EngineeringSA The South Australia Division’s Newsletter
South Australia Division
June 2011 A Message From The President As I write this message we are part way through National Reconciliation Week, which is held every year in Australia to celebrate the rich culture and history of the first Australians, and to recognise the work that still needs to be done to turn around the disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. I have previously (in the April newsletter) drawn your attention to the fact that Engineers Australia has committed to developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) as our response to the challenge of closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. I am pleased to advise that this process is well-advanced and that a draft version of the RAP is available for review on the Engineers Australia website.
was challenged by this group to consider how Engineers Australia could be more influential in South Australia, a subject which is of strong interest to me also. I was able to point out that the Immediate Past President Doug Gillott FIEAust EngExec had recently started the Parliamentary Fellows program in response to this challenge, and that it is gaining momentum every month. We also talked about the Infrastructure Report Card as another example of Engineers Australia’s influence.
Here in South Australia we recently held a RAP workshop which was attended by senior representatives of 20 major engineering employers to share learnings in the important area of reconciliation, and what engineers in particular can contribute. I am extremely grateful to the people who attended this workshop. For those of you who are interested the workshop outputs are available on the Engineers Australia website. Two of the key outcomes from this workshop have been included in the draft RAP: maintaining ongoing contact with relevant local Indigenous groups to help inform future actions; and influencing government and corporate policies relating to Indigenous issues.
With all the media attention on the carbon tax, the discussion at the Past Presidents’ luncheon inevitably got around to the topic of energy security and climate change, two of the really big issues facing Australia at the present time. As we listen to the depressingly trivialised political debate, it highlights how much Australia needs engineers to ‘stand up and be counted’. Our venerable past presidents were strongly of the view that Australia should have a mature debate on the issue of nuclear energy, as one of the long term solutions to energy sustainability and climate change.
We were very fortunate to have Grant Paulson from Reconciliation Australia present to us at the RAP workshop. Grant confirmed that over 300 major companies and government organisations now have RAPs in place, and their impact is being clearly demonstrated. He also stressed that Reconciliation Australia consider Engineers Australia’s RAP to be very important, and a strong signal to other professional bodies. I understand that Reconciliation Australia met with the Prime Minister Julia Gillard during Reconciliation Week and highlighted the work that Engineers Australia is doing. I am pleased to report that our Construction Portfolio Group held a very successful lunch in May with senior representatives of local and national construction companies. Discussed at the luncheon was how Engineers Australia could be more relevant to engineers who choose a career in the construction sector. It was an excellent discussion and generated some good ideas, with the general consensus that joint events between Engineers Australia and the Civil Contractors Federation would be an excellent initiative, to enable engineers from both design and construction to share knowledge and learnings. I also had the privilege of hosting the annual Past Presidents’ luncheon at the Engineers Australia headquarters with 20 past presidents in attendance, including Skip Tonkin who was President in 1966. I
As countries develop strategies, polices and plans for lowering the carbon footprint of their energy supplies, it is increasingly becoming clear that nuclear power should be “ruled in” the mix of energy supplies. Indeed, the aged plant at Fukushima presents the opportunity to highlight the safety and resilience of current generation III nuclear technologies and the even better safety performance of planned generation IV reactors. We need to pave the way to enable the possibility of very long term capital investments in nuclear energy in the next decade, through developing regulatory and delivery capability, Finally, as I end this newsletter on the topic of influence and leadership, I would like to draw your attention to the upcoming Engineering Leadership Residential running Saturday 5th to Thursday 10th November 2011. The Engineering Leadership Residential is run by Engineering Education Australia and offers the opportunity for engineering leaders to hone their skills, learn from peers and apply skills to scenarios. Please visit www.eeaust.com.au for more details. Dr David Cruickshanks-Boyd FIEAust EngExec President Engineers Australia South Australia Division