IPWEA-QNT Branch Updates

IPWEA-QNT BRANCH MAP

2022 CQ WRAP UP

Thank you to the 130+ delegates who joined us in Gladstone at Central Queensland’s Premium business and entertainment venue, Gladstone Entertainment Convention Centre for the CQ Branch Conference.

Our delegates enjoyed 18 presentations across a twoday program, showcasing local projects and activities including presentations on signature projects: Philip Street Communities and Families Precinct by Erickson Noakes and Lee Griffiths, Gladstone Regional Council and Gladstone Region Coastal Adaption Study by Brent Tangey, Gladstone Regional Council.

Day one wrapped up with a Branch Conference dinner to be remember! Our Delegates enjoyed a tour of the Gladstone Maritime Museum followed by an incredible evening sunset and dinner at Auckland House.

Congratulations to Celisa Faulkner (Gladstone Regional Council), who won best paper for her presentation on “Robust Decisions Delivering Fit for Purpose Investments”. Celisa will present her paper at the 2022 Annual Conference held in Brisbane, 11-13 October.

Our events are successful because of the organisations that support and sponsor IPWEAQ. We would like to thank CQ Branch Conference sponsors, Gladstone Regional Council, GBA Consulting Engineers, and Shepherd.

We would also like to make special mention to our exhibitors for offering delegates an opportunity to hear about and experience what is available to improve local communities. We appreciate the raffle prizes that exhibitors donated for our charity raffle, where we were able to raise over $1,025 for Strengthening Rural Communities.

We were also delighted to present gifts to members who had achieved an IPWEAQ membership milestone during the last 12 months. A big congratulations and heartfelt thanks to Ian McMurtrie for 40 years of IPWEAQ membership. Congratulations to the below members on their milestones:

Celebrating 10 Years:

• Bruce Janke,

Bundaberg Regional Council • Tony Lau,

Livingstone Shire Council • Adam Doherty,

Dileigh Consulting Engineers

Celebrating 15 Years:

• Celisa Faulkner,

Gladstone Regional Council

Celebrating 40 Years:

• Ian McMurtrie,

McMurtrie Consulting

Engineers

2022 NQ WRAP UP

Thank you to the 120 delegates who braved the recent weather event and joined us at the Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre in Mackay for the NQ Branch Conference.

This rain held off for the Welcome Function which kicked off at the Mackay Hotel with good food, drinks and lively conversation, setting the scene for the two-day program ahead.

Day one began with showcasing local projects and activities including two keynote presentations on the Mackay Waterfront project by Kylie Rogers, Mackay Regional Council and the Mackay Mountain Bike Trail by Aletta Nugent, Mackay Regional Council. Day one concluded with

what has been the most animated Branch Conference dinner to date! Delegates enjoyed an exclusive, interactive Trivia Night run by QuizzaMe at Mackay’s Harrup Park. The hosts psychedelic suit helped warm up the crowd as teams battled it out for extra points and to be crowd the champions. Team ‘Simple Minds’ took the cake (much to the other team’s disgust) and team ‘The Right Guess’ took home the wooden spoon (quite literally)!

A special thank you to our exhibitors for offering delegates an opportunity to hear about and experience what is available to improve local communities.

We appreciate the raffle prizes that exhibitors donated for our charity raffle where we raised money for our President’s Charity, Strengthening Rural Communities.

Day 2 concluded with congratulations to Kylie Rogers from Mackay Regional Council who won best paper for her presentation on the “Mackay Waterfront Project”. Kylie will present her paper at the 2022 Annual Conference held in Brisbane, 11-13 October.

Our events are successful because of the organisations that support and sponsor IPWEAQ. Our sincere thanks again to our host council, Mackay Regional Council and our event sponsors, Premise and Shepherd.

We were also delighted to present gifts to members who had achieved an IPWEAQ membership milestone during the last 12 months. A big congratulations and heartfelt thanks to Dawson Wilkie for 35 years of IPWEAQ membership. Congratulations to the below members on their milestones:

Celebrating 5 Years:

• Chris Porter

Celebrating 15 Years:

• Sean Rice

Celebrating 35 Years:

• Dawson Wilkie

Celebrating 40 Years:

• Brian Bailey

SWQ/SEQ WRAP UP

Thank you, Toowoomba! The combined SWQ/ SEQ Branch Conference exceeded all previous brand conference records, with an incredible 283 delegates.

The conference kicked off with a choice of two incredible tech tours, eagerly attended by 80 delegates. The Toowoomba Regional Council Principal Depot’s tour allowed delegates to view the new depot, which replaced several ageing facilities inherited through the 2008 amalgamation of eight local Councils and is the co-location of over 500 staff.

Wagners CFT Facility hosted the second tour, where they are committed to manufacturing quality products that deliver smart outcomes for their customers. The facility includes a large range of products in colours to suit aesthetic needs, full in-house design capability, prefabrication and on-site installation. Wagners is credited with manufacturing and installing the world’s first composite road bridge in a public road network and the first clipon pedestrian walkway/cycleway onto an existing bridge.

Following the tours, we kicked off the Welcome Function at the Royal Hotel Toowoomba with good food, drinks and conversation. A huge thank you to Wagners for sponsoring the welcome event.

The conference proceedings began with a keynote presentation by Amy Bernier, Project Manager at Toowoomba Regional Council on the Kleinton Waste Management Facility. The presentation highlighted the $18 million project incorporates a new waste transfer station and involved the relocation of waste and the rehabilitation of the existing landfill. Designed for a 25-year life, it also includes an expansion option to cater for the waste service needs of the northern urban areas of the Toowoomba Region for the next 50 years.

Over the next two days, we heard 25 technical presentations and case studies. Congratulations to Nicholas Le Good from Department of Transport and Main Roads, who won best paper for his presentation on the “Captain Cook Bridge Refurbishment Works”. Nicholas will present his paper at the 2022 Annual Conference held in Brisbane, 11-13 October.

The Branch Conference dinner, sponsored by GenEng Solutions, was one to be remembered! Delegates were treated at the Pioneer Village for an unforgettable live charity auction and paranormal ghost tour. The tour encouraged participation in different communication methods and provided the