IPWEAQ UPDATES
NQ BRANCH PRESIDENT’S REPORT Glenda Kirk, NQ Branch President Director Infrastructure Services, Mareeba Shire Council
The NQ Branch was delighted to have the 2021 Annual Conference in Cairns, 12-14 October with 114 of the 433 delegates from the NQ branch and 15 of 23 NQ councils represented. The majority of delegates came from the SEQ Branch (219 including IPWEAQ staff). This year once again saw a record number of submissions for the Excellence Awards – 100 people and projects evidencing the strength of our sector. And our congratulations to NQ award recipients: • Cassowary Coast Regional Council for the Tully Grandstand – Highly Commended in Projects $5 $10 million (award sponsored by Reece Civil, Cairns) • Tablelands Regional Council for the Atherton Water Quality Improvement Plan Highly Commended in Projects $2 - $5 million. There were 17 submissions for NQ projects this year together with a nomination for Emerging Professional of the Year (Shaun Booth, ARO Industries) and St George Project Services was nominated for the inaugural Employer of the Year (Private Sector). All projects are featured in the 2022 Commemorative Book so please do take some time to learn more about the projects being delivered for our communities.
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Panel discussion – planning for resilient and sustainable communities in vulnerable locations.
We have 13 councils on the coastline so project submissions in the Coastal Engineering category, currently dominated by the City of Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast Council, would be great to see in 2022. The 2022 Excellence Awards program will be launched at the President’s Breakfast in Brisbane, 4 February 2022 with presentations from this year’s Engineer of the Year, Ross Uhlmann and Brisbane City Council discussing the Project of the Year, the Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade which will have plenty of tips on what makes an award-winning project and submission. While many of us are not able to travel to Brisbane for the President’s Breakfast, we can still participate hosting a satellite breakfast. Details will be circulated directly, and I encourage you to get together with your team, colleagues and clients, 7am to 9am Friday 4 February. Congratulations to NQ Branch committee member, Justin Fischer who delivered a convincing argument for the negative team in the Great Debate, technology will make engineering redundant. Another NQ branch member, Janice Wilson attempted to persuade us otherwise however a roomful of engineers, while appreciating some solid arguments were not likely to agree to any suggestion
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS | DEC 2021
that anything will ever replace an engineer. This final month of the year features an NQ project in the Every Community Needs an Engineer calendar - the Beames Brook Bridge, Burketown. A PW-TV episode on the bridge presented by Wade Arthur and Devinder Pal of TMR is available in the Knowledge Centre accessible for members. Thank you to all our members, Partners and sponsors for contributing to our ongoing growth and successes, and to the wider public works sector for being a part of our community. Best wishes to you and your family for a healthy 2022. And please also stay safe on our roads this Christmas. Upcoming PD: Pavement Rehabilitation Workshop
Cairns, 2 February 2022
Native Title & Cultural Heritage
Mackay, 15 February 2022
