Title

Career:

Wave International

Principal Civil Engineer (RPEQ)

March 2018 – Present

M1 Consulting

Director and Senior Civil Engineer (RPEQ) November 2013 – February 2018

Gladstone Regional Council

• Manager, Technical Services, September 2011 – October 2013
• Manager, Infrastructure Planning, October 2008 – September 2011
• Special Projects Manager – Infrastructure Planning, May 2008 – October 2008 

Firstly, thank you for the opportunity to become the 25th IPWEAQ President. I was declared elected at the AGM held 24 October 2019 after serving on the Board as Vice President (2017-2019) and as CQ Branch President (2015-2017).

The IPWEAQ Board for 2019-2021 comprises:

Re-elected Board members:

• Vice President: Angela Fry, GHD (2017)
• CQ Branch President: Celisa Faulkner, Gladstone Regional Council (2017)
• SEQ Branch President: Raad Jarjees, Cardno (2017)

Newly elected Board members:

• NQ Branch President: Glenda Kirk, Mareeba Shire Council
• SWQ Branch President: Andrew Johnson, Somerset Regional Council
• Sarah Hausler, McCullough Robertson
• Trevor Dean, Fraser Coast Regional Council

I’d like to thank retiring Board members Gerard Read, Andrew Ryan and Bruce Gardiner for their contributions over the past 2-4 years, and Seren McKenzie who completed 10 years’ service on the IPWEAQ Board in various roles including SWQ Branch President, Vice President and as our President. Seren is one of the longest-standing Board members in IPWEAQ history and we are delighted that she is continuing her involvement on the SWQ Branch committee.

At a General Meeting of members held 24 October, it was resolved to transition to a Company Limited by Guarantee – a more formal and appropriate structure given the nature of our activities, and a supporting constitution was adopted. Many thanks to the 126 members who voted in person at the meeting or by Proxy. 125 votes were received in favour.

The new Board met for the first time Friday 25 October, technically and officially, for the first time, as a Board of Directors under Corporations Law as opposed to a Management Committee under state based legislation. Not much changes in terms of our operations – our ABN remains the same and all our structures remain in place, and we continue to be governed primarily by ACNC (Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission) legislation since we are a registered charity. However, the new structure and ASIC oversight does offer a more robust governance framework which offers those we trade with more security and confidence in their dealings with us.

Congratulations to all the projects and people nominated for awards at the 2019 IPWEAQ Excellence Awards. It was a great night of celebration with a respectful mood amongst the almost 600 delegates present.

I wish you all a safe Christmas and I look forward to catching up with everyone at our branch conferences and other events in 2020 but firstly, I invite members and Partners to join us at the first event for 2020 – the annual President’s Breakfast to be held at the Victoria Park Garden Marquee in Brisbane, Friday 7 February 2020. This event gets bigger and better every year so please be sure to join us to kick off another exceptional IPWEAQ year.

Craig Murrell

President