Australian Water Management Review Vol 2 2013 | Page 10
Conference
Trade booth 1990 style
Operator presentations are still at the core of the WIOA conferences across Australia. Jamie Hunt and Steve Sullivan form Tamworth Regional Council, present at he 2012 NSW Tamworth Conference
benefits, services and value. The Association concentrated its efforts more on the development of skills, training and competency of members, along with providing opportunities for the advancement and improvement of operational staff from the ground up. This strategy had almost immediate impact and allowed the support for the Association to turn around considerably over the next few years. For a number of years, the AWWOA had worked with and encouraged operators from outside Victoria to establish branches in their respective States. Although a Branch existed in Tasmania, it had gone into recession due to the workload involved. In 2002, AWWOA changed its name to the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA). The change to Water Industry meant that membership was opened up to anyone in an operational role in the industry and not just those in water and wastewater treatment. In addition, removing Victoria and replacing it with Australia opened the door for the national expansion of the Association and the provision of services that operators in the other States were keen to access. In 2002, WIOA had just on 300 members, was still run totally by volunteers and had a turnover of around $130,000. By 2005, the growth in the Victorian conference was so significant that it was impossible to manage on a volu ?\?H?\?\?Y?\? Z?[??? H ??H? ?? [?\?H?X?]\?H[? NNMK?[??H?[ ?\?\ ?[?Y ? H?]? H?X]Y?[ [YH ??][??^X?]]?H??X?\?[? ?
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