The ARF annual lunch sponsored by Transfield Services was a huge hit with members, who were impressed with the speaker, new RTA Chief Les Weilinga, and also delighted by the view and food at the Royal Motor Yacht Club at Point Piper.
More than 120 members and their guests came to hear Mr Weilinga outline his vision for the RTA and hear about changes already made, including reducing the number of directorates from nine to seven.
“We’ll have a greater focus on reinforcing technical excellence within the organisation and make sure we have the resource capacity we need,” he said.
Mr Weilinga said road safety was a big issue for the organisation, particularly with the publicity surrounding a number of fatalities involving P-platers. He said big reductions had been achieved in the road toll over the last twenty years, with the introduction of random breath testing, but more needed to be done.
He also called on motorists to take greater responsibility for the way they drive.
“The RTA and the police cannot get behind the wheel of the car,” he said.
Mr Weilinga said the RTA, under his leadership, was working on some key projects to improve road safety, traffic flow and the environment, including:
Mr Weilinga said the RTA had learned valuable lessons about Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) as a result of the Cross City Tunnel project. He reiterated support for PPPs as a method of project delivery, with the proviso:
“They’s only be used where they’ll provide the public with value for money.”
Mr Weilinga said the challenges for the future include industry capacity, with competition in the resources sector already leading to higher tender prices. He said the industry can expect to see a range of contract modes being offered by the RTA, with alliance contracts definitely one of those modes. He called on the industry as a whole work on attracting young people to a career in engineering. He said the RTA will employ 80 graduate engineers in 2007 and has also set up a scholarship program for country engineers.
In conclusion, Mr Weilinga highlighted the issue of safety at roadworks site as a major concern for both the private and public sector. A new ad campaign featuring a car suddenly driving through office work stations is designed to make drivers think about the safety of roadworkers as they drive through work sites. He said the cost of the 603 crashes a year at work sites was 10 deaths, hundreds of injuries and $100 million a year.
Ted Wziontek, General Manager, Strategy & Development from Transield Services gave the vote of thanks.
Proudly sponsored by Transfield Services
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