In this report, Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) president Donna McDowall reflects on the past year.
I’ve liked being President. It’s different from being a Director, and different again to being a member. It’s a position that you feel honoured to have as you drive the strategy forward, representing all the members that make up this great Association. Don’t get me wrong, you all made me work hard… (some more than others!), but to see us go headfirst against a narrative with a negative discourse on our industry and to pull out of COVID-19 to get our swagger on again at events, has been a big responsibility… with lots of fun.
You have a great Board and Secretariat. Above all, we are a great family… so don’t let me down. Let’s blow this Perth Convention up!
Now down to dos & don’ts. Do make new contacts, do listen to the speakers, do have an open mind, do chat to the exhibitors and do eat & drink and be merry. Don’t go to bed early, don’t miss out on the fancy dress, don’t let the YPF’ers lead you astray at 3:00am in the morning and just don’t miss out. If you do, you’ll regret it.
In this special conference edition, it is exciting to look at the program for this year and see many interesting topics. There are some good case studies on projects completed this year, safety lessons and new to the agenda are Young Pipeliners and Advocacy panels. We continue the discussion and be real to what we are doing to decarbonise, the governance in procurement, and approaches to construction.
As I write this, there are 48 exhibitors, and we thank them for their continued support. The gratitude we can extend is to walk the exhibition hall and see the latest on offer.
In August, APGA hosted the inaugural ESG (Environment, Social Governance) Forum. A day that brought to the industry another piece of our sustainability jigsaw puzzle. ESG is a framework encapsulating many things, but relevant for our industry, it captures those activities we’ve been implementing such as community engagement, environment, safety and human resources. There are also emerging ESG factors that are, and will, impact our industry including carbon emissions, modern slavery and sustainable procurement. I am excited as President, to have opened this dialogue as an industry. ESG as a business alone contributes a small piece, but as an industry coming together, we can really shift the needle in this space. It’s certainly about collaboration and partnering, just like safety was 50 years ago, and with time it will make our industry more sustainable financially and champion our social licence to operate.
In this edition, you’ll find a personal story of a person I have been fortunate to meet over the last four months, Chis Croylon. Chris bares his soul on a medical issue which was brought about because of the dedication to his job. Completely unavoidable, but then ignored the warning signs. Having spent time with him, he is passionate about this industry and so he has built up the courage to tell his story so others can learn. Please read.
We also say goodbye to one of our Directors, Wendy Oldham, who has been on the APGA Board since 2016. Notably, Wendy was Treasurer for a good many of these years and led us from the red to the black. As she heads to retirement, we wish her all the very best and hope life finds her pots of gold.
As this is my last President’s address, I’d like to thank everyone for having trust in their voting of me and appointing me as APGA’s first female President. It is a badge I will always wear with honour and appreciate the friendship and support over the last two years. I’ll see you at the bar.
This article featured in the September edition of The Australian Pipeliner.
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