This year saw APIA adapting to meet the challenges of constant change. After the Corporate Membership restructure, the Board has instructed the Secretariat to restructure the Sponsoring and Lead membership categories to better reflect changes to the membership base.
On the lobbying front, the Government and Regulatory Affairs Committee has been working assiduously on the APIA response to the proposed legislation setting up the new regulatory regime for energy and, along with the Chief Executive, have participated in meetings with Ministers and officials to argue the case for less intrusive regulation. At a meeting with APIA’s owner-members in Alice Springs the Australian Energy Regulator Steve Edwell made it clear that we must continue to actively argue our case.
APIA has also been active on “˜big-picture’ environmental issues. On 29 October we released a report titled: Meeting Increasing Energy Demand and the Reduction of Greenhouse Emissions in the Stationary Energy Sector, which highlights the benefits of using natural gas as part of the plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report can be found on the website under Guidelines and Publications or with the Press Release dated 29 October.
Water is also a major issue for Australia. Some of our members are already involved in building water pipelines in Queensland and Victoria.
With regard to the APIA elections held at the Annual General Meeting in Alice Springs, four vacancies on the APIA Board were declared, with three of the four Board Members standing again. Congratulations to Mick McCormack, Andy Lukas, Ashley Kellett, (all re-elected) and Marie Malaxos of Arc Energy who was elected as a new director. At a board meeting held after the AGM we had the annual election of Vice President and Treasurer. Congratulations to Ashley Kellett and Peter Cox respectively for their election to these positions. I would also like to thank Graeme Fitzgerald for his contribution as Treasurer over the past year and also for his commitment and enthusiasm as a Board Member over the past four years.
Since the elections, the composition of the board has continued to change with the resignation of Christine O’Reilly. Christine served on the Board for three years, most recently as Vice President. I would like to thank her for the strong contribution she has made and to wish her well in her future endeavours. Christine’s resignation created a casual vacancy. Under Clause 15.6 of the Constitution, which provides for the filling of a casual vacancy after a Director’s resignation, and in keeping with the Constitutional requirement for fair representation of all sectors on the Board, the Board has appointed Alan Freer to the position. It is another sign of the strength of the Association that we are able to so readily draw upon capable individuals from our membership. As the appointment is a “replacement”, Alan will face election at the 2007 Convention Annual General Meeting, when Christine’s term would have expired. I would like to congratulate Alan on his appointment and I look forward to working with him.
Finally, it would be remiss of me to note all of these changes without mention of my own circumstances. As many of you will be aware, I recently transferred from AGL to Alinta as part of the recent merger/demerger process. However, I will not remain with Alinta and, therefore, will not be their nominated APIA representative. I remain passionate about the industry and about the opportunities for the Association and its members. Accordingly, I have decided to continue my membership of APIA by becoming a Corporate Member; and to complete my two-year term as President. I trust that this action will meet with the approval of members and I will endeavour to do all that I can to contribute to the ongoing success of the Association.
Clearly, it’s been an eventful year. Nevertheless, we enter the coming year with a refreshed Board and a strong and very capable management team and I have no doubt that, with your continued support, APIA is well placed to address the many challenges and opportunities that will surely present themselves in the year ahead.
Mark Harper
APIA President