Fierce election battles ahead for Printing Industries

A historic alteration to election procedures for the national governing committee is set to open the field to a much larger range of candidates.

A national special general meeting of Printing Industries Association of Australia (Printing Industries) members has approved the creation of a new national management structure to replace the existing two-tiered state and national structures.
Printing Industries National President, Jim Atkinson, said the constitutional changes were aimed at re-energising the management and decision making process and creating a board environment which encourages a more focused industry participation.
“In the past we have made management too complex and the management structure too convoluted to encourage participation by the most talented executives that our industry has,” he said.
“The expertise and experience of these people in businesses of all kinds need to be attracted to help guide and focus the leadership and support Printing Industries can and should be providing, not just for today’s issues, but into the future and its many challenges.
“The approval of these important constitutional changes is a huge step in achieving that and a historic milestone in our history spanning some three centuries of industry representation.”

More contests ahead

Industry observes expect to see a lot livelier contest for the right to represent the states on the national committee. The ability for any member to nominate to represent the state is sure to attract many more candidates than the tedious process of working through sub-committees for years.
The changes include the dismantling formality of the current Regional Council structure and restructuring of the existing National Council.
A new nine-member board will replace the existing 15-member National Council with each state, including the ACT, having one representative on the board elected by the membership of that state with two members elected from the membership at large, regardless of what state they come from.
The formal Regional Council management structure will be dismantled and instead standing committees will be established to deal with local matters. The creation of specific purpose sub committees will be encouraged to engage more relevant and focussed industry participation and utilise the available knowledge, skills and experience available in our industry.”
Mr Atkinson said the regional offices would continue to be the focal point for members for the provision of services and advice.
“However policy direction will be provided via the national structure to ensure quicker, more flexible and better informed decision making. Policy input will be encouraged from all regions via specific purpose committees.”

From the top

“Good leadership must start from the top and so we must ensure that we have the best decision makers at the top working with our highly skilled staff to achieve the best outcomes for our membership.
“It has taken some two-and-a-half years of soul searching, discussion, debate and legal opinions to arrive at this point, but I believe we have created the structure that our members deserve and our industry needs,” he said.
Mr Atkinson said that some processes were still underway to satisfy the requirements set by Fair Work Australia, but these were expected to be completed during the coming months. It is intended that the new structure is in place by January 2011.