Voting is underway in the PIAA board elections, with members in Victoria and Tasmania choosing between two candidates on the ballot in each state.
We spoke to two candidates who weren't available for comment on Wednesday when the ballots were announced.
Finsbury Green CEO Peter Orel, who's running in Victoria, and AIW Printing founder Peter Clark, on the ballot in Tasmania, both called for more focus on the membership.
Orel and his brother Mark co-own Finsbury Green - a leading marketing services, printer and logistics provider described as Australia’s premier green printer. He's been with the company for over 30 years and CEO since 2007. Finsbury started in 1984 with nine employees and has expanded to a staff of 160 operating in three states.
Orel, who is running against former PIAA Victoria state secretary Ron Patterson, says he threw his hat into the ring only after the last minute withdrawal of Victorian-based board member Kellie Northwood.
"I decided to run primarily because Kellie Northwood decided not to run. While Kellie was there I was confident in her ability but in her absence I believe I can add value to the board because of my experience in our business and the industry and also as a board member of Two Sides Australia.
"I want the PIAA to provide appropriate industry services so that existing and prospective members can see the value in membership. I'd like to sit down with other board members and look at potential gaps in the services and discuss a strategic plan to address them. And I'd like to help the board continue down the road they're on in terms of managing change for the industry."
Tasmanian nominee Peter Clark, just back from the ASEAN newspaper printers conference in Vietnam, says he'd like the PIAA to launch a membership drive in his state.
"We're a small state of about 500,000 people but we have lots of potential members and I'll be knocking on their doors in the coming weeks to try to get them interested in joining up," says Clark, who's on the ballot against Martin Guilliamse, GM of Hobart's Mark Media.
"Tasmania has about 20 members currently and I've probably spoken to about a quarter of them but I plan to get around to all of the members and hear what they want from the association."
Clark, founding director of AIW Printing and now semi-retired, says his 50 years of experience in the industry would be an asset to the PIAA. "I'd like to help printers in Tasmania with their issues and I believe my experience and knowledge will be valuable. I know a lot of printers are concerned about the proposed changes to the parallel book importing laws and they're passionately against the move to online transactions for things like bank statements and invoicing."
Clark moved back to Tasmania a couple of years ago after 38 years in Melbourne but he continues consulting work for AIW Printing, where his son Richard is now CEO.
The ballot opened on Thursday, 29 September 2016, and closes at 10:00 am (AEDT) on Thursday, 27 October 2016.
All seven sitting PIAA directors who sought reappointment have been returned unopposed. They are: Kieran May – ACT; Matt Aitken – NSW; Walter Kuhn – Queensland; Peter Lane – South Australia; Graham Jamieson – Western Australia; Chris Segaert – National; John Scott – National.