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76 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
AU T UMN 20 1 7
A word from the CEO
Since my last message, the 2016 National
Excellence Awards Finals have taken place,
in Canberra this year, which concludes the
annual series. It was a great event attended
by almost 300 guests and as we were in the
Capital, we had the pleasure of hearing from
both a senator and a minister.
The Minister for Small Business, Michael
McCormack, joined us for a lunch with our
councillors and sponsors. He shared with
us some of his ideas and aspirations for
improving the lot of our smaller contractors –
and we look forward to seeing the changes
as they happen.
Senator Brigit McKenzie – from Victoria,
was our guest speaker at our awards
night, representing Assistant Minister
Karen Andrews. The ABCC, VET reform
and the Registered Organisations (RO)
Act were the key strands from Senator
McKenzie’s address. Again with lots of
change on the agenda.
The highlight of the evening was of course
seeing the calibre of our winning projects –
which are presented on the next page. Our
awards are always a very special occasion
as, apart from seeing the best projects of the
year acknowledged, we also announce our
three national apprentice winners and the
trade teacher award.
VET reform squarely on the menu
Reforms to the Vocational Education
and Training (VET) sector are also
progressing in a healthy direction. The
government’s announcement to strengthen
the performance of the sector and replace
the largely discredited FEE-HELP program
is encouraging. NECA praises Minister
Birmingham’s announcement, and has called
on the Senate to support these reforms –
given the reputational damage suffered by the
behaviour of some rogue operators, and the
poorly thought-through design of the loan fee
program of former years.
The Apprentice Pathways Project – now
commonly referred to as ‘APP’, which follows
on form the highly successful MAPS project,
is well underway. By the time you receive this
magazine we should be in the implementation
phase of the pilot. And this is when the real
work begins. So watch this space.
Tasmania scores a first for Australia!
Over the past 12 months or so, NECA
has been working with the Tasmanian
Department of Justice to support its launch
of Continuing Professional Development
(CPD) for the building and construction
industry – including licensed electricians.
This program was launched on 1 July this
year. It means that from here on Tasmanian-
licensed electricians will need to secure 12
points per annum to maintain their licence.
The program will run for two years before
becoming mandatory. But the government
hopes this program will be embraced by
the industry as a means of maintaining the
safety and general awareness needed for
our industry to grow and develop. NECA is
one of the major providers of the courses
and events that attract points, and we
wholeheartedly support this initiative.
Time to have your say
As you may recall, we completed our most
recent Market Monitor industry research
in 2015. So by the time you receive this
magazine the 2017 survey will be in full swing.
Once again all of the major wholesalers, and
the majority of the large manufacturers, are
working with us on the 2017 questionnaire.
This year we will be particularly interested
in developments in the online space, and
the relationship that exists in today’s market
between ‘price and quality’.
To make completing the questionnaire
even easier for you this time around, we
have split it into four sections. That way you
can give us your views in manageable 10
to 15-minute blasts. But don’t worry, the
system will come back to remind you to
keep going until you have completed your
feedback. The questionnaire will be up on
our websites – and those of the participating
wholesalers, from mid-December through
to mid-February 2017. The results will be
presented in April 2017.
Don’t miss the chance to have your say.
Infinity Cables
While I hate to end my message on a
negative note, the news regarding the Infinity
Cables is not good. We are now well into
the period where the cable may well start
to deteriorate if it is in any way exposed.
However, although the recall has gone well
in a number of states, the recall in NSW is
turning out to be painfully slow.
Unfortunately, NSW is also the state
where the largest proportion of the cable
was sold.
The Industry Reference Group we sit
on – chaired by the ACCC, is currently
reassessing the situation for NSW as we
believe the only way to get the cable in NSW
inspected, and replaced where needed,
is via a consumer campaign. We will keep
you updated. But for those of you in NSW,
please do keep your eyes open for this
cable and notify the owner immediately if
you come across it. The ACCC website will
help them then work out their options for any
necessary remediation.
Finally, as we all head back to work after our
various summer breaks, let’s all hope that
2017 is a great year!
Best regards,
Suresh Manickam