Tackling the challenges of technology

ARCIA’s 2017 elections have been held, and I am delighted to report that we have a full team of people on the committee to keep up the head of steam we have achieved. I am honoured to be able to once again be elected president of the association. We also made a small change to the constitution by adding the positions of second vice president and immediate past president. As ARCIA continues to grow and advocate across the country, the committee believes that it is important to be able to share the load around for some activities. I have been in the fortunate position to attend nearly all Comms Connect and ARCIA networking dinners over the last couple of years, but that won’t always be the case. It is also very important that ARCIA has enough people to engage with stakeholders in each state, including other associations or groups.

Our last major event was the mini Comms Connect and ARCIA networking dinner held at Rydges Southbank, Brisbane. It is fair to say that numbers were slightly down from 2016; nevertheless, the enthusiasm shown by all the Queenslanders in attendance was tremendous. The host for the evening was none other than Cairns local radio legend John La Cava, who kept the crowd entertained throughout the evening … which included a pop radio history quiz that brought up some very interesting questions and sparked furious debate amongst the tables. We also enjoyed another excellent presentation — Jeff Miller, CEO of the Civil Contractors Federation of Western Australia, discussed the likely trajectory for the Queensland economy.

The next ARCIA regional event will be in Adelaide, and for 2018 the committee has decided to go with an ARCIA networking event without Comms Connect happening during the day. Naturally we are keen to engage with the biggest audience possible and we are reviewing all options to make these events successful. We don’t necessarily judge success on a purely financial basis; nationally, we have been investing in these events from some years. However, it is vital that we have good levels of local industry engagement. So get involved and support your local industry members, partners and customers. The ARCIA committee is happy is hear about topics of interest that will help bring people together for these networking events.

The annual gala dinner in Melbourne will be held on 22 November 2017, and it is shaping up to be the biggest yet. We will be celebrating 10 years of the association and recognising industry excellence, so make sure you’re there to be a part of it. The Comms Connect program is shaping up be very comprehensive and there will be lots of subjects of interest. The debate around public safety mobile broadband will be a hot topic. As Australia begins to understand how we will deal with this and other critical changes in technology, ARCIA encourages all industry representatives and users to be part of the debate.

Finally, over the last few years the association has essentially spent what we have earned through the support of members and partners. So I am also pleased to report that the financial status of the association is stable and has never been better, under the excellent management of our executive and the treasurer, Andrew Wyborn.

Hamish Duff, President

Australian Radio Communications Industry Association

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