It’s with a degree of sadness that I write my final column for Discovery as CME Chief Executive.
The past four years have been among the most enjoyable of my professional career. As with any role, there have been significant challenges, but doing my bit to help our sector negotiate them has been an extremely rewarding experience.
I’m very grateful for the support I’ve had from my team at CME. Across the board, they are first-rate operators, experts in their field (often more than one!), tireless workers and, beyond that, a great group of people. I will miss them and I know they will continue to grow and develop CME as an organisation.
Likewise, I’ll miss the CME membership. The support I’ve had from the full breadth of our member companies has allowed me and the CME team to tackle our advocacy and communications efforts with a good deal of confidence. I’m particularly appreciative of the members of CME’s Advisory Board and the three excellent presidents I’ve worked with in my time, Edgar Basto, Ivan Vella and Fiona Hick. Having them as sounding boards has been invaluable and they have always backed me to perform my role in the best interests of the membership.
Looking ahead to my final few weeks at CME, there remains a significant amount on the agenda.
The State Budget on Thursday May 12 is expected to again highlight the huge contribution the WA mining and resources sector makes towards the State’s economy. Our policy team will be busily working to deliver detailed Budget analysis and identify key opportunities and areas of interest for our members.
The Parliamentary Inquiry into sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry has pushed back the date of its final report until late June. Nonetheless, the CME team continues to prepare for that release, while our Safe And Respectful Behaviours Working Group has been meeting regularly and making meaningful progress on initiatives to ensure our workplaces are safe and inclusive for all of the sector’s 156,000-plus employees.
The incredibly important contribution women make to mining and resources operations will again be highlighted at the annual Women In Resources Awards on May 27. Further relaxation of WA’s COVID-19 rules couldn’t have arrived at a better time for this flagship event on the sector’s calendar.
WIRA will be my last major event as Chief Executive and I look forward to catching up with many of you on the night. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite finalist in the People’s Choice Award before May 27.
