Australasia Outlook Issue 8

AUSTRAL ASIA

iSSUe 08 | maY 2012 | WWW.aUStraLaSiaoUtLooK.Com

1

Bligh Street A striking new addition to Sydney’s skyline

also this issue

QUEENSLAND URBAN UTILITIES

LINGERIE FOOTBALL IT’S NO PILLOW FIGHT

TOP FIVE MYTHICAL MONSTER HOLIDAYS

BIOPHARMACEUTICALS AUSTRALIA

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Editorial

Editor Ian Armitage Editorial Assistant Clare Durrant Writers Colin Chinery Jane McCallion Tom Sturrock Laura Chubb Contributors Dr Anna Lavelle Adam Lovell

Business

Advertising Sales Nicholas Davies Editorial Researchers Luke Murray Maxime Dupois Brandon Bloch Sales administrators Katherine Ellis Daniel George

Accounts

Financial controller Suzanne Welsh

Production & Design

Magazine design – Optic Juice Production manager– Jon Cooke Images: Getty News: NZPA, AAP, SAPA

digital & IT

Head of digital marketing & development – Syed Ahmad

TNT Publishing

CEO - Kevin Ellis Chairman - Ken Hurst Publisher - TNT Multimedia Limited TNT Multimedia Limited, Unit 209, 16 Brune Street, London E1 7NJ

Enquiries

Telephone: 00 61 (0) 2 8332 7512 nicholas@tntdownunder.com

Welcome 1 Bligh… it’s easy on the eye 1 Bligh Street has transformed Sydney’s commercial landscape. It not only looks world-class but has been designed to perform that way too.

At 27 storeys high it isn’t exactly Sydney’s tallest but it is certainly one of its most beautiful.

The building is very easy on the eye – its elliptical double-skin façade form, conceived by German architectural firm Ingenhoven and Australian architects Architectus, was selected from a swathe of entries to an international design competition run by owner DEXUS and the City of Sydney in 2006.

It sparkles and glistens, day and night.

But 1 Bligh Street is much more than a pretty face. It is at the forefront of a new era of smarter buildings and every aspect of the tower was designed to optimise sustainability, performance and the environment.

“1 Bligh Street is built to Australia’s highest environmental standards,” says Frank Kotsis of Hastie Australia Pty Limited, the firm appointed mechanical contractor on the project. “Several environmentally friendly design features make 1 Bligh Street what it is.”

These “environmentally friendly design features” include the double-skin façade with automated solar control blinds, a naturally ventilated full-height atrium, rainwater recycling, a hybrid natural gas-fuelled tri-generation plant for combined heat, cooling, and power, and of course a hybrid air conditioning system.

“It was a challenge,” Kotsis says.

You can read more about Hastie and it’s work on 1 Bligh Street on page 24. It is a fascinating read.

This month we have a number of other exciting features for you, including a look at lingerie football, mythical monster holidays, Australia’s biotech industry and we catch up with the Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Urban Utilities, Ian Maynard.

Enjoy the magazine!

Ian Armitage Editor

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Telephone: 00 61 (0)2 8518 1223 nicholas@tntdownunder.com

www.australasiaoutlook.com

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ContentS

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Features 14

lingerie Football… it’s no pillow fight Lingerie Football is headed Down Under to seduce and convert

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top five mythical monster holidays The top five mythical monster holidays from around the world

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1 BliGH s t r E E t : H VA c i n n o VAt i o n Opened last July 1 Bligh Street is a striking new addition to Sydney’s skyline. Australasia Outlook talks to the project’s mechanical contractor

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MAKinG tHE Medicines oF tHE futurE BioPharmaceuticals Australia (BPA) is playing a key role in helping Queensland to develop the medicines of the future

car review: Alfa romeo spider The Alfa Romeo Spider is arguably one of the Italian carmaker’s last great classics

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A s s o c i At i o n forEWorD

Focus Manufacturing

neWs

Cover

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AusBiotech

EAu yEs!

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A s s o c i At i o n forEWorD

Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Urban Utilities Ian Maynard talks about the challenges facing the utility

WSAA

Focus utilities

40

News B u s i n e s s

Unions blast Qantas job cuts Qantas’ decision to axe 500 jobs as part of a restructure of its heavy maintenance facilities in Victoria and Queensland has sparked an angry response from unions who say the job cuts would adversely affect the maintenance of Qantas aircraft and even threaten national security.

The Qantas Engineers Alliance, which is made up of members from three unions, urged the federal government to intervene to safeguard Australia’s capacity to maintain aircraft.

Alliance member and Australian Workers Union Victorian branch secretary Cesar Melham was amongst those concerned.

“Our concern is that this decision is the thin edge of wedge as fleets start to be retired,” he said in a statement.

“We are likely to see further loss of jobs at other sites and we have no guarantees from Qantas about how they will ensure the long-term viability of aircraft maintenance in this country.”

“We are calling on government to immediately intervene. This should be done in the interests of our nation’s capability and future security.”

The bulk of the job cuts - 422 - will go from Qantas’ heavy maintenance base at Tullamarine airport in Melbourne while another 113 jobs are being axed at its base at Avalon.

However, 30 new line maintenance jobs will be created in Melbourne and five in Sydney. Others are expected to open up at Qantas’ operations in Brisbane as a result of 737 heavy maintenance moving there.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union national secretary Paul Bastian described Qantas’ decision as short sighted.

“Not only does it have a devastating impact on workers at Tullamarine and their families, it threatens the very capability of Australia to continue to maintain its aircraft,” he said.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce called on unions to back the airline’s controversial plans and said they reinforced the airline’s commitment to keeping maintenance jobs in Australia instead of sending them offshore.

“We should be getting all the support we can to maximise the jobs in Australia,” Mr Joyce said.

“We know we have to move to one maintenance facility over time,” he added.

6

E u r o z o n e c r i s i s

Europe must pursue growth says Swan Australian treasurer Wayne Swan has called on eurozone countries to pursue growth and strengthen their economies following a meeting of G8 leaders in the US. He told parliament the global economy faced “profound” challenges that had been underscored in recent weeks by further events in Greece, Spain and across the European community.

“Here in Australia, they have been our imperative from day one of the global financial crisis,” Swan said.

“The prime minister and I will continue through the G20 to ensure that European leaders meet their commitments and they do put jobs and growth to their forefront of their decision making.”

The G8 summit held at the US presidential retreat of Camp David acknowledged that growth and jobs must be the “imperative” for the global economy.

The government has forecast a 0.75 percent contraction in European growth this year.

P r o pe r t y

Westpac cuts fixed mortgage rates

Westpac has cut its interest rates on its short term fixed rate home loans by up to 20 basis points.

The bank said the rate on its three-year fixed rate loan would drop from 6.39 percent to 6.19 percent, effective immediately.

The new three-year fixed rate is Westpac’s lowest for three years.

The rate on one-year fixed rate loans would drop 15 basis points to 6.19 percent.

A s i a

Japan government upgrades its view of economy Japan has upgraded its view of the economy for the first time in nine months following better than expected growth figures.

Its economy grew 1.0 percent between January and March compared with the previous three months as government spending helped fuel a gradual recovery from last year’s earthquake and tsunami.

But the cabinet’s monthly economic report warned that increasing uncertainty over Europe’s financial picture, a strong yen and rising oil prices may hamper a recovery for the world’s third-largest economy.

“The Japanese economy is on the way to a recovery at a

E u r o z o n e c r i s i s

Investors braced for more market falls More than A$120 billion was wiped off the share market in May, with shareholders braced for more turbulence as Europe tries to sort out its debt crisis.

Australian shares dropped to their lowest level for six months on May 18 in response to falls on Europe’s main stock markets and the euro hitting a fourmonth low against the US dollar.

About A$35 billion was wiped off the value of local shares as the market tumbled by 2.6 percent.

Since hitting its peak for the year on May 2, the market has shed about A$121 billion.

Brokers predict the falls will continue at least until the next round of elections are held in Greece on June 17 and a more definite picture emerges about whether the debt-laden country will remain in the eurozone.

moderate pace,” said the report.

Japan’s economic expansion comes amid a rise in demand for its products in Asia and a slowly recovering United States.

The report warned however the yen was edging back towards the record highs it touched against the dollar last year, making Japanese products pricier overseas, while debt turmoil ravages Europe, a key export market.

“Uncertainties over the European crisis and its impact on financial markets are increasing again, and we must be very careful about that,” a ministry official said.

B u s i n e s s

James Hardie profit beats expectations Building products maker James Hardie Industries has posted a significantly improved full year profit due to a favourable ruling in a long-running tax dispute.

James Hardie posted a net profit of A$613.16 million for the year to March 31, up from a loss of A$352.09 million in the previous corresponding period.

The result was boosted by a A$492.31 million benefit from a legal victory against the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in March.

Net operating profit excluding legal- and asbestosrelated issues in the year to March was A$142.46 million, up 20 percent from A$118.41 million in the previous corresponding period.

Analysts had forecast a net profit of about A$140.02 million.

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News A s i a

B u s i n e s s

Carr hopeful China will accept Huawei ban

BHP Billiton pulls out of Queensland JV

Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr is hopeful China will eventually accept a decision to ban Huawei Technologies Ltd from bidding for work on the National Broadband Network.

The decision was criticised last month as being “unjust” by China’s Commerce Ministry.

“I think it is indisputable that China is concerned about this and objects to the decision we made,” Senator Carr told ABC Television’s 7.30 programme.

He maintained the Australian government was entitled to make the decision given Huawei’s involvement could compromise national security.

“I don’t think any other country in the world would have made a different decision in the circumstances,” he said.

“And I’d like to think on the bottom line, after due consideration, the Chinese would accept this.”

Huawei is the second largest telecommunications company in the world behind Sweden’s Ericsson.

BHP Billiton has backed away from a joint venture project in north Queensland amid doubts about its potential.

BHP’s minerals division had partnered with Breakaway Resources for the Altia project, 70km southeast of Cloncurry.

The decision by BHP to withdraw from the joint venture came just a day after the company’s chairman Jac Nasser said the resources giant would not spend the A$80 billion it had planned for growth projects up until 2015.

In a statement Breakaway said BHP made its decision after carrying out a commercial and technical review.

“While the drilling has demonstrated that the Altia deposit lies within a broad mineralised system with silver-lead-zinc mineralisation now drilled over 1,200 metres strike length and to a vertical depth of 800 metres, BHP Billiton believes there is limited potential for the discovery of mineable widths of high-grade silver mineralisation at depth that meets their commercial criteria,” Breakaway said.

B u s i n e s s

Australia to be ‘world’s largest LNG exporter’ Australia will be the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of the decade says the vice president of Exxon Mobil, the world’s biggest petroleum company.

The emergence of natural gas as a power source was a decisive shift in the history of energy Exxon Mobil’s Asia Pacific, Africa and Power head Emma Cochrane said.

She also said the prospect of renewable energy sources becoming reliable or affordable enough to generate meaningful amounts of 8

power in the next 30 years was unrealistic.

“Australia will supply onefifth of global LNG supply by 2020, it’s been an amazing growth story,” she said.

“That would make it the largest LNG exporter in the world ... with Asia the biggest gas market by 2040.”

Massive investments in committed capital expenditure have already been made in LNG projects around Australia. Exxon is itself a partner in the Gorgon LNG project off Australia’s northwest coast.

Ms Cochrane said she was confident that natural gas was the fastest-growing energy source and demand will have increased by 60 percent by 2040, surpassing thermal coal.

“With 60 percent fewer emissions than coal it has important environmental implications,” she added.

B u s i n e s s

S c i e n c e

Panel to review Brisbane rail project

Tasmanian scientist helps prove Mars had water

The Queensland government has appointed a new panel to examine the affordability of Brisbane’s Cross River Rail project but denied it is in doubt.

The panel, appointed by Australian Transport Minister Scott Emmerson, will report back on June 13.

He said the panel would analyse problems plaguing the rail system, consider available options and assess the business case already prepared for the project.

Mr Emmerson said it was unlikely the state could afford the A$6.4 billion price tag.

“While a solution to the city’s rail network constraints must be found, an LNP government will be absolutely sure the numbers stack up before committing to a multibillion dollar project,” he said in a statement.

The former Labor government originally billed the project at A$7.7 billion.

But a study by Australia’s chief infrastructure assessment group, Infrastructure Australia, revised the price down to A$6.4 billion in March.

F o o d

KFC ordered to pay poisoned girl A$8.3m KFC has been ordered to pay A$8 million damages after a judge found a Sydney girl was left severely brain damaged after eating a Twister chicken wrap.

Justice Stephen Rothman found a Twister bought by her father on October 24, 2005 was the source of the salmonella poisoning of Monika Samaan, now 14.

“The plaintiff has been severely disabled at a very young age and as a result of her injuries, it is clear she will never enjoy the normal life that was expected of her prior to this catastrophic event,” he concluded in the NSW Supreme Court.

KFC has indicated it will appeal the judge’s liability finding, leading the family to express its distress through its lawyer George Vlahakis.

“Monika’s severe brain damage and severe disability has already exhausted the very limited resources of the family,” he said in a statement.

“Monika is now a big girl and they are finding it increasingly difficult to lift her and to look after her basic needs as well as look after Monika’s younger siblings.

“The compensation ordered is very much needed.

“KFC have to date been determined that Monika does not receive a cent.”

KFC, which is owned by Yum! Brands, expressed surprise at the judge’s ruling, insisting the evidence did not show it caused Monika’s disability.

An international team of scientists, including one from Tasmania, says it has proved that water once flowed on the surface of Mars.

Paulo de Souza is a co-author of a paper published in the prestigious journal Science that reports findings from the rover Opportunity’s analysis of a huge crater on the planet.

Opportunity found the mineral gypsum, a key indicator of the presence of water in the past.

“There are a large number of craters on Mars which are well preserved,” Professor De Souza said.

“For geologists it is as if time has stopped. The crater rims have not been eroded by the elements as they have been on Earth.

“When you see the deposits you can understand which processes took place.

“Key minerals revealing wet processes could be everywhere on Mars but we don’t know - it is too deep below that surface, that’s why exploring craters is so attractive.”

It took the rover seven years to navigate the 33 kilometres from its landing spot to the rim of the crater known as Endeavour.

Opportunity is still exploring the Martian surface eight years after it landed in 2004.

9

News P o l i t i c s

Aboriginal protest sweeps Brisbane Protesters evicted from an Aboriginal tent embassy have marched to Queensland’s parliament.

Only about 50 protesters remained after the eviction from Musgrave Park in South Brisbane on May 16, which saw 31 arrests.

The group, which was making a statement about indigenous sovereignty, had been warned they needed to move on for the annual Paniyiri Greek festival, after occupying the site for two months.

Aboriginal activist Sam Watson wondered why 250 police were necessary to move the group on.

Some protesters said excessive force was used.

“Even in the face of enormous provocation our men and women, and non-indigenous supporters, we’re peaceful,” Watson said.

“There was no need for those 250 heavily armed police to be there.”

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he asked the police to act, but only after a meeting with elders last week and visiting the protest site on Saturday to warn an eviction was planned.

He said he was in step with local community elders, and out-of-towners and known

“professional protesters” were behind the trouble.

“The people engaged in the tent city are coordinated and organised by out-of-towners. They did not have the full support of the elders of this city by any means,” he told reporters.

“It’s fair to say that this has potentially tried to drive a wedge between Brisbane people and our indigenous elders and I do not want that to happen.

“I don’t believe that has happened and it certainly won’t damage the relationship I have with the elders of this city in any way.”

Unemployment hits lowest level in a year Australian unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in a year.

The surprise drop prompted economists to suggest that the unemployment rate may have peaked for the time being.

The unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 4.9 percent in April, down from March’s unrevised figure of 5.2 percent, after an additional 10,500 Australians found jobs, official data found.

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The fall in the jobless rate, as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), caught economists by surprise.

HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said the data was a good sign for employment trends in Australia.

“It looks as though the unemployment rate may have peaked mid to late last year, and is now headed down,” he said.

P o l i t i c s

Afghan troop withdrawal ‘on track’ A joint statement by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Defence Minister Stephen Smith says that Australia’s target of transferring full security responsibility for Oruzgan province to Afghan forces “by the end of 2014 and possibly earlier” was on track.

Mr Smith said all of Oruzgan province had been included in the third tranche of provinces and districts announced by Afghan President Hamid Karzai where Afghan security forces will now progressively take full

responsibility. “Our analysis remains that we believe that in Oruzgan we can transition to Afghan-led security responsibility by 2014, if not earlier,” he said.

Ms Gillard said the inclusion of Oruzgan reflects the progress made by Afghan, Australian and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) teams in improving security and training Afghan National Security Forces.

But she says the transition is a gradual process, not an event, and will be achieved when conditions are right on

Sp o r t

Hussey sued by agent Australian batsman David Hussey’s former agent is reportedly suing the big-hitting Twenty20 specialist for more than A$300,000.

Essentially Sports Management Australia (ESMA) claims Hussey failed to pay percentages of his contracts with Cricket Australia, Cricket Victoria, bat manufacturer Gray Nicholls and Indian Premier League (IPL) team King’s XI Punjab as agency fees between 2008 to 2012.

The bulk of ESMA’s claim is $US280,000, resulting from Hussey’s A$2.8 million playing contract with his IPL team for the 2011, 2012 season.

ESMA is seeking a further A$140,000 should the IPL franchise extend his contract to the 2013 season.

ESMA negotiated contract details and sought commercial opportunities on Hussey’s behalf from 2005 to June 30 2011, according to the writ issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Hussey, 34, has scored 1353 runs in 48 one-day internationals for Australia. He also plays T20 for Australia and for the Melbourne Stars in the domestic league and is regarded as one of the top international players in the shortened form of the game.

a province-by-province and district-by-district basis.

“As transition gets underway in Oruzgan, Australia’s Mentoring Task Force and special operations forces will support Afghan National Security Forces as they progressively take the lead for security,” Ms Gillard said in the statement.

“As ISAF has said the complete process of transition in an area can take 12 to 18 months meaning that Australia’s target of completing transition in Oruzgan by the end of 2014, and possibly earlier, is on track.”

L i f e s t y le

Clive Palmer to build Titanic II Mining billionaire Clive Palmer, who is one of Australia’s richest men, has commissioned a Chinese state-owned company to build what the media has labelled “Titanic II” - a 21st Century version of the ill-fated liner.

According to reports, construction will start at the end of next year.

It would be ready to set sail in 2016.

Palmer has signed a memorandum of understanding with CSC Jinling Shipyard to construct the ship.

“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st Century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” he said in a statement.

The plan is for the vessel to be as similar as possible to the original Titanic in design and specifications, but with modern technology.

11

News L i f e s t y le

Vic gambler fails to recover millions

A Gold Coast businessman who turned over almost A$1.5 billion in 14 months at Melbourne’s Crown Casino has lost his bid to recover more than A$20 million he lost there.

Property developer Harry Kakavas spent A$1.479 billion on 30 separate visits to Crown between June 2005 and August 2006, winning and losing vast sums, but ultimately accruing losses of A$20.5 million, a Melbourne court has heard.

Mr Kakavas claimed Crown knew he suffered from pathological gambling and lured him back to the casino with the use of a private jet and cash and entertainment gifts.

But the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier Supreme Court decision that the casino did not take advantage of his gambling habits.

Appeal judge Justice Bernard Bongiorno said Mr Kakavas alleged his pathological gambling condition impaired his ability to make rational decisions about the amount of money he gambled.

Mr Kakavas would gamble six-figure sums on hands of baccarat, which take a matter of seconds to play.

But Justice Bongiorno said the fact Mr Kakavas was able to negotiate favourable terms for himself at Crown demonstrated his ability to make decisions in his best interest.

“When gambling at Crown he had negotiated the terms on which he gambled and had threatened to and in fact had withheld his custom from Crown when he did not get what he wanted,” Justice Bongiorno said.

“These are not the characteristics of someone unable to conserve his own interests.”

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L i f e s t y le

ANZ cuts home, business rates ANZ has cut its standard variable home loan and business lending rates by 37 basis points.

The bank’s standard variable home loan rate has been cut to 7.05 percent and follows the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision on May 1 to cut the cash rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 percent.

None of the big-four retail banks passed on the RBA cut in full.

ANZ chief executive Australia Philip Chronican said: “We continue to work hard to ensure we are competitive despite sustained funding pressure driven by the high rates we are paying to our 2.9 million deposit customers relative to the Reserve Bank’s cash rate and the ongoing volatility in wholesale money markets.”

Crocodile Dundee star settles tax dispute Actor Paul Hogan has finally settled his differences with Australia’s taxman following an eight-year row.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) was chasing the Crocodile Dundee star and artistic collaborator John Cornell over A$150 million in alleged unpaid taxes and penalties dating from the 1980s.

The pair were the highest profile targets of Operation Wickenby, a multimillion-dollar fraud probe launched by the ATO in 2004.

Hogan and Cornell issued a statement through their lawyer, Andrew Robinson.

“Paul Hogan and John Cornell are pleased to advise that following a mediation before ex High Court Judge, the Honourable Michael McHugh AC QC, they and their related entities have reached a settlement with the Commissioner of Taxation,” the statement said.

The agreement was reached on a “without admission” basis.

s p o r t

Australia announces one-day squad

Cricket Australia has announced its squads for the upcoming tours of England by the national oneday team and the Australia A side.

Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has won back a spot in the Australian ODI squad, having not played since the tour of South Africa late last year.

He was then sidelined for six months after undergoing major foot surgery.

“Mitchell Johnson is a very good cricketer with a great record and we want to see him back,” said Australian chairman of selectors John Inverarity.

NSW leg-spinning allrounder Steve Smith has also been included in the Australian team.

Michael Clarke’s side will play a one-day international against Ireland on June 23 in Belfast, followed by five ODIs against England.

Ed Cowan will captain the Australia A team, which will play four first-class matches in England in August.

Highly-regarded Tasmanian wicketkeeper Tim Paine has also earned a call-up for Australia

A after a long stint on the sidelines due to a finger injury.

Australia A will play two three-day games against English counties and two four-day matches against the England Lions in July and August.

FULL SQUADS Australia (ODIs against England and Ireland in June-July): Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson, George Bailey, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mike Hussey, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

Australia A (first-class matches in England in July-August): Ed Cowan (capt), Peter Forrest, George Bailey, Jackson Bird, Joe Burns, Tom Cooper, Patrick Cummins, Ben Cutting, Liam Davis, Jon Holland, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Klinger, Nathan Lyon, Tim Paine, James Pattinson , Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

Gilchrist says his playing days are over Melbourne Renegades’ hopes of signing Adam Gilchrist for the Big Bash League appear dashed following Gilchrist’s announcement his playing days are over.

Renegades chairman James Brayshaw said in May that he hoped to get the big-hitting

former international star in the Renegades’ lineup this summer.

However the 40-year-old has said in India that his playing days with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League are over and he has played his last game of cricket.

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Lingerie Football is headed Down Under to seduce and convert.

By Tom Sturrock

14

B

usiness is booming. It is, with only a hint of hyperbole, America’s fastest growing sport and now it’s got designs on global domination.

Women in sport often play second fiddle to the fellas but here we have a football code – seven against seven full-contact American gridiron – breaking pay-per-view records and growing with alarming speed since it arrived just three years ago. The kicker, of course, is that it’s played by models in their underwear.

The Lingerie Football League is the brainchild of Mitch Mortaza, a technology exec who cashed in during the internet boom of the 1990s before dipping his toe into the world of sports marketing. His venture began with a one-off Lingerie Bowl in 2004, its success emboldening him to set up a full-time league with 10 franchises, all with ’sexy’ names like Chicago Bliss and

Lingerie FootbaLL

it’s no

Lingerie Football…

pillow fight

Orlando Fantasy, telecast to 43 countries worldwide.

“It’s been an incredible ride.

To start with, people told us that no stadium would book our events and we’d never find models willing to put their bodies on the line to play football,” Mortaza admits. “But it’s all happened and then some.

It started out almost taboo but has turned mainstream – we’re outpacing WWE and UFC after their first three seasons.

“I thought I would need to have a 10-year plan; I expected

to run out of money and have to beg, borrow and steal. But now we’re expanding already.

The appetite internationally has been incredible.”

Indeed, in April Mortaza took his roadshow to Sydney to build anticipation for two All-Star games to be played in Brisbane and Sydney in June. And then, in early 2013, Australia’s own league, with teams to be based in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth will kick off. Impressively, a world series in Brazil is also in the pipeline,

with as many as 65,000 expected to show up.

Mortaza seems like he’s on to a winner but there’s still plenty of scepticism – after all, it’s hot girls running around in their pants, not real sport. Right?

“These girls are serious athletes – 98 percent competed at college level,” Mortaza insists.

“Does it objectify women? Most people who ask that haven’t seen a game. When you see how seriously they take the game – of course we use sex appeal to sell the product and get attention, 15

Lingerie Football

“Of course we use sex appeal to sell the product and get attention, but unless we were a real sport that demanded real athleticism, it wouldn’t grow”

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but unless we were a real sport that demanded real athleticism, it wouldn’t grow.”

Chloe Butler (pictured), hails from far north Queensland, where she grew up playing rugby, and later represented Australia in track and field.

Now, though, she runs around for the Los Angeles Temptation, the three-time reigning champions, where she plays as an inside and outside receiver and won all-star selection in her second year.

“Marketing is a huge part of all sport,” the 24-year-old says, batting away the reservations about the seriousness of a sport where competitors are in their underwear. “Look at someone like David Beckham. He’s made a few bucks by taking his shirt off. I was a runner and a gymnast and this isn’t that different. I’m an athlete and my body is my asset.”

A brief glimpse of Butler’s highlights reel confirms that she, like all her teammates and opponents, is eye-wateringly fit.

The girls might be wearing lycra but there are no high heels or bling and the athleticism is hard to question.

“It’s for real – we’re tough girls,” Butler says. “Sometimes girls show up to try out and just want to do the glamorous side of it but they last about five minutes and we have a giggle at them. “Yes, I’ve had a wardrobe malfunction – I lost my pants after a touchdown.

But once you’re in the zone, you forget about it. It’s intense – we’ve had girls with fractured ribs and smashed noses, we get girls with concussion.”

Lingerie Football has attracted predictable criticism for its supposed devaluing of mainstream women’s sport by

Failure is not an option – Mortaza backs his show Australian crowds may not be immediately convinced but, either way, they’re going to get plenty of chances to change their minds and embrace Lingerie Football.

The Aussie league is bound to make a high-visibility splash and Mitch Mortaza (above) is confident of finding enough players with the right blend of telegenic athleticism to fill the new franchises.“We’re using the same formula in Australia as what worked in the US,” he says. “There are a ton of women with that athletics background

peddling the implicit assumption that crowds will only tune in if the competitors are sexy.

In Lingerie Football, so the critics say, the sex appeal isn’t just the cherry on top – there’s no sundae without it. But Adrian Purnell, another former track

but who have maybe hit that ceiling in terms of the notoriety they can achieve.”

That American football is tactically complex and mostly unfamiliar to Australian women is, according to Mortaza, no obstacle.

They will learn on the job.

“As along as you have that intensity and athletic, we’ll teach you the game. Within 10 years, we expect this will be a major product that sits alongside the football codes.”

and field star, now a linebacker for the Tampa Breeze, is forthright when it comes to her footballing bona fides and her lack of concerns about the attire.

“Maybe people come for the uniforms but they come back for the product,” she says. “We’re

all comfortable in our skin and it keeps the crowds around. I’ve been a cheerleader since I was seven years old and had my stomach showing so it doesn’t bother me at all.”

Even the dressing rooms, brimming with 20-something women in their smalls, are, according to Purnell, proper football inner sanctums, admittedly without the jockstraps and flicking towels.

“Every dressing room is different – some are pretty controlled while others have music blasting and it’s like a party. I like to turn up my music real loud and just get angry,” Purnell says. “But there are no pillowfights if that’s what you’re asking and we don’t have sleepovers.”

The more players such as Purnell and Butler insist that running around in their underwear is no big deal, the more it seems like Lingerie Football is one of the safest bets around. After all, months before the first Australian bra strap has been twanged, Lingerie Football sounds more bankable than the A-League and no more contrived than T20 cricket.

17

Top five

mythical monster holidays

The top five mythical monster holidays from around the world. Go in search of these beasts if you dare...

By Laura Chubb 18

top FiVe mYthiCaL monSter hoLidaYS

1 Yeti, Himalayas A creature that also goes by the name of ‘the Abominable Snowman’ might not immediately strike paralysing, pant-peeing fear into our hearts, but yeti sightings have been doing the rounds for hundreds of years – and the myth just won’t die, with ‘evidence’ piling up over the centuries.

‘Found’ in the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet, the yeti was worshipped in pre-Buddhist times by several communities. But it was in the early 20th century that legend of the beast swept the West, as explorers began scaling the mountains of the region. Hysteria peaked in 1951 when distinguished Brit mountaineer Eric Shipton photographed large animal prints in the snow as he attempted to climb Everest.

Fast forward to the 21st century and the lore lives on. Recent sightings have placed the yeti roaming as far east as the highlands of Thailand and Laos, and in 2007, the team behind US TV show Destination Truth claimed to have stumbled upon 25cm-wide footprints – complete with five toes –

in the Everest region of Nepal. That said, the show has also pursued mermaids, werewolves and the Mongolian death worm, so it might not be the most trustworthy source.

If you fancy mounting your own yeti-hunting expedition in the Himalayas be sure to swing by the Khumjung monastery in north-eastern Nepal, where what is purported to be the scalp of a yeti is proudly displayed in a glass case.

However, it seems the yeti may have started to stray further north. The Daily Mail reported in October 2011 that an international team of scientists was mounting an investigation into the yeti in Siberia, following a rise in sightings around the Kemerovo region, 3000 miles east of Moscow. The pesky biped had apparently been making a nuisance of itself, stealing scores of sheep and hens from villagers.

Still, for your best shot at spotting the beast, the snowy peaks of Everest and Annapurna have produced the most sightings. Trek there if you dare …

tourism.gov.np

19

top FiVe mYthiCaL monSter hoLidaYS

2 ogopogo, Canada This lake monster was first spotted by Canada’s Aboriginal peoples in the 19th century and is said to measure 50ft in length.

Swimming in the waters of Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia, the creature is most unusual for producing a group sighting in 1926, when 30 people claimed to have seen Ogopogo all at once.

No word on whether they’d eaten a heap of mushrooms for lunch.

tourismkelowna.com

3 nessie, Scotland The Loch Ness Monster first went public in 1933 when a Londoner who had been holidaying in the Scottish Highlands told the local rag about “the nearest approach to a dragon or pre-historic animal that I have ever seen”.

The Surgeon’s Photograph – snapped in 1934 – has long been established as a fake, although a sonar image showing a 5ft-wide unidentified object in the loch landed the monster back in the headlines last month.

visitlochness.com

20

4 Bigfoot, California Also known as Sasquatch, this 6-10ft tall (depending on whose account you read) shaggy-haired ape has been largely ‘encountered’ in the Pacific north-west of the US. The most famous sighting was in Bluff Creek, California, in 1967, when Bigfoot enthusiast Roger Patterson caught the beast on film – lucky, seeing as he’d self-published a book about Bigfoot only the year before. Most sightings have been concentrated around this part of northern California.

visitcalifornia.co.uk

5 tatzelworm, the alps Locals in the Swiss, Bavarian, Italian and Austrian Alps have been reporting sightings of this 2-5ft worm-like lizard since the 1920s.

The worm is apparently as thick as an arm and has a cat-like head. In the 50s farmers as far south as Sicily complained of a serpent with a feline head that had attacked their pigs.

So, either ski with an eye out for the hole-dwelling creature, or ask the Sicilian farming community for a few slugs of the homemade hooch they must’ve been chugging.

thealps.com; bestofsicily.com

21

A real

head turner

The Alfa Romeo Spider is arguably one of the Italian carmaker’s last great classics, taking up the challenge in the convertible two-seater segment dominated until the late 1970s by the Triumph Spitfire.

By Ian Armitage

22

The Alfa Romeo Spider

O

riginally presented by the Pininfarina design studio in 1966, the Alfa Romeo Spider was produced for 27 years until production was finally ceased in 2010.

Alfa Romeo has a wellearned reputation for producing gorgeous cabrios and even problems like the fact the generator saps battery power

have not been enough to sway true fans of the Alfa Spider.

The Spider’s a head turner and it is viewed as the classic Italian droptop. Its basic Pininfarina form was maintained until 1994 when the modernised version number five, based on the Alfa 159, came along. In 2006 came the sixth generation that was also given a facelift in 2008 and a sixgear automatic transmission with diesel engine option.

On the used car market an Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0 Twin Spark Base of 2004 with an output of 110 kW/150 hp can still sell for around A$10,546. A last generation roadster 3.2 JTS V6 24V Q4 from 2008 will sell for about A$29,000.

An original Spider Duetto from 1966 in a good condition will sell for about A$22,000.

It is easy for enthusiasts to love Alfas – and we’ll understand if you choose to buy (or even sell) one.

23

1

Bligh Street:

HVaC innoVation in PraCtiCE

24

haStie aUStraLia

Opened last July 1 Bligh Street is a striking new addition to Sydney’s skyline. Australasia Outlook talks to the project’s mechanical contractor - and ARBS Industry Awards Finalists for 2012 - Hastie Australia about the building’s innovative HVAC system and its green credentials.

By Ian Armitage

“1 Bligh Street is built to australia’s highest environmental standards. there really was nothing like this before”

Focus Construction

A

t 27 storeys high 1 Bligh Street isn’t exactly Sydney’s tallest but it is certainly one of its most beautiful buildings and a striking addition to the city’s already world famous skyline.

The building is very easy on the eye – its elliptical double-skin façade form, conceived by German architectural firm Ingenhoven and Australian architects Architectus, was selected from a swathe of entries to an international design competition run by owner DEXUS and the City of Sydney in 2006.

It sparkles and glistens, day and night.

But 1 Bligh Street is much more than a pretty face; it is at the forefront of a new era of smarter buildings and every aspect of the tower was designed to optimise sustainability, performance and the environment.

“1 Bligh Street is built to Australia’s highest environmental standards,” says Frank Kotsis of Hastie Australia Pty Limited, the firm appointed mechanical contractor on the project. “There really was nothing like this before.”

25

haStie aUStraLia

ELECTROMASTER Electromaster is a vital partner with Hastie Group on the No. 1 Bligh development and we are proud to be associated with the construction of a building that also looks towards the sustainability of the environment.

Electromaster is now a major force in electrical for mechanical services in both NSW and WA, as well as electrical for building services in NSW. Our ability to combine the various areas of electrical work, complete with switchboard manufacturing, makes Electromaster a unique company proud of its reputation within the industry.

Australian buildings are evaluated using National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), he says, and this building is targeting the highest NABERS and GREEN STAR ratings possible.

“Several environmentally friendly design features make 1 Bligh Street what it is,” Kotsis explains.

These “environmentally friendly design features” include the double-skin façade with automated solar control blinds, a naturally ventilated full-height atrium, rainwater recycling, a hybrid natural gas-fuelled tri-generation plant for combined heat, cooling, and power, and of course a hybrid air conditioning system.

The office spaces are conditioned using chilled beams at the building’s perimeter zone and a variable-air volume system in the interior.

26

ELECTROMASTER

Electromaster specialises in: • Electrical services • 24hr Breakdown service • Mechanical & electrical • Industrial projects • Computer installations • Commercial projects • Automatic controls • Domestic installations • Complete custom switchboard design and manufacture Celebrating 40 Years of Service to the Electrical Industry 1972-2012 Electrical Engineers & Contractors 127 Victoria Road, Marrickville, NSW, Australia 2204 Phone: +61 2 9569 3911 Fax: +61 2 9560 0819 Web: www.electromaster.com.au

It is a complex, high-tech hybrid system.

“It was a challenge,” Kotsis says. “The unusual architectural design of the building was a difficult one for the mechanical services design and installation and its shape demanded an innovative HVAC solution. It was almost impossible to provide a set-out based on the traditional way we used to have in other square buildings where the lift shaft or building core was used as a reference point so we did something unique and used GPS technology to provide a set-out plan for ductwork, pipework and the chilled beam configuration. It worked.”

His team faced the challenge of coordinating the major plant on the project too.

“That was a major challenge, coordinating the major plant

“it was almost impossible to provide a set-out based on the traditional way we used to have in other square buildings where the lift shaft or building core was used as a reference point so we did something unique and used GPS technology to provide a set-out plan for ductwork, pipework and the chilled beam configuration. it worked”

27

haStie aUStraLia

such as the tri-generation system, blackwater recycling plant and evacuated solar tubes,” Kotsis says. “The precise coordination of diffusers was particularly critical in avoiding disruption of passive chilled beam operation, and the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) proved extremely valuable.”

He says that, with the building shape and complex structure, it (BIM) was the natural solution.

“We have an experienced team who assisted the builder and other trades to resolve all issues. In our opinion, this level of coordination could not have been accomplished successfully in traditional 2D format.

“The hybrid solution is innovative and it works very well.”

Unsurprisingly the awards have been flowing in. Hastie was an ARBS Industry Awards Finalists for 2012.

“ARBS are the organisers of Australia’s trade exhibition for the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, refrigeration and building services industries,” says Kotsis. “We were nominated in the HVAC Project Excellence category and are proud to have been nominated.”

He says that 1 Bligh Street sets a new benchmark for A-grade sustainable office space. We agree.

“Hastie Australia is a leading air conditioning contractor in Australia,” he says. “We pride ourselves on providing 28

Focus Construction

“We pride ourselves on providing friendly service and true value to our clients”

friendly service and true value to our clients.

With high standards of engineering and project management, we have the in-house expertise to deliver on the most challenging and complex projects as 1 Bligh Street shows. We are one of Australia’s leading air conditioning installation companies and from our founding in 1970 we have grown to become an international company providing major project delivery and maintenance in Australia, New Zealand and internationally.

Our ability to tailor air conditioning solutions to suit any requirement is what differentiates us in the market. Customers trust us to get the job done.”

Hastie’s mantra is simple he says: “Exceed client expectations in all of our business activities and provide the highest level of service, quality, expertise and safety.”

Hastie has been responsible for such landmarks as the Australian Stock Exchange, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Citigroup Building, Sydney International Airport Terminal and the Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour.

Overseas, it has completed projects including as the Australian Embassies in Vietnam and China, Saigon Towers in Vietnam and the Earth Relay Station in Kazakhstan. to learn more visit www.hastiegroup.com.au.

29

Making the of the future

Australasia Outlook learns how BioPharmaceuticals Australia (BPA) is playing a key role in helping Queensland to develop the medicines of the future.

By Ian Armitage

30

biopharmaCeUtiCaLS aUStraLia

Focus Manufacturing

T

he Australian government has identified the biopharmaceutical industry as key to the country’s future but at present an estimated A$15-30 million goes offshore every year to contract manufacturers of biologic drugs and bio therapeutic compounds in clinical development.

Brisbane’s A$354 million Translational Research Institute (TRI) will play “a significant role” in turning that around.

Once built, it will be home to Australia’s first major contract manufacturing facility for biologic drugs and therapeutics.

“The GMP facility is being built by BioPharmaceuticals Australia (BPA) and will be colocated with the Translational Research Institute on the Princess Alexandria Hospital campus in Brisbane,” says David Hughes, CEO of BPA. “The project’s origins go back to 2005 when the Queensland Government provided A$7 million seed funding for the facility under its 10-year Biotechnology Strategic Plan. The Commonwealth is also directly investing A$10 million, as part of its ongoing push to win high-tech, highvalue jobs and industries for Australia and it will fill a huge gap in our biotechnology infrastructure.“

31

biopharmaCeUtiCaLS aUStraLia

The TRI will be one of the few places in the world that can turn research discoveries into real-world treatments for patients.

This, Hughes says, is a turning point in the development of Queensland’s biotechnology industry.”

“The Queensland Government’s Queensland biotechnology strategic plan 2005-2015: biotechnology-setting new horizons outlines measures to assist the industry reach its projected growth of achieving A$4 billion in revenues and employing over 16,000 Queenslanders in an industry worth A$20 billion by 2025. What our facility will do is allow local companies to make the relatively small quantities of biopharmaceuticals needed for early-stage clinical trials, as well as scale-up their processes and take them right through to market. That is significant. This is a game-changer here locally. We will give home-grown companies the tools they need to compete, enabling Australia to reap the downstream value of its biomedical discoveries and deliver more revolutionary drugs to the world. The Australian biotech industry is rapidly growing. This is an exciting time.”

BPa’s state-of-the art facility will house cutting-edge technologies for manufacture of biological drugs

DSM Biologics DSM Biologics has entered into a partnership with BioPharmaceutical Australia with funding provided by the Federal Government and the Government of Queensland.

A primary purpose of the collaboration is to provide local services to Australian biopharmaceutical companies.

Australian biopharmaceutical developers will be able to locally manufacture new drug candidates to international standards in preclinical, clinical and commercial phases. This is an important step for the Australian industry.

The DSM offering will be an important continuation and expansion of the services we currently provide from our facility in Groningen, The Netherlands. Clients will have the added advantage of being able to choose between standard technology processes or DSM’s proprietary XD® and DSP optimization technologies.

The facility is being built in Brisbane within the new Queensland Translational Research Institute, a onestop-shop for discovery, production, clinical testing and manufacturing of new biopharmaceuticals.

DSM will bring its know-how to Australia to the benefit of the local industry. DSM has 25 years of experiences in transferring modern technologies and knowhow to other locations inside and outside of the Netherlands.

32

DSM brings 25 years of experience in Mammalian cGMP Manufacturing to Australia

T: +61 (0)7 3171 3180 E: info.dsmbiologics@dsm.com

W: www.dsmbiologics.com

DSM Biologics Suite 2, 154 Ipswich Road Woolloongabba, QLD 4102 Australia

biopharmaCeUtiCaLS aUStraLia

Biopharmaceuticals are produced in live cells - from bacteria, plants and animals especially mammalian cells, which most resemble human metabolism - Hughes says, and drugs of this kind are being developed for hard-to-treat conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s and cancer.

“They are typically proteins produced by living organisms that have uses as therapeutics or in vivo diagnostics,” he explains. “We have high hopes for the biotechnology revolution which has already been a major factor in creating a large number of new biotechnology drugs and rapid advances in screening technologies.

The result is that there are many more drug prospects being produced and evaluated than ever before, and there has been a move toward rationally designed biological drugs -compared to the traditional synthetic chemistry-based small molecules that are more hit-and-miss in terms of efficacy.

Many major pharmaceutical companies are moving towards biotechnology and biopharmaceutical development.”

Mammalian cell culture in dSMB’s existing plant in the netherlands; the BPa plant will be larger again.

Construction of the facility is well underway, co-located with the translational research institute (left).

34

The BPA’s facility will open in mid2013 and will be will be operated by international drugs contract manufacturer DSM Biologics.

“I have to stress how significant this is – it will enable local companies to manufacture the biopharmaceuticals needed for clinical trials, assisting the TRI to turn research discoveries into treatments for patients,” Hughes says. “There will be far more manufacturing happening here and many hundreds of jobs will be created.

“Construction of the building began in 2010 and we are halfway through the internal fit-out currently. Commercial start is scheduled for mid 2013 – our target is July – and when finished it will offer mammalian cell-based process development and contract GMP clinical and commercial manufacturing services. We are very pleased to have DSM Biologics onboard.”

DSM will provide limited up-front capital but will “come with technological expertise to design and set up the facility” and will employ its “proprietary tech when operating” it, Hughes says. “Why

“during the past two decades, biopharmaceuticals have emerged as a major and fast-growing product class in the pharmaceutical industry. this will make australia an even more attractive destination for investment in biopharmaceutical research, development, and production”

Focus Manufacturing

them? Good question! Well, DSM is the ideal partner for this important initiative. We were impressed with the experience, expertise and technologies of DSM. Their vision matches ours and Australia’s first facility of this kind will have state-of-the-art capabilities. Australian biopharmaceutical developers will be able to locally manufacture new drug candidates to international standards in preclinical, clinical and commercial phases.

This is an important step for our industry and it is very, very exciting.”

The biotechnology industry in Australia is rapidly growing with over 400 companies currently engaged in development activities.

The future is certainly bright.

“It is the first major Australiabased mammalian biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility,” Hughes, who has considerable technical and commercial experience in the scale-up and commercialisation of biotech products, concludes. “All the new block-buster drugs - A$1 billion sales per annum from launch - tend to be biopharmaceuticals and it is easy to see why this facility will play an important part in Australia’s manufacturing future.

“During the past two decades, biopharmaceuticals have emerged as a major and fast-growing product class in the pharmaceutical industry.

This will make Australia an even more attractive destination for investment in biopharmaceutical research, development, and production. Queensland is home to first-class providers of the full range of complementary services needed by young biotech firms, such as regulatory affairs, pre-clinical testing, and setting-up and conducting clinical trials in patients.”

For the domestic industry to thrive, Australia needs to attract and retain multinational companies’ operations on its shores. This facility will go a long way in achieving that goal while helping local players develop niche high quality and knowledge-intensive products that are difficult to replicate.

To learn more visit www.biopharmaus.com.au.

35

Australia’s future in

biotechnology

By Dr Anna Lavelle, CEO, AusBiotech

36

aUSbioteCh

“We have used the biological processes of microorganisms for more than 6,000 years to make useful food products, such as bread, cheese, wine and beer, and to preserve dairy products. today the australian biotechnology sector covers human therapeutics, industrial applications, the agriculture sector, food technology, nanotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics and cleantech” world’s dominant language, and all of us will have to be literate to thrive.”

Biotechnology is an industry of the future and Australia is a leading location for biotechnology companies with over 1,000 biotechnology companies (400 therapeutics and 600 – 1,000 medical technology companies). Australia was recently ranked number five globally by Scientific American’s World View (Special Report: July, 2011).

There are currently 100 ASX-listed life sciences companies with a market capitalisation of A$31.4 billion (BioForum Ed 38, Feb 2012). Australia has the largest listed biotechnology sector as a proportion of GDP in the world (E&Y, Beyond Borders, 2010 and 2011) and CSL is Australia’s largest biotechnology company.

Australia offers world-class science, capacity for international partnerships, cost effectiveness and a transparent and efficient regulatory system. Our medical discoveries have improved the quality of health of millions of people across the world.

The sector attracts millions in capital each year in muchneeded investment. The latest (BioShares, 30 Dec 2011) figures for the industry, show a 14 percent increase in 2011 to A$630 million, after A$554 million was raised in 2010.

When you think of biotechnology many immediately think biopharmaceuticals, but the world of biotech has broadened its horizons substantially in recent years. The emerging trends of foodtech and cleantech have gained momentum and the medtech sector is surging forward to follow in the footsteps of medtech industry pioneers, Cochlear and ResMed.

Focus Manufacturing

A

t its simplest biotechnology is technology based on biology.

Biotechnology harnesses cellular and bio-molecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet. The promise of biotechnologies that are now within our reach to enhance and extend our lives is astounding.

We have used the biological processes of microorganisms for more than 6,000 years to make useful food products, such as bread, cheese, wine and beer, and to preserve dairy products. Today the Australian biotechnology sector covers human therapeutics, industrial applications, the agriculture sector, food technology, nanotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics and cleantech.

Juan Enriquez writing for McKinsey’s What Matters (Feb 2009) said biotechnology and its discoveries have provided us with the global dawn of the ‘organic age’, where “Biology is likely to become the greatest single driver of the global economy.”

Enriquez says now that we have unlocked the genome of living things, “The life code is a lever and perhaps the most powerful instrument human beings have ever used.

It will make the Industrial Revolution seem simple, even quaint. It will become the

37

aUSbioteCh

Medtech included devices, software or diagnostics for the prevention, monitoring or treatment of a disease, injury or physiological process including joint replacements, artificial hearts and heart stents, as well as implants like the bionic eye and cochlear implant.

The industry is advancing rapidly, using research developments to facilitate innovations in the biomedical sphere. An increasing convergence of technology platforms has resulted in greater collaboration across the disciplines of biomedical, electronic and mechanical engineering, nanotechnology, ICT and software development to develop the next generation of medical bionics.

Food and dietary components that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition are commonly referred to as food technology, foodtech or ‘functional foods’.

The rise of foodtech is thought to be due to increasing concern amongst consumers about debilitating and chronic illnesses and diseases of ageing.

Health authorities are increasingly acknowledging the importance of functional elements in foods, such as plant sterols role in improving health, lowering cholesterol and preventing heart disease.

With the world population due to reach nine billion by 2050, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has for some years provided funding in support of food and agricultural technologies including genetic modification in developing solutions to food-supply issues and improving nutrition.

The development of cleantech is being driven by the rise in concern for the environment, such as global warming, and indicators are that this sector will go from strength-to-strength in coming years in renewable energy, energy storage, biofuels, cleaner fossil fuel processes, water purification and waste water treatment, recycling, energy efficiency, pollution reduction and advanced materials, such as nanotechnologies.

The biofuels sector is seeing significant advances in developing alternative fuels from waste, representing an immense growth area that will have an important role to play in displacing the types of fuels the world has used in the past.

38

“the development of cleantech is being driven by the rise in concern for the environment, such as global warming”

New technologies on the horizon don’t use food crops but the fibrous woody parts of plants known as lignocellulose. These technologies can create biofuels from feedstocks such as garden waste, forest and sawmill waste, or even plantations dedicated to energy production.

Biofuels are moving on from first generation technologies, those using sugar or starch to produce ethanol, and waste oil to produce biodiesel, to second generation biofuels that use non-food biomass, such as lignocellulose to make biodiesel and ethanol.

ausBiotech, australia’s industry organisation AusBiotech has been working on behalf of members for more than 25 years to provide representation and services to promote the global growth of Australian biotechnology.

AusBiotech is a well-connected network of over 3,000 members covering the spectrum of biotechnology sectors.

AusBiotech is dedicated to the development, growth and prosperity of the Australian biotechnology industry by providing initiatives to drive sustainability and growth, outreach and access to markets, and representation and support for members nationally and around the world.

AusBiotech’s membership base includes biotechnology companies ranging from start-ups to mature multinationals, research institutes and universities, specialist service professionals, corporate, institutional, academic and student members from Australia and globally.

AusBiotech has representation in each Australian state and a range of special interest advisory groups providing a national network to support members.

ausBiotech at work PoliCY, adVoCaCY and rEPrESEntation

Every year AusBiotech hosts more than 150 networking and information-based events and the main event is the annual AusBiotech national conference. AusBiotech plays a pivotal role in connecting people to do business and last year alone facilitated well over 2,000 one-on-one business meetings, worked with over 60 international associations and led a number of international business missions.

Responding to member demand and the success of previous events, AusBiotech has established a regular series of showcase investment events attracting investors locally and internationally. Regular features include an event in the USA each year annexed to JP Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference and the Australasian Life Science Investment Summit, held in conjunction with the AusBiotech national conference

ausBiotech 2012 The industry’s flagship biotechnology conference, AusBiotech, is well established as the premier biotechnology event for Asia-Pacific, attracting over 1,100 delegates from across the world each year and is renowned for its agenda-setting programmes.

Biotechnology companies and international investors regularly report excellent results from the AusBiotech conference with programmes and activities dedicated to helping companies and researchers connect with investors and partners, stirring substantial international interest.

AusBiotech 2011 was held in Adelaide with more than 1,100 participants, facilitated over 2,300 partnering meeting requests and the Australasian Life Sciences Investment Summit, the biggest investment event of its kind in this part of the world, which attracted 120 invited investors - almost half from overseas.

Save the date for AusBiotech 2012, 30 October – 2 November, to be held in Melbourne Victoria.

For more information on AusBiotech 2012, see www.ausbiotechnc.org

Focus Manufacturing

AusBiotech works to shape public policy and address issues by advocating via the media, government submissions, working groups, face-to-face meetings with government representatives and parliamentarians.

The industry is still celebrating after the long-awaited and very exciting news that the R&D Tax Incentive legislation was finally delivered in late 2011, marking the best news the industry has had in years. The passage of the legislation is the successful culmination of more than two years of advocacy

by AusBiotech.

Start-up innovation companies, especially biotechnology companies trading in loss, will sit in the sweet spot and will be the biggest beneficiaries from the Tax Incentive’s 45 percent refundable component, and the legislation will also benefit large innovative companies by reducing the cost of conducting eligible R&D activities in Australia by up to 10 percent, making Australia a more competitive location for conducting biomedical and pharmaceutical R&D and clinical trials.

AusBiotech makes regular submissions to governments on policy issues affecting the sector, with nine collaborative submissions last year including a substantive response to the TGA’s Health Technology Assessment Review and evidence/submissions to two Senate inquiries.

AusBiotech holds an annual CEO Summit at Parliament House in Canberra, which links member CEOs with key parliamentary ministers and members, and continues work on industry issues with a range of working groups, such as the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group (PIWG) and the National Enabling Technologies Strategy.

AusBiotech speaks regularly with the media on industry issues. During 2011, AusBiotech was responsible for more than 200 published media articles.

EVEntS, ConFErEnCES, nEtWorKinG and ProFESSional dEVEloPMEnt

Membership Membership is open to biotechnology companies and organisations with an interest in the industry.

As well as the above outlined benefits, membership also provides special member discounts and exposure for biotechnology businesses, and communication of industry news, current affairs and AusBiotech activities.

The AusBiotech website publishes regular updates, and the tri-annual e-journal, Australasian Biotechnology. for more information on joining AusBiotech, see www.ausbiotech.org/membership 39

Eau yes!

Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Urban Utilities, Ian Maynard talks about the challenges facing the water utility in South East Queensland.

By Ian Armitage

40

Q

ueensland Urban Utilities is a statutory body providing integrated distribution and retail water and sewerage services to 1.3 million people who live within a 14,364 square kilometre service territory. The territory covers Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset, and these five participating councils each have a shareholding within the water utility which is South East Queensland’s largest and was formed on 1 July 2010.

“Our primary role is to deliver drinking water, recycled water and sewerage services to the cities and townships within our boundaries,” says Chief Executive Officer Ian Maynard, who recently talked with Australasia Outlook.

QUeenSLand Urban UtiLitieS

have put up much more explicit signage at major works and sites so, as we’re putting in a new sewer or water main, there is signage there and an explanation as to how that project is contributing to deliver better water or sewerage services so residents in that area can have a better understanding of what they’re getting for the investment that we’re making,” Maynard says. “We also distribute a fantastic newsletter every quarter with the customer’s water bill and that newsletter goes into some detail about the preciousness of water and steps that our customers can take to reduce their demand and preserve the scarce resources that we have in South East Queensland.”

Queensland Urban Utilities gets a good report from Energy and Water Ombudsman and customers alike, he adds. “We track our brand and our corporate reputation on a monthly basis.

Our brand has a number of key value drivers that customers emphasise when they think of us as a water utility and it’s pleasing to see that in the last 12 months - since we’ve had this mechanism in place – customers’ perceptions have improved by eight percent. Measuring it monthly gives us the ability to regularly test the impact of the programmes that we’re putting in place to improve the quality of our service.”

Focus utilities

Mr Maynard was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 1 July 2011. He has previously held executive positions within the private sector including Ampol and Fonterra. He has also worked within government at Brisbane City Council.

“The move to Queensland Urban Utilities is a good one and is very exciting. I work in a business that supplies products and services that are critical to everyday life. I get to make a difference to people’s lives.”

Mr Maynard says one of the key challenges for the organisation continues to be increasing the understanding of the role of water utilities. “For a long time in Australia, we have taken for granted the fact that we have access to clean, fresh drinking water simply by turning on the tap. There needs to be a better understanding of what it takes to deliver high quality drinking water and what is involved in taking away sewerage through the simple push of a button. It is not as simple as people might want to believe.

“The perception is that water falls from the sky and therefore it should be free – okay that is a fact, but the water still needs to be piped to treatment plants or storage dams, it needs to be treated and then piped into cities and reservoirs and it then needs to be reticulated into city streets and into homes, all the time ensuring that it is free of any bacteria and other contaminants. A significant amount of processing and testing needs to be done to ensure that it complies with drinking water standards.

“And at the back end of the process we have a significant investment in sewerage treatment plants that deal with wastewater from domestic homes as well as from commercial and industrial customers.

“There is a lot going on.”

Queensland Urban Utilities’ asset base ranges from civil infrastructure with an expected life of more than 100 years through to mechanical and electrical equipment with a design life in some cases of less than eight years. This includes tanks, wet wells, pipe work, pumps, variable speed drives and instrumentation and control systems.

And customers are beginning to realise just how valuable Queensland Urban Utilities’ work is. “In the last 12 months we

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QUeenSLand Urban UtiLitieS

Rob Carr Pty Ltd Rob Carr Pty Ltd is a microtunnelling and civil engineering contractor which specialises in trenchless pipeline, deep shaft excavation, concrete caisson construction, pipeline construction, pump station construction and mechanical and electrical fit outs. The company utilises micro-tunnelling as its primary form of trenchless construction and has completed a number of sewerage, drainage, water, storm water and energy projects for a variety of government authorities and private industry. Rob Carr Pty Ltd has a fleet of 14 control cabins which operate between them 29 tunnel boring machines (150 mm to 2,400 mm OD). Rob Carr Pty Ltd has extensive experience in working in difficult ground conditions including fill, dry/wet sands, dry/wet clays and rock.

Rob Carr Ltd has a proud association with Queensland Urban Utilities.

Of course, South East Queensland is one of Australia’s driest but fastest growing areas and this presents a challenge for Queensland Urban Utilities, which committed to invest A$341 million in infrastructure projects in 2011–12 to cater for regional growth and urban renewal. “We have a three-pronged strategy,” Maynard says. “First we will protect ourselves against the major environmental conditions that affect our water supply. Most of our water currently comes from dams, which require rainfall over catchments, so investing in desalination capability provides a new water source into the region. The South East Queensland water grid enables us to move water over a geographic area of nearly 230 kilometres. We can move water from full dams to areas where there are water shortages.

“The second prong of that strategy is improving the quality of effluent out of our sewage treatment plants to the point that the quality of that water is purified recycled water. Then in the event of another drought, we are able to pump that back into storage 42

“there needs to be a better understanding of what it takes to deliver high quality drinking water and what is involved in taking away sewerage through the simple push of a button”

dams and that’s another new source of water. Instead of effluent going out into creeks, rivers and the bay through reverse osmosis and micro-filtration, we’re able to put purified recycled water back into the dams.

“Thirdly we’re working with our customers to reduce their demand. Looking at water saving, water conserving behaviours and new infrastructure that uses less water and therefore reducing the demand on our network.” to learn more visit www.urbanutilities.com.au.

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Expertise, Innovation, Dedication, Quality, Cost effective delivery

Microtunneling

Deep Shaft Construction

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Engineering Workshop

Laser guided systems

Deep shaft excavation & construction

Programmed maintenance & repair

Slurry pressure balanced tunnelling

Pre cast segment caisson construction

Engineering design and fabrication

Pilot auger soil displacement tunnelling

Cast in situ caisson construction

Hardening, grinding, machining

Diameters from 150mm to 2400mm

Conventional sheet pile construction

Licensed electrical & process control

30 TBM’s covering all ground conditions

Conventional shoring box construction

Crane trucks, shoring systems, generators

Microtunneling | Deep Shaft Construction | Concrete Caissons | Pipeline Infrastructure | Engineering Workshop QLD Brett Everard 0407 088 116 E brett@robcarr.com.au WA Barry Crowley: 0418 334 787 E barry@robcarr.com.au NSW Angelo Soumboulidis: 0413 019 143 E angelo@robcarr.com.au Website www.robcarr.com.au

Great People Great Projects Great Outcomes

Delivering outstanding results for water utility clients across Australia www.smec.com

Water Services Engineering Pty. Ltd. (WSE) provides multi-disciplinary Engineering Consultancy services to industries in Queensland and has since expanded to provide civil, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and process control engineering, design and project management services throughout Queensland.

Industry sectors serviced include: • Water and Waste Water Transportation and Treatment; • Industrial Process Engineering • Industrial Projects Power System Analysis and Protection Coordination The company has undertaken many projects in association with Queensland Urban Utilities, including: • Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU) - Goodna STP Upgrade – Stage 4A • QUU’s Woogaroo Creek Trunk Sewer Main • QUU’s SP01, SP33 & SP34 Sewage Pumping Station Upgrades • QUU’s East Street Water Main Rehabilitation • QUU's Rosewood STP - Process Optimisation Upgrades • QUU's Gibson Island STP- Power Systems Analysis and Protection Coordination

PO Box 487, Aspley Queensland 4034 Australia Tel: 0061 7 3353 6452

A helping I

n Australia, water and sewage services, vital not only to people and households but also to industry and commercial enterprises, are provided by Government regulated water utilities.

The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) is the peak industry body that brings together and supports this Australian urban water industry.

Members provide water and sewage services to over 16 million Australians.

They also provide services to many of Australia’s largest industries and commercial enterprises.

As the peak body representing the nation’s urban water industry WSAA acts on behalf of all members, providing a strong, national voice for the sector and taking a leading role in influencing urban water policy development.

To support members in their engagement with customers, stakeholders and the community, WSAA regularly assesses and reports on the performance of the industry.

Through the association, member groups and interested parties can meet to discuss common issues and express concerns, as well as share information, research findings and developments. This collaboration and unity empowers WSAA to advocate on behalf of members for strong industry positions, and for regulation that is transparent, and based on solid evidence.

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WSAA is the industry body that supports the Australian urban waste industry.

By Adam Lovell, WSAA executive director

The association, formed in 1998, regularly engages with and supports members, fostering and contributing to development of the whole sector, including educating the community on behalf of the industry.

WSAA enables collaboration and coordination, conducts research, and provides consultation—maintaining strong contacts with policy makers, legislative bodies and their influencers to monitor important issues as they emerge. When developing strategic directions for the water industry decision makers regularly consult with WSAA and seek input.

Executives represent the industry at seminars and forums and the Association regularly organises industry events and seminars to bring together the industry, levels of government and the community.

In consultation with members, the association analyses policy and develops programmes; and is instrumental in developing industry standards and processes.

WSaa

The vision of WSAA for the urban water industry is to provide “Valued Water Solutions for a Better Future” and the association supports this vision through the WSAA mission, “WSAA will advocate, collaborate and innovate to deliver value for its members.”

Members’ association at Work The urban water industry aims to provide cost effective delivery of water services and respond to the needs of customers and is committed to managing sustainable urban water resources with as little impact on the environment as possible.

Urban water services are important to our community’s public health and WSAA is proud of the attitude and willingness of members not only to innovate and always seek smarter ways of doing things, but to demonstrate a remarkable selfless concern for their community particularly in times of crisis, as members’ response to recent extreme climate events has illustrated.

Leadership and Planning Climate variation and population growth must be planned for and WSAA has provided a forum by organising conferences such as Ozwater and lending expertise to projects such as Cities of The Future workshops.

Focus utilities

community Action in crises Australia’s climate variability has recently delivered extremes that impacted on the urban water industry—with violent floods and cyclones in the east and unrelenting dry in the west. Destruction caused to the industry’s infrastructure could have interfered with the delivery of clean drinking water and safe sewage treatment and management in the affected areas.

However Australia’s urban water industry spontaneously and voluntarily rallied round. The Association’s Water Services Infrastructure Assurance Advisory Group took on the coordination of offers to help and WSAA Members provided equipment and expertise including treatment plant operators, sampling staff, and water quality testing, as well as personnel, office space and resources; even supplying sandbags to emergency services.

Ozwater developed a strong set of principles for water sensitive cities, which were adopted by the International Water Association for the Cities of the Future agenda. The key themes of liveability, resilience, and sustainability provided the focus of case studies at workshops, demonstrating the leadership role of the urban water sector in finding ways to bring governments, municipalities, utilities, communities, science and technology into collaboration.

Workshops have presented a vision of achievable future cities – including ways to ‘green’ city suburbs, a working green village and virtually self-sufficient inner city area and a commercial scheme using biosolids to enable urban farming. Through recycling, conservation, greening and smart, integrated planning the Cities of the Future project aims to improve physical and mental health, reduce pollution, combat climate change, reduce greenhouse emissions, and optimise available drinking water sources.

These workshops indicate that with ongoing discussions between the water industry and colleagues in the urban planning and other sectors, ways can be found to deliver healthy, liveable cities and towns in Australia.

Historically the industry has focused on securing urban water services for the community, which necessarily led to priority effort on asset building and management. Over the past 10 years the huge investment in water and sewerage infrastructure and the establishment of alternative and rainfall independent water sources mean we can now plan to meet future challenges. sharing information, advising policy One of the Association’s chief strategies to support members is to maximise limited research dollars by collaborating with local and international research organisations with shared priorities. WSAA’s Australian Water Research and Development Coalition aims to pool resources and eliminate duplication, allowing knowledge and adoption to be leveraged across all stakeholders in the funding and delivery of urban water research.

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WSAA

“In consultation with members, the association analyses policy and develops programmes; and is instrumental in developing industry standards and processes” Adam Lovell

Collaboration and sharing of existing research between Association members is maintained, with over 400 member projects compiled. A WSAA webpage is dedicated to the sharing of research outcomes between members. Eighteen Association networks including a new Research Managers forum give members the opportunity to transfer knowledge, share skills, and network with colleagues.

The wealth of knowledge and information made available to WSAA provides a solid basis for the Association’s submissions to major reports of significant concern to members.

Three recent major reports in the year indicate a promise of significant reform programmes with a welcome focus on urban water: }} The Productivity Commission Inquiry into Urban Water Reform }} National Water Commission Future Directionsw Report }} The Infrastructure Australia Regional Water Quality and Security Report WSAA is advocating implementation of many of the recommendations made in these reports.

Benefits of WSAA Membership WSAA has two categories of Membership.

Full membership is available for public or private agencies or utilities providing water services and/or wastewater services, and bulk water suppliers and wastewater 46

treatment operators providing services to agencies or utilities. Associate membership is available for corporate bodies or organisations with an interest allied to the water services industry.

Full members have board representation and voting rights at Annual General Meetings, with up to two representatives. Members are invited to three Members’ meetings a year with up to three attendees. They have access to WSAA committee membership and networks and have input into the Association’s business planning process.

Valuable benefits also include 50 percent discount on bookshop publications, members only section access on the WSAA website, access to the UKWIR database, up to three free copies of WSAA publications and a free copy of WSAA codes.

Full members are also involved in the national performance report, benchmarking and other subscription projects, as well as eligible for free input in all WSAA activities and workshops.

Associate members may have one representative at Annual General Meetings and are invited to two Members’ meetings a year, with up to two attendees.

Valuable Associate benefits also include 50 percent discount on bookshop publications, members only section access on the WSAA website, access to the UKWIR database, one free WSAA publication and a free copy of WSAA codes, as well as permission to load WSAA codes on the internet.

Water Authorities have access to WSAA Networks and while Associates are encouraged to participate in appropriate WSAA events, fees may apply.

Applications for membership and associate membership are submitted to the Board for consideration and approval and WSAA can arrange for a proposer and seconder for your application if required.

Established for 30 years • Nationwide deliveries • Warehousing • Dangerous goods specialist

frEE CAll 1800 135 500 or 02 6923 3333 Adelaide

Brisbane

Canberra

Melbourne

fax. 02 6921 2006 email. enquiries@crouchtransport.com.au

Sydney

Wagga Wagga

www.crouchtransport.com.au

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE

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if we could bottle it, we would.

As leading consulting engineers, we continue to turn our clients’ visions into award winning projects.

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