ARTICLES

Attended a Meet the Buyer event organised by the South Australia Office of Industry Advocate and engaged the Office of Northern Water Delivery, Office of Industry Advocate, Office of Hydrogen Power and Housing Authority to promote the local Australian steel supply chain. Held a successful ASI South Australia Fabricators Forum with Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Minister for Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis together with Industry Advocate John Chapman and Deputy Industry Advocate Phillip Dowsett. There were 52 attendees representing 25 local businesses (ASI South Australia members) and the South Australia Government (Minister’s Office, Department for Energy and Mining, Office of the Industry Advocate, Department for Education). Continued to lobby the Office of the Industry Advocate for stronger local steel and fabrication content for South Australia Government-funded projects via a Tailored Industry Participation Plan for steel. In conjunction with the Department for...

Discussed with Queensland Government representatives the commitment by the previous government to require SCA certification of steel fabricators to AS/NZS 5131 as a prequalification to work on government building projects. It was confirmed that the new government will likely support the progress of the commitment through the normal government protocols.  Communicated with Manufacturing Skills Queensland (MSQ) regarding sharing of information on training, with the intention of gaining MSQ support for ASI initiatives. Joined the Engineering Skills and Training Industry Reference Group (IRG) at MSQ. Presented lectures on economical structural steelwork to third year engineering students at James Cook University, the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Southern Queensland. Held the ASI Steel Scholarship for 4th year University Students with support from Professor Mahen Mahendran and his team at the Queensland University of Technology. The successful scholarship winner...

Engaged with the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to gain better visibility of government-funded renewable energy projects and gain an understanding of the Victorian Energy Policy and Investment Overview. Participated in a Steel Industry Forum organised by the Office of the Local Jobs First Commissioner on the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) Project which highlighted 92% local content requirements and identified steel tonnage requirements for the initial SRL East Main Works package. After disappointingly discovering that 11,000 tonnes of fabricated steel bridge girders were being sourced from overseas by the main contractor Laing O’Rourke for the Bullen flyover, persistently raised concerns initially from April 2024 to September 2024, and then at a steel industry forum on the project hosted by Laing O’Rourke in October 2024, and again in November 2024 at a Steel Industry Roundtable with the Victoria Government. Coordinated a steel industry roundtable with...

Compiled a list of local steel producers, fabricators, and manufacturers capable of supplying wind, solar, transmission, and pumped hydro componentry and infrastructure to use as a checklist when evaluating the tenders for energy supply projects under the NSW Renewable Energy Sector Board Plan. For details, see: https://www.steel.org.au/Membership/media/Australian-Steel-Institute/PDFs/NSW-Steel-Supply-Chain-Capability-Reference-List-160425.pdf.   Delivered the annual steel construction lecture to the civil engineering class at the Australian Defence Force Academy on 12 August, 2024. The lecture included additional special content on architecturally exposed structural steel and façade systems relating to this year’s student project, which is a brownfield redevelopment of the Officers Mess facilities. Presented to an inquiry into the procurement practices of government agencies in NSW and its impact on the social development of the people of NSW. Six of the eight members of the upper house...