16 | HIRE
AND
RENTAL
NEWS
| NOVEMBER 2013
EVENTS DIVISION NATIONAL
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
EVENTS IN FOCUS
Taking the initiative brings
strength to events
For Events, Exhibitions, Sports
Covers, Accommodation,
Showrooms, Warehousing
and more...
ORIGINAL HÖCKER and
HTS CLEARSPAN
STRUCTURE SYSTEMS
Design, Manufacture and
Sales of Temporary Structure
Systems, Fully Engineered to
Meet Australian Standards.
+61 (0) 3 9729 9855
As we come to the close of another tough year, it is interesting to note there is still a
lot of faith in the future of the industry.
This is evident in the massive investment in updating stock continually being made by
the major players. Investment and strong business systems are building blocks for vibrant
growing businesses.
As we are all aware with this industry you rarely have your hand out of your pocket,
but it is investment that builds growth.
Hopefully with the distraction of the election now behind us we can look forward to
resurgence in confidence that will lead to spending and profitable work for us all. The
event industry is still strong and there are many opportunities for the proactive.
Around the country a number of people have taken initiative to bring great benefit to
the rest of the industry.
Col Walker took the initiative to put on an events night at Walkers Hire in Peakhurst,
in Sydney south west. If you weren’t there you missed a great night with a very topical
speaker.
The subject matter was basically: ‘What is your business worth’ and ‘How to sell a
business’. Excellent speaker, lots of relevant tips and cutting edge information, with a
clear message the best time to get your business ready for sale was 20 years ago, the
second best time is right now.
Saul Heffernan, Renniks Hire, was instrumental in organising an HRIA sponsored
information session with the Adelaide City Council. The purpose of the meeting was
to outline and explain the new ‘Structural Certification Standard Requirements For
Temporary Structures’ installed at events held in the ACC public realm.
This meeting was an extremely well attended and informative session, containing
presentations from the ACC Building and Horticultural departments as well as Saul who
presented and explained the HRIA weighting guide, also answering many lively questions
from the floor.
Thanks for such a great effort, well done Colin and Saul, let’s hope there are many
more nights like this throughout the country, as we all know there is no shortage of
topics to cover.
Brent Derbyshire, Harry The Hirer, also got on the front foot and organised meetings
with major stakeholders and the Building Commission to discuss the draft proposal of the
changes to the building codes of Australia and the way the Disability Discrimination Act
is applied to events.
The discussions have centered on how the changes would affect events in Victoria.
Brent has also been coordinating this with the Victorian Events Industry Council and the
Red Tape Commissioner. As you can appreciate this is an enormous amount of effort and
much thanks to Brent for taking this on.
You might think there is a lot going on with attempts to regulate the installation of
marquees and temporary buildings, and you would be correct.
On balance it should also be noted the events industry does not have a lot of
regulation when compared to other industries. Putting all of the changes into
perspective, the intention is to create a standard that fits across the country and provide
a consistent approach. This can only be a good thing.
It is time now to also start thinking about your involvement with the HRIA conference
and exhibition in May, whether you are exhibiting or attending. I am always interested in
your suggestions or thoughts.
This year’s event will have a revised format and will be a great networking and
informative event, make sure you note the dates 29 April to 2 May in your diary.
As this is also the last message for this year I would like to thank you all for the support
you have provided to both the association and me. I wish you all a safe and happy festive
season as well as a prosperous new year.
Tom O’Dowd
National Events President
