November_1965 — Page 6

Australia

HIS

An Intermediary Between Government and Industry

year the

Tederation

Master Builders" of Australia cele- brates the 75th anniversary of its foundation.

It is made up of nine member bodies which are the Master Builders' Associations of each State on the con- tinent, together with the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory areas.

Broadly, the work areas of the Federation consist of those industrial and commercial matters which (a) are of interest to employers in the build- ing construction industry. (b) extend beyond the boundaries of any one Australian State or Territory, and (c) are best handled by employers acting Federally rather than as State or Ter- ritorial bodies.

Within the above broad ambit lie the following main areas of activity by the Federation.

In the international sphere the Federation deals with all matters con- nected with the Building, Civil En- gineering and Public Works Commit- tee of the ILO. It handles liaison with and matters arising from the IFAWPCA. It has direct member- ship of the National Federation of Building Trades Employers of the United Kingdom. and maintains close liaison with comparable bodies in overseas countries.

Consultations

a

The Federation carries out the work associated with representing the industry in the twice yearly consulta- tions which Federal Cabinet has with the leaders of industry. It makes on these occasions a comprehensive sub- mission on the state of the building construction industry as viewed by the Federation, and of course it is the intermediary between the build- ing construction industry and Federal Ministers.

As Federal Government Depart- ments desire to deal on a national basis, the Federation provides liaison in this area. It deals with the De- partments of Works, Housing. Im- migration. External Affairs, Labour and National Service, Treasury, Ter- ritories, Customs and Excise and the Building Research Section of the Commonwealth Scientific and Indus- trial Research Organisation. It has made submissions in connection with the Federal Court of Bank- ruptcy. The Federation also deals with bodies which may be styled Federal Committees, Federal Boards or Federal Statutory Authorities.

by

V. T. Edwards

President

Master Builders' Federation

of Australia

In addition there is the work con- nected with the Associated General Contractors Insurance Co. Ltd., the Federation's own company. Liaison with the Head Office and the Board of that company is in the province of the Federation, and the development of the company is often assisted by work done by the Federation under the Board's instructions.

The Federal Committees show some of the important work which is tackled by committees from the Federation and its member Associa- tions. These are: Conditions of Contract, Mode of Measurement, Apprenticeship. Building, Govern- ment Contracts. IFAWPCA, and such ad hoc committees as are set up to do a specific task and to do it quickly, such as the Constitutional Review Committee.

Occupying a very large portion of the time spent by Federation is the area of administration within the Federation. This of course involves the establishment and maintenance of an office and full time staff. In the national capital it has also involved the construction of a top quality re- sidence and the use of this residence for contact purposes. Liaison with the nine member associations, the de- velopment and maintenance of Fed- eral contracts, and the entertaining of visitors to the national capital is also a part of the Federation's task.

A distinct work area consists of the liaison which it is necessary to maintain with other Federal employer bodies.

The production of the Conditions of Contract document, the Standard Mode of Measurement document and the preparation of pamphlets such as the Contract Method of Construc- first put forward by the Federation. as a body, publicity concerning de preciation of buildings and articles for magazines in Australia and over- seas are also tasks performed by Federation.

The Federation does not do any direct work of an industrial nature, as this is best handled by the Associa- tions operating within their own areas.

The concept that home savings be subsidised to encourage young people to save specifically for housing was first put forward by the Federation It also put forward a concept of a national housing authority to be set up in Australia at Federal level. Both these ideas have been adopted.

We are currently pressing the con- cept of compulsory savings as a means of reducing ill-advised con- sumer spending and to encourage more expenditure in the sector of durables. We are also campaigning for the adoption by the Federal Gov- ernment of a rise and fall formula in respect of Government contracts, the extension of the present 20 per cent. investment allowance granted most industries to building and construc- tion, and for depreciation allowance on income producing buildings.

Research work

We are constantly working toward the goals of having all Government tenders opened in public, the pre- paration and divulgence of a three year work programme by the Gov- ernment, and the granting to the in- dustry of a subsidy to encourage employers to take on more appren- tices. Registration of builders, and the attainment of a greater level of uniformity in Government contract documents are two further Federation projects.

We hope to add shortly yet another work area, namely original economic research work into the building cons- truction industry, to assist in the per- formance of many of the functions already mentioned.

The future of the building industry is of course irrevocably tied to the future development of the Australian nation. Australia's future develop- ment will partly depend on our ability to trade with our neighbours in South East Asia. In fact our future is dependent to a very appreciable

Far East Architect & Builder November, 1965

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