Message from the CEO
Parking Australia held its first networking event for 2019 in Sydney and it was a pleasure to meet the members who attended. The event solidified in my mind that the industry is poised for rapid change with many Parking Australia members being at the forefront of that change.
On the weekend I attended a BBQ and was asked, ‘How’s the new job was going?’. One of the people in the conversation was scoffing that the parking industry has a 
representative body. In reply I said that the parking industry is a billion-dollar plus industry and as such said, ‘Why wouldn’t it have a representative body?’.
This conversation led me to do some research into how big the industry is. IBIS World believe that the parking industry in Australia is worth an estimated $1.6 billion and employs close to 3000 people. These seem to me to be quite conservative figures, but it does highlight the size of our industry and the importance of having a prominent industry body.
At the recent Parking Australia board meeting I put forward a case that the association can and should get bigger. As a $1.6 billion industry there is no reason why we shouldn’t be a powerful presence when speaking with governments, stakeholders and the media. To achieve this, we need to get bigger and represent as many car parking operators as possible while continuing to grow the number of non-car park operating members as well.
As such I’m urging all members to think about those who you come into contact with, who are not members of Parking Australia, but could and should be. I believe that there is ‘strength in numbers’ and that this will become more important as we look to build the profile and importance that parking plays in people’s lives.
Can I encourage you to bring Parking Australia into your conversations and refer any potential membership leads to us? It is my belief that we can grow the Parking Australia membership significantly in the coming years, which can only lead to a strong and healthy voice for the parking industry.
Regards
Stuart Norman