A word from the CEO
One of the strategic priorities in VicWater’s new Strategic Plan 2023-2028 is to “promote the Victorian water sector”, and last month we had a couple of great opportunities to put this into practice.
I was delighted to join the Minister for Water Harriet Shing to celebrate Wear It Purple Day on 25 August. The Minister’s statement to Parliament especially called out water as "the exceptionally progressive sector which does encourage and welcome LGBTIQ+ people within our customer base, within the workforce and within the community.” Marking diversity celebration days like Wear It Purple not only supports our current employees, it helps to showcase our sector as a safe and inclusive ‘employer of choice’.
Also last month, VicWater and IWN hosted 12 students as part of RMIT’s Open Doors Melbourne – Industry Unlocked Micro Internship program. The purpose of the program is for students to get exposure to industry and contribute solutions to real world problems. The challenge we set our students was “How might we reduce residential water use in Melbourne?”. They worked in teams to come up with ideas ranging from creating water usage apps, to providing financial incentives, to running social media campaigns. It was such an energising experience to spend time with these bright and purposeful young people, and hopefully they’ve been inspired to consider a future career in the Victorian water industry.
This month we have another opportunity to promote the great work being done across our sector, at our Annual Conference on 13-14 September. The program features a number of industry speakers who will share their insights in panel discussions on customer affordability, capital works programs, water digitisation, non-regulated revenue initiatives and supporting regional development. There are only a handful of in person tickets left, so make sure you register before 6 September.
Finally, I’d like to welcome Elisa Bourke to the VicWater team, who joins us as Deputy IWN Program Director. Many of you will know that Elisa has been working in the role for the past two years on secondment from Melbourne Water, and we’re thrilled that she’s decided to make the move to VicWater and continue to be a valued member of the IWN family.
