The last Convention held in Melbourne was in 1971 – 43 years ago.
To put that in context, in 1971 the AFL and the NRL competitions, which are currently attracting a degree of public interest, did not exist.
Hawthorn won what was then the VFL Grand Final, defeating St Kilda by 7 points while in my home state of South Australia, North Adelaide defeated Port Adelaide by 20 points and in Western Australia, West Perth defeated East Perth by 32 points.
In Sydney’s rugby league competition, the South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated St George 16-10, while in Brisbane, the Fortitude Valley Diehards defeated Easts Tigers 18-10.
The state leagues now have been replaced by professional organisations that have been able to develop the sports nationally and attract strong public support and interest.
In some ways, this is also what APIA’s charter is about – making our industry high profile and attracting national support.
It really is incredible that it has taken so long for the Convention to return to Melbourne.
At the time of writing, all indicators are that the Convention will be an outstanding success and I believe, in part, this is a reflection of it being held in a great city.
Melbourne’s Convention Centre is well located and close to everything that matters.
While I am sure everyone will make the most of the business sessions, I also expect many of us will also take advantage of the outstanding shopping nearby.
And, of course, the social calendar of the Convention and the Exhibition provides a great opportunity for everyone to network and ensure they position themselves to take advantage of the great future our industry has.
During the Convention we also hold APIA’s Annual General Meeting.
At this meeting we formally present reports on the performance of the Association and, of course, the audited financial accounts.
Also, at this time members have the opportunity to consider who should best serve as Directors of APIA.
This is a great opportunity for members to step forward and play an active role in the future of the Association and I would encourage anyone who wants to make a difference to consider standing in the future.
The Board has a vital role in setting the direction of the Association and monitoring performance.
It also plays a very important role in supporting the Secretariat, which runs our business, and in monitoring performance, particularly financial performance.
It also sets the appetite for risk and monitors the status of those risks.
From my view, being part of the APIA Board has really assisted in my personal development as a director.
The Board members and the Secretariat are a wonderful group of people who work in a collegiate manner for the success of the Association.
I am now half way through my role as President and I look forward to assisting the Board and Secretariat bring even greater success to the Association in the next 12 months.
In the past year, the Association has broken records in many areas, including membership, function attendance and the level of services provided to members.
This follows a decade of buoyant growth for our industry. However, there is little doubt that the times ahead will be more difficult.
To assist in meeting this challenge the Board and Secretariat will ensure APIA provides members with the support and services they need to continue the development of our industry.
Early in 2015 the Board will also review the vision and strategy for APIA.
APIA has become a prominent advocate for the gas and pipeline industry.
Our Chief Executive Cheryl Cartwright continues to build our profile in the media and she has become the “˜go-to person’ for industry commentary.
The gas and pipeline industry has developed a high media profile, something that is well justified given the success of the industry and its importance to the overall Australian economy.
An important development during the past 12 months has been the confirmation and redefinition of our committees which include Energy Policy, Pipeline Owners, Pipeline Operators, Pipeline Corridor, Young Pipeliners, WA Chapter, and Environment, Health and Safety.
These committees have been very active in developing services and policy.
The Environment, Health and Safety Committee in particular has been very busy and has developed many initiatives that will benefit our members and industry.
I would like to thank our Director Mark Twycross for his leadership in this area.
Research is vital for the ongoing development of our industry and our Research and Standards Committee has received great support from members.
It continues to work closely with APIA and the Energy Pipelines CRC. The Energy Pipelines CRC has done a magnificent job and proven it is one of the leading CRC’s under the commission of the Commonwealth.
In recent times, the Energy Pipelines CRC CEO Valerie Linton has been visiting members to gauge their knowledge of the Energy Pipelines CRC, their views, how value is being provided for members and if they are getting the right access to all the research being conducted under that CRC.
APIA has committed more resources to policy development which supports our commentary on issues that arise for consideration.
In addition to representing our industry, our policy advisers ensure the Board and Secretariat are regularly updated on matters that impact our industry.
Training is another area where APIA has employed additional resources to ensure the future of our young pipeline employees.
Our pipeline engineers’ competency standards continue to be rolled out with great effect.
Together with our Young Pipeliners Forum and our competency standards, we are ensuring the skills are available to our industry in future years.
In closing, I have a number of people I wish to thank following my first year as President.
The Secretariat Chief Executive Cheryl Cartwright and Business Manager Steve Dobbie have been fabulous in the work they have done for the Association.
My Vice President Ashley Kellett has provided excellent guidance in my first year as President, and I thank Board members for their support during 2014.
I am looking forward to the next 12 months and assisting APIA further develop the Association’s activities for the benefit of members.