Once again Queensland, both in the quality and quantity of nominations as well as the number of you that came out to vote, you have demonstrated what makes us arguably the best branch in Australia.
Congratulations to all 20 Branch Committee nominees and eight Young Water Professional nominees – together, you represent all sectors of our industry including academia, consulting, contractors, councils and utilities, independent consultants and suppliers and provided the voting membership with a gender diverse list of candidates that no doubt created plenty of headaches to narrow down to a final list.
It is this diversity (gender, thought, sectoral representation) that continues to keep our branch strong and ensures we deliver a program of events that meets the need of our membership as a whole.
Congratulations too to those of you that voted, with our voting numbers up almost 50% on last year’s numbers…keep it up!
As always, the competition was tough but what does it all mean? Well, it is my pleasure to announce that this year’s successful nominees for the Queensland Branch Committee are:
| Andrew Schoenmaker | Independent Consultant | Returning member |
| Lavanya Susarla | Queensland Urban Utilities | New member |
| Margit Connellan | SUEZ | Returning member |
| Mark Trembath | RedEye | New member |
| Moira Zeilinga | Clear Idea | New member |
| Narelle D’Amico | Bundaberg Regional Council | New member |
| Natalie Muir | Cardno | New member |
| Peter Quinn | Jacobs | Returning member |
Our election cycle wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t also have to announce the successful nominees for the six Young Water Professional Committee roles. These individuals are:
| Alice Connell | SMEC | Returning member |
| Ben Young | Queensland Urban Utilities | New member |
| Courtney Brown | Queensland Urban Utilities | Returning member |
| Johanna Johnson | Logan Water | New member |
| Rita Vieira Lemos | Advanced Water Management Centre | New member |
| William Speirs | Queensland Urban Utilities | Returning member |
It’s always a shame to not be able to say yes to everyone who wants to contribute and as I advise the following unsuccessful candidates, I ask you all to make an effort to introduce yourself to them at one of our upcoming events and consider their intent to contribute in future election cycles should they run again.
These individuals care enough about the industry and the direction of the Association to put their hands up to nominate for a role and deserve your congratulations and thanks.
Please join me in thanking the following unsuccessful nominees:
| Greg Kennedy | Steel Mains | Branch Committee |
| Chee Terng Le | Aqseptance | Branch Committee |
| Ian Spruce | SMEC | Branch Committee |
| Madeleine Greenlee | Bligh Tanner | Branch Committee |
| Mal Shepherd | John Holland | Branch Committee |
| Marco van Winden | AECOM | Branch Committee |
| Marie-Laure Pype | Advanced Water Management Centre | Branch Committee |
| Partha Susarla | Unitywater | Branch Committee |
| Robert Plummer | Wood | Branch Committee |
| Sam Pickett | Spiecapag Australia | Branch Committee |
| Shao Dong Yap | Aurecon | YWP Committee |
| Stephen Jewell | Gympie Regional Council | Branch Committee |
| Tasleem Hasan | Viridis | Branch Committee |
| Thakshila Balasuriya | Queensland Urban Utilities | YWP Committee |
As always, you will get the opportunity to meet our new and returning Branch Committee members at our annual gala dinner and I look forward to seeing you all there. This also serves as a convenient segue into my closing points.
Firstly, our annual awards program has kicked off again, with submissions closing on July 26. I would encourage you to have a look at the categories and consider what you, your organisation and those within your network have done this year that deserves the recognition of the industry and submit a nomination for one or more of the awards.
Secondly, with the gala dinner almost upon us again, I would like to take you back to last year’s event where we set the challenge for you to consider your table invites through a different lens and showcase the diversity of the industry.
I hope that when you are looking at your table centres this year, you are able to chip away at the iceberg and address both the visible and, just as importantly, invisible elements to help make ours a truly inclusive industry.