Message from the President – Angelique Mentis
We’re hopping back into your inbox this month with our news over the last little while – and there is a LOT of news to catch up on!
Welcome to our new CEO
First and foremost, we are super excited to announce the appointment of our new CEO, Jeremy Irvine.
Jeremy is an experienced, qualified association CEO, who has led associations nationally in Australia and New Zealand as well as state associations in Australia. Jeremy served as a political adviser in federal Parliament in the late 1990s/ early 2000s before transitioning to association executive roles. He has led associations for over 15 years including in the education/training, social services, and construction sectors. Jeremy’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts (Organisational Communication). He was also one of the first association executives in Australia to complete the internationally recognised Certified Association Executive course and exam.
Jeremy has a deep understanding of and long experience in working with association members, corporates, governments, and peak bodies, and is an experienced media spokesperson.
Outside of work, Jeremy hosts a podcast with leaders as they reflect on their 21st birthday and the life lessons they’ve learned since. A sporting tragic, he is a long-suffering Melbourne Rebels fan and always-hopeful Melbourne Demons fan. On weekends with his wife, Jeremy can be found supporting one of the various sporting teams their school-aged kids play for.
Jeremy will commence with us at Parking Australia on June 21, and as a Board we are thrilled to have him on Board. Jeremy will slowly be making his way around our members to introduce himself, have a chat, coffee or catch up and learn about the key levers that impact your business.
Advocacy and all things Parking
Queensland
A lot has been happening in the background with this and we’re very fortunate that your board members Daniel Hitchcock and Pete Tarrant attended a meeting with Minister Bailey in May. The Minister advised that they are in the process of finalising their review, and that the matter will be put out for public comment in the near future. The public comment period will be open for 28 days, and we will call for submissions from our members for their opinions on it.
As your industry body, we will also be preparing a submission for which we will incorporate as many of the industry’s key issues as possible.
In addition, it’s also important to note that this issue relates to one of private property law, across a number of different sectors. In this regard, we have progressed our discussions with the Shopping Centre Council and the Property Council of Australia. As parking touches all these associations, we believe it is important that we present a collaborative and united position in the public and government arena. Not only for Queensland, but relevantly as a framework for other states, should this issue impact any others going forward. We will voice the collaborative best interests for all our members, to be able to work closely with Government to ensure all voices are heard and suitable outcomes delivered.
As soon as the period opens, we’ll be reaching out to you all for input and comments to include in our submissions.
New South Wales
Shopping Centre parking for Retail Employees – Prior to the New South Wales state election, there was some lobbying by the retail employees union advocating for free parking for employees working in shopping centres given the rising cost of living. This issue is still simmering, and PA is working collaboratively with the Shopping Centres Council on an advocacy position to navigate the best outcomes for our members as the matter unfolds.
City of Sydney Electrification Strategy – The City of Sydney recently released its strategy paper on electrification of the City of Sydney and Parking Australia is providing input on how the parking community can assist the adoption of EV charging infrastructure for the City of Sydney.
Victoria
You may have recently seen two initiatives around the City of Melbourne.
Firstly, the City of Melbourne recently issued a Transportation Strategy Paper, which can be found here.
Secondly, the City has also proceeded to community consultation on a proposal to close parts of the CBD around Flinders, Spence and Collins Streets during peak rush hours. The City’s intent is to reduce the number of people driving through the CBD and to prioritise pedestrians, making the city more walkable. The draft framework is open for community consultation from June 7 to July 19, so we welcome any members of our PA community to get in touch in relation to making submissions.
New Members
We’re pleased to announce the following new member has joined us at Parking Australia:
QIC – Silver Member
To our existing members, a reminder that your PA membership allows you to include an UNLIMITED number of team members on your membership.
So please either email us back at paa@parking.asn.au or sign them up directly through your Parking Australia member login page, so that they have direct circulation of member benefits/ newsletters/ education information and access to videos of our in person networking events. We are also keen to share our members news, so if you have any to share with the parking community, please let us know!
Resignation of Director
For personal health reasons, Craig Ion from Maribyrnong Council has unfortunately tendered his resignation from the board. We thank Craig for his service, and wish him and his family well.
Upcoming Events Update
OUTLOOK ‘23 Conference and Parking Industry Awards – 11 October 2023
We welcome you to put a placeholder in your diaries for our Outlook Conference to be held in Sydney at the International Convention Centre on 11 October 2023. This year we’ve decided to hold our event in conjunction with National Roads and Traffic which has foot traffic of over 4,000 people, be ready to have your skates on and do a LOT of networking and handshaking!
And while you’re at it, our glamorous Parking Industry Awards Dinner will follow that same evening of 11 October 2023 to be held at the Sydney Masonic Centre.
The theme for OUTLOOK is “Where to now… Navigating the next turn?” and we’ll be addressing the future of parking in the context of transport mobility and worldwide trends. So watch this space for some super exciting topics, and speakers, including a few international ones!
Our sponsorship opportunities for OUTLOOK ‘23 are now open, so for those interested, please click here.
And we are excited to start accepting nomination for the Parking Industry Awards so please view how to submit your nominations here.
Brisbane Networking Event – 9 August 2023
Our next quarterly networking event will be held in Brisbane on Tuesday 9 August, 2023, so please also pop a note in your diaries.
We look forward to making your parking community shine!
Warm regards,
Angelique Mentis
President