From construction of a desalination plant in Antarctica to plumbing works under St Kilda Pier, this edition highlights the incredibly complex working environments that plumbers can find themselves in and shines a light on the fact that a career in plumbing really can take you anywhere.
I started my plumbing career over 40 years ago and have experienced many different avenues of plumbing during my journey. My first 21 years, working for an employer, started in the residential sector before moving onto maintenance and then commercial projects.
I also worked in a brass and copper fabrication shop, and managed multiple service trades on large commercial projects in the CBD.
Since 2002 when we started NSG Plumbing Pty Ltd, we have continued to provide plumbing services in the construction and maintenance fields. In the past 10 years we have added other business streams taking the total to five independent companies specialising in importing and exporting quality sustainable products for heating and hot water globally; commercial hot water and maintenance services to four states; and a design and engineering company based in NSW.
I have been on the Board of Master Plumbers for more than 10 years. The industry has been good to me and the need to give back to maintain our integrity in the industry is a passion also shared by our National Councillors and other Board members. We are always on the lookout for people who share the same passion to join the team and continue with our succession planning for the future of our Association. Ensuring the industry and the community has access to a sufficiently large, suitably skilled and qualified plumbing workforce is vitally important to the operational sustainability of the industry.
I can’t stress enough the need for all of us to encourage the young people in our lives to seriously consider this incredibly diverse, rewarding and in-demand career pathway. Not sure where to start?
Contact the Master Plumbers Association in your state to kickstart your career.
For those of us already in the industry, the current economic climate and a string of building company collapses continues to create uncertainty. A well-functioning plumbing industry is vital to our economic recovery. All levels of government must play a stronger leadership role by recognising these cost pressures on business and structuring public contracts to enable a more equitable share of these risks. A nationally consistent and effective set of security of payment laws is urgently required and Master Plumbers has joined forces with other employee Associations to put increasing pressure on government to act.
In good news, the May Federal Budget includes a Future Gas strategy, which will secure new gas supply and an investment of $2billion for low-carbon, hydrogen programs. The announcements support a more practical transition to net-zero emissions and the role of hydrogen in a clean-energy economy. In Victoria, the scale of the planned transition is enormous, and will have significant
ramifications for our electricity and distribution networks.
Plumbers and gasfitters will be the key to making the transition happen successfully and transition us to a carbon-free fuel in hydrogen.
We will continue to keep the industry engaged and informed on progress of these longstanding issues and always welcome your input at [email protected] in shaping our ongoing advocacy.
On behalf of the Master Plumbers National Council and Board, we look forward to working closely with you to support a successful, safe and sustainable plumbing industry.
Norm Anderson
President, Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services
Association of Australia
