Print friendlyPresident's Desk
November 2011
The 121st Annual General Meeting of the Institution of Surveyors NSW Inc. was held at Head Office on 7th October 2011. I am sorry to say the attendance was poor to say the least. However I guess this indicates the general membership is basically happy with the way things are going.
As a result of the meeting there have been a couple of changes to the formation of the Board. Firstly Bob Harrison has decided to stand down from his position as Honorary Treasurer. In his place Matt Hynes has put his hand up and he will be the next Honorary Treasurer. It is great to see Matt take over a more demanding role after previously representing the Young Surveyors on the Board. It is also great to see younger members moving into responsible positions within the Institution.
The Institution thanks Bob for his outstanding effort and guidance over the last five years in managing the financial affairs of the organisation. This year Bob has been able to deliver a tidy profit. It is the efforts of people like Bob that make the job of President so much easier and more enjoyable.
The good news is that Bob has now decided to stand as an Elected Director. As there were four nominees for the four positions there was no need for an election. The other three Elected Directors are Michael Lockley, Dr Bill Kearsley, and Jonathan Keen. Congratulations to these members for their continued support.
Greg Goodman wil l continue on in his role as the Honorary Secretary and Graeme Stewart is the President Elect. The AGM was also an opportunity for us to thank the dedicated staff at Head Office for their devotion to duty and their commitment to ISNSW. Without their efforts the job would be so much more difficult.
Andrew Campbell
It was with much sadness that we learned of the untimely death of Andrew Campbell. Andrew had been unwell for some time. Andrew had been very much involved with Country Surveyors and BOSSI for many years. He was responsible for the Town Planning exam becoming more up-to-date and relevant. Andrew had also been involved in the introduction of the ACS Workshops for Engineering and Town Planning. I had the privilege and pleasure of working alongside Andrew with many of the exams he conducted.
Andrew was a great mentor for candidates for the BOSSI exams and always encouraged the candidates to strive for excellence. It was also an inspiration to listen to local community members speak at Andrew’s Memorial Service about his involvement in local issues.
Our deepest sympathy goes to his family and his many colleagues. We have lost a truly dedicated and influential member of the surveying and general community. Vale Andrew Campbell!!
EISSI Awards
The Awards ceremony on 24th September was an outstanding success. More than 400 people enjoyed the hospitality of the Hilton Hotel as they watched the evening unfold. Thanks to the excellent work by MC Adam Spencer the evening moved along at a brisk pace. Comments from the Minister, The Hon. Greg Pearce, at the beginning of the evening assured everyone that surveying and spatial information in NSW were sound and on the right track.
My congratulations go to all the category winners for their fine efforts. You will find their names in the special centre spread in this edition of Azimuth together with photographs. Thank you for the excellent effort all finalists made in putting together an entry into this year’s Awards, I am sure you are much better for the experience. I would appeal to those of you who have not yet entered into the Awards to think about an entry for next year. As I have said before this is an ideal opportunity for members to showcase their efforts in surveying and/or spatial information to the rest of the industry.
I would like to mention in particular some of the individual winners that were announced on the evening. The NSW Young Professional of the Year, Narelle Underwood; the NSW Professional of the Year, Darren Booth; the winner of the Sir Thomas Mitchell Award, Paul Hutcheon have all earned the respect of their peers by continually maintaining a constant level of excellence. Congratulations to these winners on a job well done!!
Finally, in this report, I would like to bring the attention of members to a small problem that has been around for years but is one which keeps arising and causing surveyors difficulty. Recently a surveyor received a requisition from Land and Property Information on a plan which the surveyor had prepared many years ago. The surveyor asked the question if there is a time limit on plans being presented for registration.
Land and Property Information have always said they will accept any plan that has been correctly prepared, signed by a registered land surveyor and endorsed by the local Council regardless of the age of the plan. They will investigate the plan under the regulations that were in force at the time of preparation of the plan. However the plan must comply with the existing cadastre at the time of the investigation. This means that if there has been a later plan in the area that indicates the cadastre may be different or has a survey mark near to the subject survey a requisition will be raised to connect to the more modern plan. As a result the surveyor may have to carry out more field work on a job that was finalised several years ago.
I would like to suggest to surveyors it is always good practice to advise your clients, when you hand over a plan, that it should be lodged as soon as possible with the relevant authorities. If there is a delay and requisitions are raised as a result of the delay you may have to charge your client an extra fee.
"Life is not a dress rehearsal. Live all you can, it's a mistake not to"
Grahame Wallis
President ISNSW
