by Justin Simonis
A little under 12 months ago I sat looking at Magnetic Island (see below), looking forward to the annual Queensland Branch ritual of July/August NQ Water Conference, the September Gala Dinner and November QWater conference.
Less than 12 months later and while working from home I’m looking at a very different view out of my window.
With July looming, and after significant consultation with our North Queensland regional utility partners, conference sponsors and trade exhibitors, COVID-19 has given the Queensland Branch an opportunity to “rethink the way we’ve always done it”. Similarly, with mass gathering regulations unlikely to ease to the point that we could host ~450 of our closest industry friends at the September Gala Dinner, rethinking was required.
No NQ Water…no Gala Dinner…no worries. Enter QWater. Traditionally the last stop on the tour-de-force that is the Queensland Branch “Big 3”, it has all of a sudden found itself setting the pace instead of anchoring the relay. So much so that it has taken on a new persona and so rises Q Con.
With one event to rule them all, Q Con (this year at the Sunshine Coast) will:
- play host to a selection of papers with a dedicated regional feel to make up for our NQ Water conference;
- host the SEQ Utilities Joint Operations Committee safety forum;
- have the same stellar content as we normally would; and
- as an added bonus, include the annual Gala Dinner and Awards Night.
Not just a conference, an extravaganza not seen in the water industry in Australia this calendar year. Be on the lookout for more info as we release it and be sure not to miss out on your ticket.
We’ll be calling for papers very soon with the theme of 'Learning from Our Mistakes'. If you would like to sponsor the event or get a booth in the trade exhibition, please get in touch.
Catch you there!
Cheers,
Justin
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