A Friday Note - 5 June 2015

Dear All,

No need for a calendar to feel winter’s arrived. Just when you were thinking it was time to go for a run, jog, walk, bike ride - have a look at Jon Whelan’s effort: 87.7 km in 11 hours 37 minutes.

REJUVENATION

Management appointments

The following managers have been appointed to DPTI’s leadership team:

• Director, Construction Contracting, Brian Roche
• Manager, Standards and Accreditation, Clare Heathcote

Accommodation update

To date, 165 staff have relocated to their new accommodation and approximately 200 more staff are scheduled to move this month. All up there will be approximately 1100 moves occurring during the transition process. If you have any queries in relation to your section, please speak to your Manager.

WELL DONE

Report recognises progress

The 2015 Development Assessment Report Card, by the Property Council of Australia, placed SA’s planning and development performance equal third nationally, with significant improvement since the last scorecard. This is terrific recognition of the work done by our Development Division, including their commitment to customer service and the priority of ensuring an economically competitive planning system. However, clearly we are far from finished - in the current economic climate SA needs to offer the most competitive planning system nationally. The challenge now is for us to continue this improvement and create an entirely new planning system that attracts and facilitates the investment and development this state needs – and which will see us move higher up the national rankings in the next scorecard.

A productive relationship with councils will be crucial for further improvement. The Chairperson of the Metropolitan Local Government Group, Lorraine Rosenberg, wrote to thank the department for a presentation Stuart Moseley and Matthew Loader gave the group on planning reform last month.

SA Aboriginal Trainee of the Year Award - Finalist

Congratulations Stephanie Dudley from Facility Services in Port Lincoln. Last Friday Stephanie was named as a finalist for the Jobs4Youth SA Aboriginal Trainee of the Year Award. In 2013 Stephanie moved from the Koonibba Aboriginal Community, near Ceduna, to study at TAFE and began the traineeship the following year. With support from her Manager, Wendy Ettridge, and the staff at the Port Lincoln office, Stephanie has completed the traineeship and now works as an Administration officer.

Asbestos services

The Manager of the department’s Asbestos Services team, Sam Mangas, recently attended a reception at Government House to mark the tenth anniversary of the Asbestos Diseases Society of S.A. Sam’s team works to ensure any asbestos risks are identified and managed in government buildings, including Government House. This important role requires precision and dedication to ensure risks aren’t taken with the health of staff and all facility users.

Have a good weekend.

Michael Deegan