Roads Australia
The First ARF Forum sets a High Standard
On 29 September ARF convened the first meeting of the Forum which functions as the national peak body for stakeholders in the road transport sector. The meeting, sponsored by Macquarie, was specifically structured to meet the high threshold required by senior management who are themselves well informed.
A “College of Industry Leaders”
ARF President Ray Fisher reported that over 70 companies were represented – all ARF members or their invited guests. “Our aim was to bring the leading companies, government agencies, and the key industry associations together in one room – a college of industry leaders”, Ray Fisher said.“This was clearly achieved and the feedback has been very positive.”
Industry leaders report the “State of the Nation”During the morning session the Forum reviewed the “state of the nation” for road transport in Australia.
Mark Davis, the national parliamentary correspondent from the Australian Financial Review began the day with an analysis of the forces which underpin the parties’ current standings and which may be important in future.Nigel Hatcher from BIS Shrapnel reviewed the outlook for business activity and for road construction in particular.
The heads of the roads agencies from all eastern states and the Commonwealth outlined recent developments within their jurisdictions and spoke under Chatham House rules about what was on the horizon.NSW Roads Minister announces AusLink signature
The NSW Roads Minister, the Hon Joe Tripodi, addressed the Forum over lunch and used the occasion to announce that NSW would sign the AusLink agreement.The Minister said that he strongly supported ARF. But he pulled no punches when it came to outlining his concerns about some of the key financial terms of the AusLink agreement as far as they affected NSW. Particularly since the Minister is new to the portfolio, his assurance and grasp of the issues made a strong impression on his audience.
Macquarie seeks “Win-Win” opportunities
After lunch, Nicholas Moore, head of Macquarie’s Infrastructure Banking Group, gave a keynote address on Macquarie’s vision for public-private partnership in infrastructure. It was a rare opportunity to hear one the industry’s most significant policy makers.
Nicholas illustrated how “win-win” outcomes characterise good infrastructure investment. He demonstrated how this principle is applied within Macquarie in identifying projects which are likely to be successful – because commercial success and community benefits will coincide.
ARF identifies key policy issues
In the final session, the meeting discussed issues which ARF should pursue as policy priorities. Two key areas emerged – skills shortages and road maintenance.A series of speakers, including Connell Wagner, CCF, Sydney University and Engineers Australia expressed concern that Australia is not producing the engineers and specialist operators to do the job which lies ahead.
Other speakers, led by Neil Doyle of Queensland Main Roads, called for a national audit of Australia’s road maintenance needs.Neil Doyle said that while it was good to see that infrastructure renewal is now well and truly under discussion, Australia faces a massive maintenance backlog on our existing roads.
"We need to know what we are up against, and the only way to achieve this is for all Australian governments to share information so that we can address national priorities.”The meeting asked the ARF Chief Executive, Ian Webb, to communicate individually with members to seek their participation in ARF working groups to progress these issues.
The paper delivered by Connell Wagner’s representative, Graeme Wood, appears overleaf. Papers delivered by the other keynote speakers at the Forum may be accessed under Chatham House rules on the “Members Only” section of the ARF website.
The current high level of infrastructure expenditure in Australia is significantly affecting the availability of skilled resources, particularly engineers, to adequately service this work.
The contributing factors include the trend that started in the mid 1990s away from technical subjects such as Maths and Science that are required as the basis for engineering courses at the tertiary level.It can take up to 15 years from a person’s initial interest in engineering to becoming a qualified engineer. Only 7.9% of Australia’s current graduates are engineers. This compares with something like 40% in China.
When combined with high drop out rates among engineering students and market factors upon engineering graduates, the current situation in Australia is that only 25% of those that commence an engineering degree remain as practising engineers 10 years after graduation. Hence the increasing use of the term “the mythical 5 to 10 years experienced engineer” – that highly sort after combination of youth, enthusiasm and experience.The engineering skills shortage will probably continue for at least the next 5 years, driven by the continuing infrastructure spend and the withdrawal from the workforce of the “baby boomers”.
Since about 70% of engineers are now employed in the private sector, the ACEA has a strong interest in addressing this problem. It recently surveyed 60 member firms. 73% of respondents advised that skills shortages were adversely impacting their business with the main issues being:Most medium and nearly all large consulting firms advised that they had measures in place to attract and retain staff such as graduate recruitment and staff training and development programs. For example, Connell Wagner actively participates in career open days and employed 117 new graduates last year. These new graduates will be mentored through Connell Wagner’s Graduate Development Program – one of the first such programs accredited with Engineers Australia by a consulting engineering firm.
Short term measures to address the skills shortage include initiatives such as the Federal Government’s Recruitment Expo. Large consulting firms, such as Connell Wagner, have been recruiting overseas for some time and are active participants in this initiative. I understand that the Government’s target is to encourage up to 20,000 skilled migrants to Australia during 2005, hopefully including a good proportion of engineers.
However, skilled migration is not a long term sustainable solution. We need a fundamental change in Australia’s approach to attracting young Australians into technology subjects and to retaining them as practising professionals.
Other suggestions to ease the current skills shortage include the use of more efficient delivery systems for major infrastructure and improvements in the contractual framework for these projects. For example, many of the large DCM and BOOT projects have contract structures that require multiple layers of engineering staff – such as the Client’s engineering team, the Contractor’s engineering team, the Contractor’s Design Consultants’ engineering teams, an Independent Design Checker, a Construction Reviewer and an Independent Verifier. Arrangements like this tie up large numbers of highly skilled professionals and involve “checkers checking the checkers”.The contractual frameworks for these large projects can also create adversarial rather than collaborative relationships. These divert resources to address contractual rather than technical issues. This could be improved with better risk allocation procedures or more cooperative approaches to the contractual framework such as alliances or relationship contracting.
Macquarie Infrastructure Group are the proud sponsors of this event.
Companies attending the First Forum Meeting
Abigroup Construction,Allens Arthur Robinson, ARF, ARRB Group, Australasian College of Road Safety, Australian Automobile Association, Australian Construction Products, Australian Financial Review, Austroads, Baulderstone Hornibrook, BIS Shrapnel, Boral, BR Durham & Sons, Brisbane City Council, Cement, Concrete & Aggregates Australia(CCAA), Civil Contractors Federation, Clayton Utz, Connell Wagner, Department of Main Roads, Queensland Deutsche, Telekom, DOTARS, Egis Projects, Emoleum, Engineers Australia, FRH Group Pty Ltd, GHD Pty Ltd, Hyder Consulting, Institute of Logistics and Transport, Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia, Interlink Roads, John Holland Group, Kellogg Brown and Root, Komatsu, Leighton Contractors, Macquarie Infrastructure Group, Maunsell, National Transport Commission, NSW Minister for Roads, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Phillips Fox, Pioneer Road Services, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Queensland Main Roads, Queensland Transport, Reed Constructions Australia, RIISC, RTA NSW, Shell Co of Australia Ltd, Sinclair Knight Merz, Skilled, SMEC Australia, Statewide Roads, Tenix Solutions Pty Ltd, The Earthmover & Civil Contractor, Transfield Services Australia Pty Ltd, Transport SA, Transport Workers Union of Australia, Transurban Infrastructure Development, University of Sydney, VicRoads, Westlink Motorway Limited, Westpac, WesTrac
ARF Membership Reaches 39
ARF membership has reached thirty-nine, with Westpac and Thiess joining in the week before the Forum Meeting. ARF membership has grown from 10 in March 2004. Membership now includes major national players from the following sectors:
Road Operators
PavingResearch
Government AgenciesEquipment
Motoring AssociationsFreight
Local GovernmentConstruction
Engineering UnionsServices
The ARF's MissionARF Policy Objectives
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