Thank you to all the people who have been helping me to settle in to APIA and also to those involved in my site visits including a trip to Wollongong to see steelworks and pipe making, a construction visit to south-east South Australia and a quick trip out of the office to see the monitoring and linkages to the distribution networks in the outer Canberra suburbs.
I’m on a promise to see a pigging operation and to visit the monitoring station at Young in New South Wales. I’m looking forward to both of these “outings” into the real world of the pipeline industry.
One of the first impressions that the members have made on me is the high level of professionalism and commitment of each of the sectors associated with gas pipelines. This truly is an industry with a proud and resourceful membership. There are many examples and the Pipeline Operators Group is one that comes to mind. I have been impressed by the way this group actively and frankly assesses problems and then promptly takes action to fix anything that could be a negative for a company or the industry. They get together – from different companies’ perspectives – and discuss frankly their issues, sharing their knowledge to help ensure safety and maintenance across all companies.
Then there’s the Safety Committee. Rather than wait for the bureaucracy to tell the industry how to run its businesses, or leave businesses to waste time trying to understand bureaucratic requirements, the Safety Committee has developed standard Construction Safety Guidelines to be used across all jurisdictions as a guide to help businesses address safety requirements and write their reports. The Guidelines are in their final phase, with consultations being held with regulators to ensure bureaucratic support and recognition of the APIA Construction Safety Guidelines as a benchmark for pipeline industries – and possibly other industries as well.
And the Environment Group has also been active, even though the Environment Code is completed. The Code is being reviewed, to ensure that it remains up-to-date and a relevant benchmark for all companies required to provide environmental assessments.
I must also mention the Government and Regulatory Affairs Committee, who have been working overtime to help me provide responses to various policy issues, and also help use the policy arguments to raise APIA’s – and therefore the industry’s – profile in the bureaucracy, the Parliament and in the public arena. The work of the Reg Affairs Committee is seriously high-quality and highly respected within the bureaucracy. I must point out that, while the outcome of the Ministerial Council on Energy meeting was disappointing to many because of the MCE’s slow place in implementing energy reforms, APIA was quite comfortable with “no action” rather than have the MCE accept some of the proposals being pushed by the bureaucracy. APIA will continue to make a case at the political end of Government as well as to the bureaucracy.
One issue that is raised with me at almost every function I attend is the education and training of young pipeliners. At the Brisbane seminar we had an excellent presentation on training young pipeline engineers. Perhaps we need to go further. It seems that most industries are facing shortages of tradespeople and are in danger of losing the technical expertise that has made their industries strong. Simplistically, this is partly because of the costs associated with training, but it also reflects a mindset whereby young people have been encouraged to reject training in a trade in favour of “the professions”. I’m considering how APIA might help by, perhaps, co-ordinating a program of training for young people within and across our companies so that they can gain expertise in a range of skills. These programs could also, where appropriate, encourage and train indigenous Australians, as I understand at least one of our companies already has an excellent record in training and employment at the local level.
You know where I am. Please feel free to offer your suggestions at any time!