Planning Institute Australia Queensland 2007/8 Annual Report

Longreach Civic and Cultural Centre17 September 2008

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thank you to our major sponsors

pia queensland> Annual General Meeting 17 September 08

2007 Conference programBuckley Vann Town Planning ConsultantsConics Applied VisionDepartment of infrastructure and PlanningMaroochy Shire Council Port of Brisbane CorporationPowerlink Queensland Logan City CouncilStockland Thuringowa City Council Townsville City Council Wolter Rowlands

2006/7 Awards CategoryBuckley Vann Town Planning ConsultantsCaloundra City Council City of Townsville Department of Emergency Services Department of Infrastructure and Planning DevineGold Coast City CouncilHumphreys Reynolds Perkins Planning Consultants Ipswich City Council Maroochy Shire Council Noosa Shire CouncilNorthshore Development GroupPine Rivers Shire Council Powerlink Queensland Queensland Transport/Department of Main Roads Sinclair Knight Merz Tract Consultants

2007 SupportersHays Property & Architecture RecruitmentUrbex

Queensland Young Planner GroupBrisbane City CouncilGold Coast City CouncilQueensland Transport/Department of Main RoadsPMM

Professional DevelopmentAllens Arthur RobinsonBrisbane City CouncilDepartment of Infrastructure and PlanningPBToowoomba City CouncilTract Consulotants

AdvertisingIPA SignsRRIF SEQ

Graphic DesignQueensland Planner Cover and Awards Nomination BookTract Consultants

SocialGadens Lawyers

INDEX

Council 2007-2008 3

President’s report 4

Portfolios Secretary 5 Financial 8 Marketing & Communication 9 Policy, Research and Representation 10 Member Services and Education 11Chapters 12 Queensland Young Planners 13 AGM 2007 Minutes 14

annual general meetingThe Annual General Meeting of the Planning Institute of Australia, Queensland Division is to be held 7.00-7.30pm on Thursday 17th September 2008 at Longreach Cultural and Civic Centre

AGENDA

Apologies

Adoption of minutes of 2007 AGM

Discussion and receipt of the Annual Report 2007-2008

Election of QLD Division 2008-09 Division Committee

Other business

Lucky Door Prize Draw

bronze

gold

silver

advertising IPA Signs pty ltd

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division committee 2007-2008

Secretary and Branches portfolio Awards Convenor PresidentBenson AU-YEUNG Alyssa CAMERON Dy CURRIE Vice PresidentQueensland Planner Editor Marketing & Communication PortfolioKristin DEMASI Kerry DOSS Wendy EVANS

Social Planning Chapter Urban Design Chapter / UDAL Queensland Young Planner RepJane FRAWLEY Jeff HUMPHREYS Laura HYK

Transport Planning Chapter Immediate Past PresidentBruce JAMES Leo JENSEN Michael KERRY

Professiosnal Development Convenor National Young Planner Rep Education PortfolioRosanne MEURLING Kim NELSON Michael PAPAGEORGIOU Policy, Convenor National Economic Develoment Chapter David PERKINS Neil SIPE Brett SKYRING

Vice President Queensland Planner HistorianGreg TUPICOFF John VAN AS Bas VEAL

National Councillor TreasurerGary WHITE Cliff WILLMETT

note: those with portfolios in green are also on the Coordination Committee

Division Committee and Portfolios

Division Staff

Branches

TROPICAL FAR NOTH QUEENSLAND NORTH QUEENSLAND CENTRAL QUEENSLANDPresident President PresidentPeter TABULO Catherine HOBBS Michael JEWELLSecretary Secretary SecretaryAlison STEVENS Erin BERTHELSEN Erin McCABE

WIDE BAY BURNETT SUNSHINE COAST DARLING DOWNS President President PresidentDoug MACKAY Fiona FULLARTON Ken HARRISSecretary Secretary SecretaryRosalyn ACWORTH Steve PATEY Annette DOHERTY (tbc)

DIVISION MANAGER ADMIN, EVENTS & FINANCE SPONSORSHIP

Kaye MILLS Melanie ADAM Karen CASEY

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ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 To be presented at the Annual General Meeting to be held at Longreach Civic and Cultural Centre, 17th September 2008

President’s report Dyan Currie MPIA CPP President PIA Queensland Division 2007-2009

After a whirlwind year as President of the Qld Division I am pleased to present my first annual report.

I have enjoyed this year more than I could possibly have imagined. While it has certainly been busy, the support of a superb committee and staff (Kaye, Mel and Karen ) have made it a period of fun and professional growth as well as challenges. I have endeavoured to maintain and expand the positive image of the planning profession and the Institute whilst raising and debating those issues that needed attention both in Qld and at National level. The increasing attention to key issues such as housing affordability and climate change, combined with legislative and political change in local government has made for a busy policy year. The ongoing discussions regarding density/sprawl (highlighted by the excellent work of the Vampire report from Griffith University) will also be feature of policy debates as local governments commence the post amalgamation Planning Schemes.

The Division has been heavily involved in policy discussions with the State this year with the main focus being the IPA reform agenda. Multiple members of the Institute have been involved in the workshops and reference groups to derive solutions to issues raised in the community consultation. I have represented the Institute on the Director General’s Planning Reform Panel (peak bodies) and members of the Institute have been involved in reviewing drafts of potential proposals. More recent policy submissions have included comments on the Priority Infrastructure Plans and Infrastructure Charging proposals. The Division Committee has been pleased to welcome Julie-Anne Dawson to the role of Policy Coordinator following the resignation of Lyn Hopewell. Many thanks to Lyn for your valued service and good luck in your new role.

I would like to thank the members of the Qld Coordination Committee who meet on a monthly basis to work through the running of the highly successful Division. Special mention of Vice Presidents Kerry Doss and Greg Tupicoff, Immediate Past President Michael Kerry, Secretary Alyssa Cameron, National Councillor Gary White, Treasurer Cliff Willmett and convenor of the Education Portfolio Michael Papageorgiou who are a powerhouse of energy and commitment to the profession. In more recent months the Coordination Committee has been pleased to welcome David Perkins (Convenor of the Policy Committee) and Qld Young Planner representative Kim Nelson to the group. Welcome and thanks for your participation.

Thanks also to the Chapter convenors and representatives, Vanessa Harvey (Economic Chapter), Jeff Humphries (Urban Design Chapter), Jane Frawley (Social Planning Chapter) and Bruce James (Transport Chapter), Rosanne Meurling (CPD), Janet Marshall (Environment) and Kim Nelson (Young Planners). Your commitment and energy is appreciated.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work and ongoing support by our outstanding Division Manager Kaye Mills. Kaye and her team (Mel and Karen) provide amazing support to the various committees and branches and yet never fail to deliver in a professional and positive manner. We continue to discuss the pros and cons of the centralisation of administrative and financial management to National office in Canberra. The Qld Committee is known for its vocal defence of policy positions in debates with other Divisions (certainly this approach will continue during my term) as I believe we need to openly debate any proposed changes to ensure they are to the benefit of all members (at national and local level). We have participated in a number of key robust discussions this year and I believe achieved a lot. I look forward to working with our new National President Neil Savery as he reviews the governance model of the Institute.

Thank-you to Kristin Demasi who is the editor of the highly successful Qld Planner. We receive tremendous feedback about the Qld Planner – please keep telling us what is good and not so good about this publication. I’ve been interested to see the debate sparked by the newest addition – the secret planner. In between debates about the identity of our trenchcoated planner, the debates around the philosophical points raised have been fascinating.

As a planner based in one of the regional areas (and previously from North Qld), I understand the crucial role of our regional branches. I look forward to attending your AGM’s or special functions where possible. I would like to thank the Branch Committees for their hard work and dedication. Special thanks to the Presidents – Michael Jewell (Central Qld), Catherine Hobbs (FNQ), Peter Tabulo (Tropical FNQ) – incoming President Nikki Huddy, Fiona Fullerton (Sunshine Coast), Doug Mackay (Wide Bay Burnett), Ken Harris (Darling Downs – forming) and Brett Skyring (Gold Coast – reforming).

A key new focus this year has been to work with a media consultant to build the profile of the Institute and our members. I hope you are seeing the benefits of our increased efforts in the media. Geoff Mullins is working hard with Kerry Doss (VP), Greg Tupicoff (VP) and I to build the profile of the Institute and our members. We believe it is working and we are trying hard to raise key policy issues for discussion in the community. Many of you will know of Geoff from his work in the media and from the Conference in Townsville. Geoff will also be joining us in Longreach. He has an excellent understanding of planning issues and has been a vital part of our approach this year. Thank-you Geoff for working with us.

The other key achievement of the last year has been the ongoing success of our Awards for Excellence program. The awards evening held on 9 November was a great success. With over 100 nominations and 15 Awards for Excellence and 39 Merit awards given out, our awards program continues to grow in strength. The high calibre of work being undertaken was then obvious at the National Awards for Excellence presentation held in Sydney in April with Qld (for the second year in a row) receiving five of the ten awards and a commendation. Congratulations to our State and National Award winners. You inspire us all. The Qld ceremony also included the elevation of John Adams to the status of Fellow of the Institute.

I would like to conclude by thanking you all for your support and enthusiasm. I look forward to representing you for the next year.

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Secretary portfolio Alyssa Cameron

The Secretary is responsible for the following Branches of the Queensland Division:• Tropical Far North Queensland• Far North Queensland• Central Queensland• Wide Bay Burnett• Sunshine Coast• Gold Coast• Darling Downs - Lockyer Valley

Changing of the guard

This year Michael Kerry stepped aside from his role as President of the PIA Queensland Division and handed the reins to Dyan Currie. A big thanks to Michael for his dynamic and passionate service as President.

Congratulations to Dyan Currie on her appointment as President for the 2007- 2009 term. Dyan’s nomination was announced and confirmed at the PIA Qld Division Committee meeting held on 20 August 2007 and her term as President commenced on 19 September 2007 following the Annual General Meeting held in Townsville.

The Division is fortunate to have a very well respected, regionally based, local government planner at the helm, particularly in light of the significant local government and planning system reforms occurring at this time. Dyan continues to avidly represent the interests of the Queensland Division at national level and advocate good planning in the community and across levels of government for important issues relevant to the profession and PIA members in Queensland. Thanks to Michael and Dy for the smooth transition and outstanding service to the Division.

Operation of Division

As in previous years, a significant focus at the Divisional level has continued to be on governance issues, driven principally by National reforms. The respective roles and relationship between National office, the Division, Branches, Chapters and special interest groups remain an issue.

The Division’s management and administrative functions continue to be handled by Kaye Mills Enterprises Pty Ltd (KME). The decision to outsource in 2005 and retain Kaye Mills in the role of Divisional Manager, ably supported by Melanie Ely, has provided ongoing stability for the Division. The exceptional work and dedication of Kaye, Mel and the KME team has resulted in continuing improvement in performance, a strong financial position and ultimately excellent value to members.

This more centralised model of administration, advocated by National Office, has placed this arrangement under considerable and regrettable stress over the past year. The Queensland Division is committed to providing the best professional service and stability for its members and will continue to ensure this is delivered. On behalf of all planners in Queensland, I thank Kaye Mills, Melanie Ely and the KME team for their awesome efforts and look forward to working with them well into the future.

Staff changes

There have been a number of staff changes this year. Karen Casey commenced in October 2007 in the role of business development coordinator and Gillian Morgan, who is the PIA National webmaster started in August 2007 on a part-time (as needed) basis to help with the exceptionaly busy times dur-ing our Awards and Conference periods.

A special thanks to Lyn Hopewell who ceased in the role as policy officer for the Division in May 2008. Lyn worked in this position since March 2006.

Julie-Anne Dawson commenced in June 2008 as the new policy and research officer for the Queensland Division. Julie-Anne has extensive planning ex-perience in the private sector as well as State and local government in Queensland. During her career she has specialised in urban renewal processes, strategic planning, policy development, transport planning and development assessment. Julie-Anne juggles part-time planning work with being mother to three young boys, aged 6, 3 and 10 months. In her spare time(?), she is a passionate cyclist and swimmer. Welcome on board Jules.

Branch reports

Reports from the individual Branches contained below highlight the diverse range of activities carried out across Queensland as well as the vital role our Branches play in delivering services to members. This is especially important given Queensland’s regional diversity and the large number of members located outside the South East corner of the State. Thank you to all Branches for your contribution to the profession throughout the year.

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CQ Branch PIA kicked off the year with its’ first seminar in August 2007 titled “ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE BASED PLANNING IN QLD & IPA LEGISLATION UPDATE”. We were fortunate to have Lestar Manning and Stuart Watson of P & E Law and Travis Frew of Humphreys Reynolds Perkins Gold Coast presenting papers. The speakers have extensive knowledge in their fields of expertise and are recognised industry experts. The seminar was very informative and well attended.

The annual “Barefoot Bowls” competition was held in December 07 with representatives from Humphreys Reynolds Perkins North Qld, Mackay City Council, WS Group, DMR, Mackay Port Authority and Queensland Transport registering for the event.

An information session was presented over lunch, which was held at the Suburban Bowls Club, by John Clarke, Manager Strategic Planning, Mackay City Council on PIP’s and upcoming Scheme amendments. Following lunch the teams gathered for more serious part of the afternoon “the bowls tour-nament”. Novices and pro alike all displayed their talents on the green with the Mackay City Council team being victorious.

CQ Branch PIA in conjunction with Mackay Regional Council and UDIA Mackay Whitsunday Branch held the 2008 Autumn CPD seminar in May titled “HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR REFERRAL AGENCY TRIGGERS & ASSESSMENT POLICIES?”. Richard Stewart, Department of Primary Industry, Jacki Wirth and Geoff Sinclair, Department of Natural Resources & Water and Ian Draper, Environmental Protection Agency presented. Lestar Manning of P & E Law was guest speaker and presented a paper on the legal perspective in relation to referral triggers on:

• Implications of missed referrals;• The ability of Council to include referral agencies, missed by the applicant, in Acknowledgement Notices; and• Vegetation Management Referrals.

There was an overwhelming attendance of approximately 70 people which necessitated a change of venue from Councils’ reception room to the foyer of the Mackay Entertainment Centre. Once again the presentations were very informative with everyone coming away with a better understanding of the referral process.

Central Queensland Michael Jewell

The 2006/07 AGM was held on the 6th July 2007 and Committee of Nicole Hall, Ben Thrower, Rohan Lee, Tim Byrne, Nikki Huddy, Peter Boyd (Treas-urer) and Alison Stevens, (Secretary) was formed.

Social highlights of the year were again the World Town Planning Day Lawn Bowls Competition in Nov and the Christmas Party.

The year has seen been one of the most significant years in planning in Far North Queensland, with the announcement of the Council amalgamations in July, the Council elections in March and then the delivery of the draft FNQ 2025 in May 2008. Three defining moments in the planning profession!

The announcement of the amalgamations and the uncertainty it created resulted in the movement of not only planners, but other professionals either within or way from local government, which has only made the professional skills shortage more acute in the some workforces.

The elections in FNQ saw the coming into force three new Councils, with four new Mayors being elected. The planners in the Councils are dealing with new Councillors, new policy directions, new administrative arrangements (in merged Councils) and multiple planning scheme jurisdictions. Add to this record DA’s being received and the desire by some Councils to commence the merging of their planning schemes means additional pressure on the planners.

The draft FNQ 2025 arrival in May bought with it a rush of development applications lodged before its introduction, a suite of applications that were hastily conceived and put together, which probably under normal circumstances may not have been lodged in their proposed form, or if at all. The result being significant wasted resources now in having to administer them through IDAS. Also no doubt a major financial burden in the future when decisions are made, with a high probability of many of them being ultimately decided in the courts.

On the Plan itself, I think the “jury is still out” and it is too early to make a call about its true impact or success. I would like however to thank the individ-ual planners from the Councils across the region that spent considerable time & effort working with the Dept to ensure that not only local government’s position was duly being considered but the planning profession had a strong guiding hand in the plan’s preparation. The Branch has delivered a number of CPD events throughout the year. Covering a range of topics, transport planning, tourism planning, Carbon Trad-ing. The committee has strived to provide some diversity in the topics to maintain the interest of the members. And by the number of attendees we have to each events, I think we have generally got the balance right.

The PIA CPP short courses have been held in Cairns and I would encourage you to take advantage of this, as part of achieving the certification to be a practicing planner.

I would like to thanks the Committee for their support and efforts.

Tropical Far North Queensland Peter Tabulo

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The Sunshine Coast Branch held its AGM on Friday 30 November 2007 at Zachary’s Mooloolaba. The office bearers of 2007 were re-elected including Fiona Fullarton (President), Steve Patey (Secretary) and Rebecca Leyshan (Treasurer). It was great to see that there was additional interest for partici-pation on the committee. The elected members included Cameron Adams, Sian Davis, Jason Brook, Jeremy Addison, Chris Tietzel and Peter Stanley.

The AGM was followed by the Christmas Party sponsored by GHD. The party drew a range of planners from the private and public sectors and the first planning graduates of the University of the Sunshine Coast.

A key goal for the committee this year was to improve its connections with the University of the Sunshine Coast. On Monday 17 March 2008, the Univer-sity of the Sunshine Coast held their 2008 Careers Fair. The PIA Sunshine Coast Branch shared a booth with the Sunshine Coast Regional Council to promote town planning as a career. The show bags were very popular and our attendance at the fair was no doubt a start to improving our relationship with the uni and the links between students and the workforce.

On Thursday 1 May 2008, the first ever PIA Young Planner Function was held at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The event was titled ‘Ever Won-dered – What Planners Do in the Real World?’. Local young planners from private consultancy, local government and the development industry gave a snapshot of what they do in their every day jobs and what inspires them about being a planner. This event was also gratefully sponsored by GHD and a host of volunteers did a great job cooking the sausages.

The Branch hopes to hold an Expert Witness Workshop combined with a social function later in the year.

Sunshine Coast Fiona Fullarton

PB Gold Coast office will be inviting representatives of a selection of planning and planning related businesses and local council officers to a start-up meeting on 29 September to gauge the level of support and the focus of a potential re-established Gold Coast Branch of PIA. The discussions had with other planners on the Gold Coast indicate that a formal branch arrangement may not be supported at this point in time. However there appears to be a consensus that a Gold Coast branch that acts as a facilitator of planning related events, possibly as an adjunct to the role of the CPD committee, that focuses on not just planning per se, but also addresses Gold Coast specific issues may be supported.

PB forwaded invitations to selected invitees late August, and an invitation was also forwarded to PIA QLD Divisional Committee for a representative to attend. If you have not received an invitation, and would like to attend, please contact Kaye Mills 07 3211 4443 kaye.mills@qldplanning.org.au.

The Darling Downs Lockyer Branch had gone in to hibernation in recent years particularly due to workloads for planners across the branch, the limited number of planners in the branch area, and previous members moving out of the region and networks disappearing. Early in the year planners gathered in Toowoomba to reactivate the branch with a view to re-establishing contacts and with the intent of setting up various activities for branch members to assist with the many changes planners are dealing with. Unfortunately for the many planners working in Local Governments the impacts of amalgamations overwhelmed us with work and changes. I know this is a similar issue throughout the State, but the other branches had the advantage of at least being operational and would have found it easier to maintain momentum. A branch seminar was arranged for March with a wide range of speakers, however this had to be cancelled due to a significant number of keynote speakers having to pull out at the last moment due to a clash with a meeting called by the State government. This resulted in an interesting measure of how things can change very quickly in planning. When a new date was proposed I contacted speakers to confirm their availability and found that a third of the speakers had changed jobs and were no longer available. As a result we needed to revisit the proposed program and are now hoping to timetable the seminar later in the year. As the chaos created by amalgamations starts to settle my hope is that we will see the branch become as viable as the other branches across the State. In conclusion, as a planner who has previously been through both amalgamations and the creation of a completely new Council, and who is also experiencing the changes of amalgamation 2008 style, I would like to reassure planners both within Councils and those consulting planners dealing with amalgamated Councils, that things will improve over time and that ultimately the changes resulting from the amalgamations will have significant benefits. Regards.

Gold Coast Brett Skyring

Darling Downs/Lockyer Valley Ken Harris

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Administration & Finance portfolio Cliff Willmett

The Administration and Finance portfolio is responsible for the following operational areas of the Queensland Division:• Administration• Finance• Archivist• Sponsorship

Financial report

The Queensland Division has again performed well above expectations. We have enjoyed a “bumper year” in that services to members expanded and contrary to the trend elsewhere in the Institute we produced an even greater level of funding to support the Division over future years.

There have been many staff changes within PIA National Office over the last 12 months. The move by the Division to contract all management services to KME Pty Ltd - a company set up by Kaye Mills, our Divisional Manager of nearly five years has served us well. In spite of recent moves by others to try to end this relationship we in this Division all look forward to a continuation for many years. We continue to hold our monthly Coordination Committee meetings in Brisbane City Council’s premises- and we thank them for their ongoing and generous support of the PIA Queensland Division.

Allens Arthur Robinson continue to make their premises available for our Division Committee meetings and many of the CPD seminars. We would not be able to fund the member services that we do without the generous support of organisations like Allens Arthur Robinson, and indeed all of our sponsors - many whom have continued to support us year in, year out.Although we ended the year on a sound note with a balance sheet, $101,584.36 carry over of working funds (profit), this does not accurately reflect the work within the Division. A good deal of the profit this year has come from the sterling work of the people in KME Pty Ltd with the wholehearted support of the committees of the Division. The Division finished the year about $9,000 over our budgeted target for membership fees, largely due to the efforts of Mr Barry Peffer (recently retired from the National Office). One can only wonder how much we have missed out on in previous years.

There are some challenges before us in the 2008/09 financial year. We have met the first big challenge by successfully holding the State Conference in Longreach without having to resort to reserve funds. Thank you to all who joined in to the spirit of the occasion out West.

The Division, in the same way as most professional organisations, is reliant on sponsorship to fund most of its member services. There are a number of services that we provide in Queensland that do not currently generate income such as: funding our policy person; media relationships (which will be increased in the 2006/07 year); production of the Queensland Planner; travel to PIA National meetings by the President and Division Manager; supporting the PIA Qld Office including staffing, phones and general stationery to name a few items. Thank you to all our sponsors for your support.

If we take the expenses related to our State Conference and CPD events (both of which generate an income) out of the equation, income from our portion of membership fees only covers approximately 25% of our expenses which means we have to fund 75% of the running of the PIA Queensland Division and membership services through ongoing sponsorship - a huge and time consuming task.

The Coordination Committee will continue to lobby the National Council for an increased portion of funding to come back to the Divisions. The Division will need to focus on potential additional sources of income so we can generate a fund base where we are not so reliant on the traditional sponsorship funds to keep our Division afloat. Those services that do not currently generate sufficient income to cover costs will be reviewed to try determin if there is potential for “in kind” or other alternatives to reduce the pressure on funds without reducing the level of member service being provided.

BUSINESS PLAN

Please refer or our website www.planning.org.au > QLD > about > business plan/annual report for the 2007/2008 business plan

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Marketing & Communication portfolio Kerry Doss

The Marketing & Communications portfolio is responsible for the following operational areas of the Queensland Division:• Awards for Excellence in Planning • Queensland Planner• Queensland State Conference • e-Broadcasts• PIA Media Presence

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PLANNING Alyssa Cameron

With more than 100 entries across 18 categories for the 21st Annual Awards in 2007 (the highest of any State), the PIA (Qld) Awards for Planning Excel-lence program continues to go from strength to strength.

The extra promotions introduced to celebrate the 20th Anniversary Awards in 2006, were so well received, that they have now been permanently incor-porated into the Awards program and include–- Awards Celebration Dinner on or in the week of World Town Planning Day;- Awards commemoration book of winners;- All poster boards displayed at the Riverside Centre in Eagle Street, Brisbane during the week World Town Planning Day is celebrated or shortly thereafter; and- Winning posters three month Roadshow to the regions.

In 2007 three new awards were also introduced to better reflect the diversity of the profession and its activities. A Heritage category was reinstated in the program. The new Planning Practice and Administration category provides specific acknowledgment of the excellent and often tireless work of many professionals engaged in implementing planning policy. The Planning Achievements in Small and Local Communities category acknowledges the important contribution of local communities and planners doing good things in small places.

Following the highly successful 20th Anniversary Awards, the ‘reunion committee’ also decided to implement a bit of a succession strategy to get a good head start on the next 20 years of good planning in Queensland. Hence 2007 saw the introduction of some new blood to the Awards Committee (Kristy Albrecht and Yen Trinh) to complement the enthusiasm, knowledge and dedication of Phil Heywood, Chris Buckley, Noel Christie, Mark Doonar and Kerry Doss. Thank you to the Awards committee for their fantastic work and guidance. Special thanks also to Kaye Mills, Melanie Ely and the PIA team for their exceptional support.

All winners at State level are judged against winners of other States for the National awards and on 14 April 2008, Queensland won 5 of the 10 National PIA Awards for Planning Excellence (with joint Queensland winners in the Urban Planning Achievement category). Special mention to Yen Trinh, who was crowned National Young Planner of the Year and to Translink for winning the President’s Award for Translink Network Plan. Congratulations to all other Division and national Award Winners. To view all winners:National winners: www.planning.org.au > events > awardsDivisional winners: www.planning.org.au > QLD > Awards > 2007

On 23 May 2008, the 22nd Annual PIA Queensland Awards for Planning Excellence was formally launched at Parliament House in conjunction with pres-entation of the Minister’s Town Planning Prizes for 2008. Entries to the 2008 Awards formally opened on 23 August 2008 and closed on 15 August 2008. The Awards celebration dinner is to be held on 7 November 2008.

It is likely the much talked about reforms to the Awards program at the National level may be implemented next year. The Awards Committee and in par-ticular Kaye Mills has been actively participating in the debate at the National level regarding the future of the Awards program including detail in relation to Awards categories, entries and national consistency.

Finally thanks to our Awards sponsors for making the Awards possible. Sponsorship needed to be significantly increased in 2007 to support ongoing viability. We can’t thank you enough for helping to make the Queensland Awards a success and for your commitment to promoting planning excellence. With this strong support, the future of the awards as one of the major public activities of the PIA Queensland Division is assured.

The approach has been very successful with our President, Dyan Currie, being interviewed in the press and on radio on a number of occasions. The re-sponse is now that PIA is being approached by the media on a first hand basis rather than PIA having to reactively respond to matters to have our voice heard. Our intention is to build on this profile in 2008/2009.

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CONFERENCE 2007 Kerry Doss

In September 2007 we hosted the PIA Qld Division State Conference at Jupiter’s Casino Townsville – close to 300 delegates attended and took in the tropical north and twin cities of Townsville and Thuringowa.

Despite major hiccups with keynote speakers dropping out at the last minute the conference was a success with the many delegates enjoying the formal and informal professional development and networking opportunities. MC Geoff Mullins joined us once again and ran a tight ship while the able crew of our divisional office made everything run like clockwork.

Keynote speakers from Westpac Bank, Brendan Gleeson from Griffith University and the amiable John Montgomery all had valuable insights to pass onto the delegates.

A big highlight was the conference dinner at Thuringowa Riverway.

The Brisbane and Townville based organising committee did a fantastic job of setting up a rich program as well as pitching in to help out with task like stuffing conference satchels, running site tours and generally being a great help. A big thankyou to all who pitched in.

QUEENSLAND PLANNER Kerry Doss

The baton of “editor Queensland Planner” has now been firmly passed on to the worthy hands of Kristin Demasi. We thank Kristin for her energy and commitment to continuing this important communication tool. The Journal is published four times a year and is seen by most members as a major ben-efit of their membership.

While the Journal does not make a profit we see the benefits of its ongoing publication as more than a monetary equation. As a reminder, Queensland Planner is YOUR journal and we look forward to you contributing to it over time. The editorial work is done by Kristin and her team on a volunteer basis. We gratefully acknowledge the efforts that have been put in by Kristin and her committee members and thank her for her efforts.

If you are interested in making a short term or ongoing commitment to the journal, or have suggestions please contact Kristin Demasi Kristin.j.demasi@transport.qld.gov.au ph: 0434604300

QUEENSLAND PLANNER Kristin Demasi

This year the Queensland Planner aimed to produce a variety of issues designed to reflect the diversity of planning. Queensland planners work in al-most every discipline and we intended to highlight their experiences and contributions to the profession. Themes this year covered a range of issues and initiatives including climate change, infrastructure, strategic and international planning activities, as well as providing regular updates on key initiatives such as the IPA/IDAS review.

There were a couple of new features in the QP this year, including a media update and the ‘peoples planner’, to support PIA as the first contact for com-ment on planning issues. While the media update keeps everyone informed, people’s planner keeps things in perspective (anonymously). Other high-lights included some of our mayors outlining their visions for Queensland, and the exciting contributions in the September edition- International Planning. Special thanks must go to our members of the UK and USA committees for their enthusiasm and valuable contributions to this edition. Our branches, especially our Far Northern colleagues have regularly kept in touch, providing us with highlights from various activities. Over the next year, we will aim to continue to produce issues on a range of topical and valuable initiatives. Our themes are chosen between whats hot (like climate change) and the need to capture different experience and opinions (like the upcoming December edition- too much planning....?). We do like your feedback though- so if you have a burning issue, contribution or compelling argument, please tell us about it.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the QP over the last 12 months. Contributions are on a volunteer basis and we know your time is highly sought after. Remember the QP is your journal, and we look forward to working with everyone over the next 12 months.

MEDIA PRESENCE Kerry Doss

PIA QLD has now retained the services of Pan Communications, AKA Geoff Mullins, to increase our media profile. Geoff has been employed to help respond to issues of a planning nature and to proactively promote PIA and our policy stances in the Queensland media. Our objective was to have the media proactively approach PIA for opinions on planning matters rather than defer to other peak organisations.

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Policy, Research & Representation portfolio David Perkins

The Policy, Research & Representation portfolio is responsible for the following operational areas of the Queensland Division:• Policy • Representations > Coordination and Integration of land use transport > ALGA land use transport and infrastructure planning > BDP > Heritage and character > Better Housing Corporation• Housing > IPA/IDAS > Northbank DA Panel > Minister requests > DIP - various panels and stakeholder meetings > Rural and Regional > Director Geneeral’s Planning Reference Panel > Sustainable Development > EBD > Iconic Queensland Places panels • Research > IPA/IDAS Review > Local Government Careers Taskforce > National Seachange Taskforce > Proceedings for Brisbane Long Term Infrastructure planning > Skills Shortage Taskforce Committee > State Coastal Management Plan > Sustainable Homes Program > UDAL POLICY David Perkins, Convenor

Report by Julie-Anne Dawson, Policy Coordinator

I have been delighted to be engaged by PIA Queensland Division in the role of Policy Coordinator as of 9 June 2008. I would like to formally acknowl-edge the role of my predecessor, Lyn Hopewell, who worked tirelessly in the role for a number of years. I hope I can continue Lyn’s fantastic work in the area of research and policy.

This year has been a very productive and successful year for the Policy and Research Portfolio. The past 12 months has seen the continual growth of membership of the PIA Policy Sub Committee with representation from almost 30 members from a wide range of professional sectors. The Policy Com-mittee meets every 6 weeks and we also have a representative on the Coordination Committee and National Policy Committee.

Over the second half of the year, there have been many robust and informative discussions on key policy areas including coastal management, environ-mental management, urban consolidation, climate change, housing and rural planning.

The Policy Committee is focusing on six Position Statement Topic Areas as a basis for future policies for PIA Queensland. Members have taken leader-ship responsibilities on six Position Statement Topic Areas, which include rural and regional issues; housing issues; land use and transport; heritage and character issues; sustainable development and IPA/IDAS and other legislation.

The Policy and Research Portfolio, through the Policy Sub Committee has also worked on a number of submissions on key projects, initiatives and discussion papers. We also have an active interest in new projects such as Supportive Environments for Physical Activity.

Policy development has not been limited to state policy issues, as the Queensland Division has increased participation in national policy development. The Committee has been involved in many discussions with the National Policy Committee as well as preparing submissions on Draft National Policy Position Statements for Infrastructure, Housing, Child Friendly Environments and Urban Growth Management.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank David Perkins, who has responsibility for the Policy and Research Portfolio. I would also like to acknowledge the Division’s Secretariat for all their support to Lyn and I over the last year.

To conclude, I would like to thank PIA members for actively supporting the Policy and Research Portfolio, in particular the Policy Sub Committee mem-bers. David Perkins has been an exceptional leader and as a result the policy and research has progressed well this year. Over the next 12 months I look forward to working with members to continue this work and promote good planning practice in Queensland.

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Member Services & Education portfolio Michael Papageorgiou

The Member Services & Education portfolio is responsible for the following operational areas of the Queensland Division:• Continuing Professional Development • Young Planners• Membership • Local Government• Social • Promoting Planning in Secondary Schools• University Boards/ Education/Schools • Chapters - Griffith, QUT, UQ, James Cook, Bond, Sunshine Coast University

The Education Subcommittee has had few formal meetings this year, deferring to the range of other commitments that members have been involved in during this time.

Key PIA Education activities of the last 12 months have related to the Visiting Board review of the Bond University Planning Course, and the identifica-tion of PIA Liaison officers for all the accredited planning courses in Queensland. Michael Papageorgiou (together with other PIA members) was also a participant in a number of Advisory Board forums organized by the various planning schools.

The Planning Education Discussion Paper, dated January 2008 and prepared for the National Office of PIA by Nicole Gurran, Barbara Norman and Brendan Gleeson, has been an important focus for the most recent meeting of the Subcommittee. The paper was distributed for comment and discus-sion. PIA National Office commissioned this paper to inform the future direction of the Institute’s involvement in planning education.

The foreword to the paper identifies three main functions of the paper:Provision of an overview of pressures and trends in planning and in education and the implications for the profession and practiceIdentifying universities as the key source of professional knowledge and research as well as of practitioners.Describing the creative tensions between the expectations of industry, the community and academics, and the reality of educational rationalization, competition and resources.

The paper raises a series of pertinent questions and makes seven recommendations for further consideration. The paper is not conclusive, as it does not promote a particular way forward, but seeks to inform a discussion about a way forward. The recommendations (in brief) are to:

1. Propose a review of the PIA educational policy to reiterate the role of Universities (while recognizing other education providers)2. Propose a review of the PIA accreditation requirements3. Increase access to planning education in rural and regional areas e.g. online and distance education4. Enhance industry engagement: the planning schools and PIA should foster stronger models for industry engagement.5. supporting planning research and scholarship: PIA to establish a Planning Research Institute6. supporting planning research in other forums7. Advocacy: PIA to develop a more explicit and ongoing awareness of the resource issues facing planning education, and to lobby accordingly.

The paper is worthy and sufficiently broad in scope, however it does disappoint in not being more conclusive.

Overall comments from committee members were that it is comprehensive and discursive: it does touch on all the topical issues relating to planning and education in 2008. However it would have been improved by being considerable more directive in its recommendations.

The Subcommittee members raised a series of improvements and directions that PIA National Office could pursue as a policy position. Committee members were encouraged to promote discussion and debate of the discussion paper among the industry and PIA members to inform the formal con-sideration of the recommendations of the paper at the National PIA Education Committee. These comments are also intended to form the basis of a Qld PIA Divisional submission to National Office on the Discussion Paper.

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY Kerry Doss

The Griffith University Professional Advisory Board met on two occasions during the year. PIA is represented on the board by Kerry Doss. The board also draws upon the experience of many individuals throughout the planning industry to inform them of the way in which the industry is evolving. The School of Environmental Planning is now firmly established and continues to grow strongly. The school has expanded with the Gold Coast Campus now offering the Bachelor of Environmental Planning Course, a purpose built building now in operation and a number of fulltime staff now in place. Enrolments at the Gold Coast campus are very strong. At the Brisbane campus enrolments are also strong across the range of PIA accredited courses.

The University’s Urban Research Program, headed by Professor Brendan Gleeson, continues to provide a valuable source relevant and topical comment on the state of urban affairs in the Australian context.

BOND UNIVERSITY Kim Campbell The Bond University School of Sustainable Development formed an Urban Planning Industry Advisory Committee in 2007. The committee meets quarterly and provides a broad industry perspective into the continued development of the school’s course structure. Industry representatives include Michael Papageorgiou, Wendy Sarkissian, Roger Brewster, Ralph Brading and Kim Campbell. The most significant issue in 2007/08 has been progressing accreditation of the undergraduate and postgraduate courses with the Planning Institute Australia (PIA). At the PIA National Council on 15 August 2008, the Master of Urban Planning (MUP) course as well as the 8 semester combined undergraduate and postgraduate package program were granted interim accreditation. The program has already produced 2 MUP graduates with 2 more about to graduate. Full accreditation of the postgraduate program is expected fairly soon.

The School has also sought the committee’s input on the direction and marketing of its courses and is actively progressing establishment of a new course in Landscape Architecture. A major project has been the construction of the Bond University Mirvac School of Sustainable Development which was officially opened on 11 August 2008 and which has a six-star green rating equivalent to ‘World Leadership Status” awarded by the Green Building Council of Australia.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Rosanne Meurling

This year has been a very successful year for PD. This success is attributable to so many wonderful people, including;the speakers and seminar chairs who have given so generously of their time and knowledge; our sponsors: Department of Infrastructure and Planning, Conics, Department of Main Roads, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Connell Wagner, Griffith University and the University of Queensland;our seminar hosts - Allens Arthur Robinson; John Brannock for organising seminars for our program (together with Stephen Warner); the hard working and good natured PD team – Ian Adams, Jaryd Collins, Stephen Craven, Jago Dodson, Vanessa Harvey, Bruce James, John Min-nery, Brett Skyring, Nicole Sommerville, Greg Tupicoff, Stephen Warner; our unflappable administrative assistants, Kaye Mills and Melanie Adam; those who we have farewelled from the PD team during the year – Anna Purvis;new recruits/occasional visitors – Jago Dodson, Bruce James, Jaryd Collins, Janet Marshall;our Branches have been very active in organising seminars this year – thank you to all who have contributed in providing this service to our members in the regions.

This year, we have had the pleasure of working with Griffith University, through Jago Dodson, to present joint seminars, and our Young Planners and a Branch organised joint seminars with UDIA. Bruce James, our Transport Chapter chair, has organised some great Transport Chapter seminars, and we have had a full house at most of our seminars this year.

The PD program has spanned a variety of topics including economics of development, IPA/IDAS reform, current IDAS matters, social infrastructure, trans-port planning issues, regional planning, healthy places and spaces, the ULDA, green offsets, peak oil, to name but a few. In selecting topics we have tried to maintain a balance between strategic topics and those of a more process oriented nature.

This year we videoed two seminars, and we continue to encourage speakers to provide papers so that we can load these onto the PIA events website.

The 2008 Keeble Lecture will be delivered by Cr Bob Abbot, Mayor of the Sunshine Coast Regional Council, on 19 September 2008, as part of the State Conference.

We are now embarking on the 2008/2009 Calendar and look forward to receiving feedback and suggestions for topics. As members will be aware, there is a lot to choose from in terms of seminars - some offered by other professional organisations, some offered by consultants and our very own CPP offerings. We very much appreciate the loyalty that members and non-members have shown to our PD program.

Many thanks to all who have made PD a huge success. We look forward to providing you with an interesting, educational and entertaining program during the 2008/2009 year. The views, constructive criticism and assistance of all members is invited and appreciated.

Chapter Reports

SOCIAL PLANNING CHAPTER Jane Frawley and Andrea Young

The 2007/08 year was a very productive time for the Queensland Social Planning Chapter.

Here’s a snapshot of what was achieved:

Regular quarterly meetings of the chapterRegular recruitment for the chapter has seen an increase in chapter membersWorkshop held on Social Infrastructure PlanningProvided feedback on North Bank Proposal, One Social Housing System, Review of Priority infrastructure Charging Schedule and the Review of South East Queensland Regional Plan in particular Desired Regional Outcome 9 Strong Communities.Collaborated with Local Government Association of Queensland to prepare information flier to new regional Council’s on the importance of social policy, community enegagement and social planning for their new communities.Provided comments to the National SPC Convenors network to assist with the development of the Discussion Papers on Community Engagement and Social Impact Assesment, it proposed that these discussion papers will ultimately be prepared into Draft Policy National Statements

TRANSPORT PLANNING CHAPTER Bruce James

The second year for the Transport Planning Chapter has been very successful. The emphasis has been on running seminars of interest to members of the Transport Planning Chapter and general PIA members with an interest in transport.

The successful seminars during 2007/08 were:1. Challenge in the use of limited road space – Prof Gustav Neilsen.2. Transport and employment location – Brian Haratsis from Macroplan.3. Impacts of high oil prices on transport planning – Prof Peter Newman and Dr Paul Mees.4. Impacts of high oil prices on land use transport integration – Minister for Sustainability, Innovation and Climate Change Hon Andrew McNamara.

The Transport Chapter compiled a submission for the Garnaut Review into climate change that was submitted in its entirety by the PIA National Office.

Thanks are given to Wally Wight, Matt Burke and Kristen Demasi for their assistance in organising events for the Chapter.

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2007-2008 has been an extremely busy and successful year for the Queensland Young Planners Group (QYPG). Over the past year, we have wit-nessed a strong surge of support from young planners, a surge which has seen our committee increase from ten members to currently eighteen. Over the past twelve months, there has been a tremendous increase in the pursuit of professional development targeted at young planners and the promotion of planning as a career.

Promotion of Planning

The release of the ‘Planning Is Awesome’ DVD in late 2007, a collaborative project between the National Young Planners and QYPG, marked a new direction for QYPG. The DVD showcases 12 young planners involved in various sectors of planning and was sponsored by a range of organisations in the State and local governments and the private sector.

In February 2008 the QYPG hosted the annual welcome functions for first year planning students at the University of Queensland, Queensland Univer-sity of Technology and Griffith Universities. It is interesting to note the increasing number of first year students admitted to planning courses this year, with up to 120 at one institution alone. These events were again sponsored by Brisbane City Council and Gold Coast City Council.

The QYPG-run PIA QLD Division booth at the Tertiary Studies Expo on 19 and 20 July was targeted at high school students. It was an extremely busy weekend with many students, parents and other professionals demonstrating a keen interest in pursuing planning as a career.

QYPG have also provided a series of one-off presentations to Brisbane high schools over the past year to students potentially interested in tertiary plan-ning courses.

Professional Development

In March 2008, QYPG teamed up with Urban Edge (UDIA) for ‘Cutting the Red Tape of IDAS’ - an education and networking event. The focus was on understanding the initiatives to improve processing of development applications by the State government, Brisbane City Council and the developer per-spective on working with development assessment planners. The event was well attended with over 100 registrations and was sponsored by Brisbane City Council.

Building Your Career Queensland Young Planners Forum – BYC08, took place in early July. The focus of the Forum this year was to better equip young planners with skills in workplace etiquette, basic negotiation, mentoring and strategic visioning. Over 120 delegates attended the day-long event from across Queensland, with a number travelling to Brisbane from Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg and the Lockyer Valley. Notable speakers included Dr Phillip Daffara (Futuresense), Kerry Azar (New Duende / Australian Institute of Management), Malcolm Snow (South Bank Corpo-ration), Chris Isles (Place Design Group) and Amanda Newberry (BBS Communications). The QYPG look forward to providing BYC09 next year.

Charity

The inaugural QYPG Charity Golf Championship was also a success, held at the Victoria Park Golf Complex in late March. The event raised over $1,000.00 for YoungCare – PIA’s charity of choice for 2008.

The QYPG Silent Auction, took place at the annual PIA Barefoot Bowl Tournament in May, raising a further $500.00 for YoungCare.

General Business

The QYPG has also remained committed to the quarterly publication of the YP Post, QYPG’s e-newsletter, with increased numbers of young planners signing up for the e-broadcast list over the past 12 months.

2007-2008 has been a highly successful year for QYPG and we would like to thank all our sponsors, including the Department of Infrastructure and Planning, Department of Main Roads, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Connell Wagner, Brisbane City Council and the Gold Coast City Council for their continued support.

Queensland Young PLanners Group Kim Nelson and Laura Hyk

MINUTES of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, WEDNESDAY 1�th September at 7:00pm, Jupiters Townsville Hotel and Casino

MINUTES OF THE QUEENSLAND DIVISION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING19th September 2007, 7:00pm

Ballroom 2 and 3, Jupiters Townsville Hotel and Casino

1. ATTENDANCE

Jaco Ackerman, Kieron Beardmore, Erin Berthelsen, Linda Bradby, Jaimen Brazzale, Ian Buchanan, Alyssa Cameron, Karen Carlaw, Amanda Clark, Matthew Coleman, Steve Conner, Darren Cooper, Barbara Cutler, Andrew Crawford, Simone Cuers, Dy Currie (President), Kristin De-masi, Kerry Doss (Vice President/Chair), G. Downie, Chris du Plessis, Tony Duncan, Dee Elliott, Aimee Ellis, Wendy Evans, Malcolm Forwood, Kellie Galletta, Paula Grant, Timna Green, Malcolm Hardy, Ken Harris, Chris Head, David Heckscher, David Hertweck, Denise Hinneberg, Catherine Hobbs, Heidi Hoffmann, Lyn Hopewell, Stafford Hopewell, Daniel Horton, Darron Irwin, Anna Jensen, Belinda Jones, Byron Jones, Darryl Jones, Graeme Kenna, Michelle Kester, Roslyn Kiernan, Amanda Kipniak, S. Larter, Susan Laurens, Angela Lawson, John Lawson, Lisa Lock, Chris Mahoney, Stephanie Mattner, Luke McDonald, Ian McHugh, Hamish McIntosh, C.M. Mentz, Rosanne Meurling, George Milford, Kaye Mills (Division Manager), Nicole Moore, Ray Moore, Nick Morgan, Brett Nancarrow, Kim Nelson, Daniel O’Hare, Greg Ovenden, Adam Pratley, Natalie Rayment, Rachel Robertson, Matthew Rolley, Nathan Rule, Liam Saxby, Christine Shewell, Luke Smith, Nicole Sommerville, Chelsea Spangler, Jason Sprott, Conrad Taylor, James Taylor-Cyphers, John Taylor, Gerard Timbs, Lorne Vacchani, Andrew Veres, Stephen Webster, James Wheeler, Susie Williams, Cliff Willmett, Tamara Wiseman, Robert Wood

2. APOLOGIES

Leo Jensen, Michael Papageorgiou, Brett Skyring, Greg Tupicoff, Bruce James, Michael Kerry, David Perkins

3. ADOPTION OF MINUTES OF 2006 AGM

MOTION: That the minutes of the 2006 annual General Meeting be confirmed:MOVED: Gary White/Jason Sprott CARRIEDThere were no items raised from the 2006 minutes

Kerry Doss gave a brief overview of the 2006/7 year highlighting that it was a good year to be a planner. He went on to explain that Michael Kerry is stepping down early in his role as President. Kerry thanked him for the passion shown over the past twelve months. Kerry further highlighted the amount of work involved in being President – the role was something that could in the past have been done on a part time ba-sis, but there are now greater demands as the Institute has grown and as Planning is going through so many changes. Kerry highlighted that this may be something that needs to be looked at – how we can fund additional full time staff to take on some of this workload.

4. DISCUSSION AND RECEIPT OF THE 2006-7 ANNUAL REPORT

Copies of the bound 2006-7 Annual Report were placed at the entrance for people to pick up as they entered this meeting.

Kerry Doss asked that, in recognition of timekeeping, reports printed in the Annual Report be taken as read, and only any special notes of men-tion be tabled by the writers of the reports.

Secretary’s report: Alyssa Cameron – nothing further to report. Alyssa said that people may wish to read the branch reports at their own leisure.

Treasurer’s report: Cliff Willmett reported that we are moving to a centralised banking system with funds being moved to National Office at end June 2008. The challenges will be for the Division to come up with a working model. The Division Committee has had numerous discus-sions around this and would welcome input from members. Cliff acknowledged the operating surplus thanks to members and sponsors. This financial year has been terrific – well above expectations.

There were no questions from the floor in relation to the Treasurer’s report.

Communications: Kerry Doss spoke about the Awards for Planning Excellence. Kerry was one of the judges in the Qld judging round which finished this week. A number of Qld Awards in 06 went on to win in the National categories with Queensland again, for the third year in a row, winning the overall National category. This year we have received over 100 entries which is excellent.

The Conference “New Horizons for Ripley Valley” in August 2006 went very well, financially and in terms of registration numbers, despite hav-ing the National Congress on the Gold Coast in April 2006.

Policy: In David Perkins’ absence Kerry said that the Policy Committee is doing a lot of work – there have been a number of delegations to the Minister, a highlight was PIA being part of the Minister’s launch of the policy regulated planning act – well done to Greg Tupicoff for organizing this. Kerry thanked Lyn Hopewell, Policy Coordinator for the work she has done with the Policy committee. Lyn said she had nothing further to add to this report. The Policy Committee is looking to do more in Queensland, but resources are holding us back.

Education: Nothing to report

Qld YP Group: All going well

Chapters: It’s great to see the volunteer spirit alive and well. The Chapters that Qld have representation in have held meetings throughout the year and provided input into Policy.

Queensland Planner: Louise Charlton finished up as Editor during this year. Kristin Demasi has taken over this role and Kerry spoke of how good it is that a young person like Kristin, and other young people on the committees are coming up to replace the older people in the profes-sion and in major roles in the Institute. This institute runs on volunteer spirit and it’s great to see the young people stepping up to take on these roles. Kerry spoke of the members evaluation done on the Queensland Planner last year, and that although the Queensland Planner does not break even, it’s seen as a valuable member resource. We are currently looking at a number of things to bring this up to a profitable magazine to support the Institute.

Volunteers:Kerry went on to thank some of the volunteers who put in a lot of time to ensure the Institute is relevant for members – Kerry thanked:

• Rosanne Meurling who especially does a fantastic job with Professional Development – we’ve had record numbers attending and a record number of events in the past year – Kerry thanked Rosanne and her PD committee members;• Kristin Demasi for taking over the role as Editor of the Queensland Planner;• Policy committee members and• Members on the Coordination and Division Committees;

The Qld Division is in a very strong financial position, we have a strong relationship with all the Universities who run planning courses in Queensland, and we also run a very popular social events calendar and well-run conferences.

Before introducing our new President, Kerry thanked our sponsors, as without our sponsors we would not be able to run our conference or other events and provide support to members. Kerry also gave a special thanks to Kaye Mills, the Queensland Division Manager – who, he said, works over and above what

Special thanks to Kaye Mills the Qld Division Manger, who works over and above what should be expected.

Kerry welcomed Dyan Currie, PIA Qld Division President 2007-2009. Dyan has been elected unanimously to the role of the Queensland Divi-sion President for 2007-9. Kerry handed the meeting over to Dyan.

Dyan thanked those who supported her nomination, and said she looked forward to working with committees and members – she is looking forward to a year of change and of making a difference. Dyan said she is immensely proud to be a planner.

5. ELECTION OF THE QLD DIVISION 2005-2006 COMMITTEEAs the number of nominations were within the number allowed for the Division Committee in the Queensland By-laws, there was no election for Qld Division Committee members

6. OTHER BUSINESS

There were no questions from the floor.

7. CLOSUREThe meeting closed at 7:25pm

Lucky door prize draw

Ticket # D48 was drawn for the signed Cowboy’s Jersey (signed by Johnathan Thurston and Jacob Lillyman) Andrew Veres from Redland Shire Council was the lucky winner of this draw.

Planning Institute of Australia, Queensland Division Annual Reportpresented on 17th September 2008 at the Annual General Meetingduring the Planning Institute of Australia State Conference at the Longreach Civic and Cultural Centre.