covers a broad range of sub-contractors who each have their different needs and challenges. “We’re representing anyone really who is a subcontractor to the builders and civil contractors in town. Anyone from earth workers, pilers, steel fixers, steel fabricators, concreters, brickies through to carpenters and a broad range of everyone in between,” he said. “This sector group has a specific role to play because the specialist subcontractors often have battles to fight on their own, especially related to their different works.” So, what’s keeping MBV’s subcontractor members awake at night? “COVID has been an obvious challenge over the past couple of years,” said Mr Tonkin-Hill. “But there are always questions and people looking for advice around issues like payment terms, industrial relations issues, EBAs and those sorts of things.” According to Mr Tonkin-Hill, the specialist contractors share the industry’s concerns about supply chain shortages and the future post-COVID. “People shortages and material shortages and training - they’re going to be the biggest challenges moving forward and not necessarily challenges that can, or will, be fixed quickly,” he said. “I’m sure many sub-contractors are wondering how the next few months and beyond will play out.” After his two decades of involvement with the committee, Mr Tonkin-Hill would like to see more MBV members contemplate getting involved. “When I look at what I get out of my involvement, it’s the up-to-date information and insights that help me run my business, and that’s invaluable,” he said.