Degrees of Variance

The objectives that drove the establishment of any industry representative organisation in the beginning will almost certainly vary over time. It’s also almost certain too that opinion will vary on the direction and goals of an Association.

With that in mind, and the AGM held recently, it is a good time to revisit and review some of the original goals of the CMPA.

The evolution of an industry based Association

Since the inception of the CMPA in 1999, there has certainly been variance between the kinds of issues managed by the Association on a regular basis in comparison to some initial expectations.

Some issues have developed as priorities or had greater impact than anticipated. Industry education certainly fits this bill. Initially, industry education wasn’t expected to be high on the CMPA’s agenda, however it has crept up the charts on the back of pressure from Members, RTOs and regulators all requiring a more proactive approach.

Much of the work in the area of education has been precipitated by the historical shortage of current industry resource materials available in the construction material processing sector. The most recent development in this area is that of the eight Crushing and Screening Reference Manuals which will cost the CMPA in the vicinity of $60,000.

Similarly, the present impact of occupational health, safety and environmental issues has seen the CMPA place greater emphasis on addressing such issues.

CMPA membership has always been accessible to all levels of business – small, medium and large, however the current membership shows a very high percentage (more than 90%) of small business involvement.

While this is not unexpected given the Association’s objectives and lack of small business representation in other industry bodies, the CMPA continues to welcome involvement of any new Members irrespective of business level.

With a strong privately owned membership base, many of the issues addressed by the CMPA have reflected issues facing private capital – particularly relationships and liaison with Government and regulatory authorities.

While it is expected this will continue, the CMPA is also keenly aware of ‘industry wide’ issues.

Feedback from Government has also indicated support for the Association as it continues to provide submissions and representation.

It has been noted from Government liaisons that the CMPA has created an increased level of awareness of the impact of regulatory decisions on business operators – particularly potential financial impacts.

In Government liaison however, the Association has been careful to resist becoming a ‘lobbying’ organisation in the true sense of the word. Effort is taken to ensure opinion is substantiated in CMPA authored submissions. In cases where lobbying is seen as a suitable tool, the CMPA has formed alliances with specific bodies, such as VECCI and the Victorian Civil Construction Industry Alliance to facilitate pressure.

Consistent throughout the CMPA’s approach to Government has been a focus on the industry requiring less regulation over the long term. It is expected that as the industry matures and demonstrates greater levels of self management, there will be less requirement for additional regulatory control.

Another CMPA founding principle was to provide support to Members’ businesses and work to assist in maintaining their commercial viability within a competitive commercial environment.

In some respects this was predicated on moral grounds – an intention to ensure individual dignity in operating business, or indeed in entering or exiting it. This approach has seen many owners wishing to stay in businesses lift their compliance outcomes, and allowed those who wish to leave to do so with dignity and respect.

While not intending to replace a laissez faire approach to business, an analogy was drawn at the Ballarat IQA conference in 2002 of large and smaller trees (or businesses) cohabitating in unison avoiding the susceptibility experienced by an individual or stand alone tree (or business).

Much of the CMPA’s work to date has been informing Government and other decision makers of the potential impact of policies upon the industry. Historically, the voice of private capital in the sector had been disjointed or lost.

This goal has been consistent since foundation and is seen to be the most successful means of carrying out activities.

Empirical evidence now suggests that policy makers will, in most cases, contact the CMPA prior to launching policy. A current case in point was that of the sample contract for the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 where the CMPA has contradicted the Government and is causing changes to occur.

In carrying out representation, the CMPA has remained aware of the existence and role of other industry Associations. An open book policy has always been in effect and opinion from other Associations always sought. However, the objectives of all Associations are not always going to be shared and differences will sometimes arise.

The road will continue to wind for the CMPA as unforeseen issues require addressing. However, Members can be certain that the spirit of the original goals of the Association has not changed and that is the spirited representation of construction material processors throughout Victoria.

Tom McKenny

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