Fifty representatives from across the plumbing sector recently attended the second ‘Plumbing meets Parliament’ day in the national capital at Parliament House.

The event was organised by the Plumbing Product Industry Group (PPIG), the peak organisation for manufacturers, importers and resellers of plumbing products. In addition to PPIG members, various groups including contracting associations, the Plumbing Institute of Australia and Product Certification organisations attended, as did a number of individuals.

The excellent program, organised by PPIG secretary Stuart Henry, was well received. Stuart is the key lobbyist for this industry and, being a former Federal Member of Parliament, he has access to the corridors of power and knows the running of Government procedure.

Lobbying by industry groups with politicians is important if an industry like plumbing is going to have a say on things like WELS legislation, WaterMark certification and working with bodies such as the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).

Most people in attendance at this event had skin in the game and are concerned about working with the bureaucrats who are the gate keepers to doing business smoothly across the industry.

It’s fair to say the industry today is seeing less representation on the various committees who govern our codes, standards and various schemes and it is keen to rectify that.

Presentations on the day were made by:

• Hon Steve Irons MP (who is from the mechanical services sector)
• Hon Scott Morrison MP, Treasurer
• Hon Craig Lundy MP, Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science
• Hon Luke Hartsuyker MP, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister
• Hon Ken Whyte MP, Assistant Minister for Aged Care & Health
• Daniel Chidgey, Standards Australia, National Sector Manager – Plumbing
• Richard McLoughlin/Dr Carol Grossman, WELS Unit, the Dept Water Resources
• Neil Savery/Kevin Newhouse, Australian Building Codes Board

Among the star-studded speakers on the day, it was Craig Laundy who provided the most passionate presentation and connected with the industry. Considering Laundy only entered Parliament in 2013, he has risen quickly to the assistant minister level.

Prior to standing for Parliament, Laundy had 25 years experience in his family’s business, which owns a number of pubs around NSW.

He displayed a good understanding of the plight of small business and the bureaucracy it has to put up with at various levels of Government.

With the WaterMark Scheme under the control of the ABCB, which in turn sits within the portfolio of Industry, Innovations and Science, Laundy is a key influence the plumbing sector needs to get to know.

For a number of years, the industry has lobbied to have Point of Sale (POS) legislation to back the WaterMark scheme, just like the WELS scheme has. At present, without POS legislation, the plumber is the guilty party if a non-watermark product is installed – rather than whoever imported or sold the item.

There’s a contradiction with plumbing legislation, when something that saves water (WELS) has POS legislation but WaterMark certification which is the embodiment of health and safety has not.

Simplifying the system between the two schemes would reduce needless testing duplication and the cost for Government, suppliers and ultimately end users.

When it was pointed out to him, Laundy quickly grasped the situation, which he took on board; hopefully the industry will get a better ear on the issue going forward.

This also aligns with the Turnbull government’s desire to reduce red tape for business.

All-in-all, the plumbing sector did get its point across with ‘Plumbing meets Parliament’ which should be enthusiastically followed up next year.