Guiding principles born of collaboration

ARCIA held its annual Sydney event at the Novotel in Homebush on the 15th of June. As is now becoming somewhat of a tradition, this was the same night as the NSW versus Queensland State of Origin rugby league match. The healthy rivalry between the teams was matched at the dinner table, with our Queensland guests leaving no-one in doubt about who they supported. A victory dance was performed as the Queenslanders took over the stage with their maroon scarfs proudly displayed as the NSW Blues succumbed.

The event was a sellout with 200 guests enjoying a presentation by our international guest speaker, Lance Valcour. The presentation — on how people involved with public safety communications need to collaborate — was very topical, and it was interesting to see the number of similarities that Canada has with Australia in terms of size, people and government structures.

The NSW ARCIA committee was also very pleased to award Mark Crosland from RFI the annual state award for services to the industry. Mark has been involved in the industry for more than 25 years and is most widely known for his efforts in organising the RFI Spurious Challenge. His knowledge and customer service have earned him the respect of the NSW Industry.

Members attending Comms Connect and the ARCIA events will have seen the new way we are presenting the organisation, with graphics and icons that we feel paint a terrific picture of our industry. Our theme of ‘No plane takes off, no ship sets sail and no train leaves the station’ is helping people realise just how important and necessary our industry really is. We encourage members to use this new material in their own businesses to keep our message out there. There is also a lot of work going on in the background to improve the website and provide more useful content for the benefit of members.

ARCIA is working with the ACMA on a set of guidelines for aviation-to-LMR interconnection systems. The draft version has been completed and ARCIA is grateful for the help of both the ACMA and Airservices Australia in developing these guiding principles. Interference protection of critical air band frequencies is essential; however, there are tremendous benefits to the aviation industry when properly engineered LMR systems are able to be used in conjunction with air band services. ARCIA expects that the guidelines will provide clarity for all parties involved in this important industry sector, as well as satisfying regulatory requirements.

The next event will be ARCIA Brisbane and Comms Connect on 27 July. Bookings are open, so please book your tickets now for both Comms Connect Brisbane and the ARCIA dinner. The following day ARCIA will have the annual AGM in Brisbane, where it will be time to nominate committee members for the coming year. The AGM will feature reports from all of our subcommittees and executive, so please come along and show your support.

Hamish Duff

President

Australian Radio Communications Industry Association