History of QMCA
Queensland Major Contractors Association can trace its origins back to 1976 when it operated as a state-based function of the Australian Federation of Construction Contractors (AFCC), a national entity representing contractors up until 1993.
During this time Owen Rankin, Queensland State Director and Mike Coonan, Queensland Director of Industrial Relations and Australian Director of Civil Engineering managed the affairs of the Association from offices in Expo House at South Bank.
Following the cessation of the AFCC in 1993, Ric Barton, Queensland Manager of John Holland Construction saw that there was a definite need for major contractors in Queensland to have a common forum and a body which would represent the interests of the industry.
As a result Ric revived the pre-existing Queensland registered employer organisation, the AFCEC (Australian Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors) and sought the support of the managers of other major construction companies. In late 1994 the AFCEC was brought back to full operational life.
The AFCEC sought to represent all the interests of the major contractors in Queensland as multi-discipline engineering projects were experiencing a significant lull.
Interestingly, the interstate head offices of some of the major contractors were not on board with the idea of a Queensland based contractor organisation, and thus membership was initially an informal arrangement while credibility and industry acceptance grew.
The initial Executive comprised:
- Ric Barton – President – John Holland Construction
- Ian Harrington – Vice President – Abigroup Contractors
- Graham Fitzsimmons – Secretary – Concrete Constructions
- Terry Cogill – Treasurer – Leighton Contractors
- Peter Lyons – Board Member – Thiess Contractors
- John Seymour – Board Member – Seymour Whyte Constructions
Within the year the organisation comprised twelve members consisting of:
- Abigroup Contractors
- Barclay Mowlem
- Baulderstone Hornibrook
- Clough Limited
- Concrete Constructions
- Civil & Civic
- John Holland Construction
- Leighton Contractors
- LTA Doval
- Macmahon
- Roche Bros
- Seymour Whyte Constructions
The Executive met every two months, initially in the Thiess’ offices, where activities, and the business of the AFCEC was discussed.
Over the next few years, several significant issues were addressed, including:
- Lobbying to the Dept of Main Roads and Dept of Transport
- Transferring industry body representation, previously held by the AFCC, to the new body AFCEC, which included such things as identifying and appointing employer representatives on the Board of the Industry Superannuation Fund, and the Building Industry Redundancy Fund
- Lobbying the Main Roads Dept which resulted in a “training allowance” included in the cost of all the contracts in the Brisbane to Gold Coast M1 Motorway. This was a significant achievement and provided the core funds to increase skill based training in South East Queensland
- Improving industry understanding and effective use of “Enterprise Agreements”
- Modifying the civil pay scales to allow a career structure for all wages personnel based on skills
- In conjunction with an Industry Training Group and in response to the new pay scales we were instrumental in developing the core skills assessment and skills record and training modules for all civil construction workers. This was regarded as a significant achievement.
To reduce the isolation of construction teams and allow a social setting the AFCEC met every three months at such venues as the Brisbane Lions Club and the Greek Club where dinner meetings were convened with guest speakers from various areas of the industry giving presentations.
An annual golf day was also held at Royal Queensland Golf Club where members and their guests enjoyed a great day’s golf with monies raised going to various charities.
The AFCEC Board worked diligently to establish the credibility of the organisation within industry and acceptance as a major employer organisation by contractors, clients, and unions and to this end had successfully taken over the position previously occupied in Queensland by the nationally based AFCC.
In 1996 the Board realised with the growth of industrialisation and resulting multi-discipline projects the time had come for the AFCEC to change its name and direction. The Board changed the name of the association to the QMCA (Queensland Major Contractors Association) and welcomed contractors who delivered structural, mechanical and process projects as well as the traditional civil projects.
This was carried out with great fanfare at a Black Tie dinner where the new badging of the QMCA was presented to over 300 guests.
In 2001 at the annual dinner the QMCA and Freehills sponsored the Queensland Safety Award which was introduced as part of a way of highlighting the industry commitment to safety. The initial winner was Leighton Contractors for the Inner City Bypass for client Brisbane City Council. Subsequently, the organisation strongly encouraged the formation of the Safety Managers and Officers of Queensland Incorporated.
The QMCA has flourished in the ensuing years to become a major industry organisation supporting its many members.
HONOUR BOARD OF PAST PRESIDENTS
1993 – 1995 Ric Barton – John Holland Construction
1996 – 1997 Ian Harrington – Abigroup Contractors
1998 – 1999 Peter Lyons – Thiess Contractors
2000 – 2001 Peter Wood – Walter Construction Group
2002 – 2003 David McKellar – Abigroup contractors
2004 Peter Marsh – Golding
2005 – 2006 Ivor Peries – Clough
2007 – 2009 Trevor Hall – Baulderstone Hornibrook
2010 – 2011 Steve Abson – Abigroup Contractors
2012 – 2014 Tony Hackett – BGC
2015 – 2017 Iain Ward – CPB Contractors
2018 Peter Anusas – BMD Group
2019 – Dan Woolcott – Lendlease
