As local readers are aware, the total land area of Australia and New Zealand combined is just under 8 million square kilometres and the population is about 22 million. Despite this, 98 per cent of the population of Australia live in a coastal belt on the southern and eastern shores of the continent, and 97 per cent of the population of New Zealand live on the eastern shores of the two islands. What the rest of the world sometimes overlooks is that almost all 22 million people in both countries live in areas which are in practice urban. So from the very beginnings of Trenchless Technology there has been a healthy demand in both countries for the benefits it can deliver.

The Australian Society for Trenchless Technology (ASTT) was a founder member of the ISTT and was the 3rd society to affiliate in 1991. In 1994 the name was changed to Australasian Society to include members from New Zealand. From the very outset, for its size, the ASTT has been an active player and leader in the development of trenchless technology in the worldwide community. For example RibLoc in 1998, the ASTT itself in 2004 and ShieldLiner in 2005, have won the prestigious NO-DIG Awards for their contributions to the advancement of the technology. The ASTT also staged the International NO-DIG event in Perth in 2000 and now Menno Henneveld is the first ISTT Chairman from the Southern hemisphere.

In a survey conducted in 2000, Australia had 130,000 km of trunk water and 80,000 km of sewer collector mains, and probably just a much again in house connections. At the time the country was also heavily involved in extending the national underground IT network and extending gas and electrical supplies in its major cities. Today, Horizontal Directional Drilling and Micro-tunnelling are used regularly for new installation work, and pipe-bursting and cured in place renovation techniques are increasingly required for modernising utility networks which have now been in the ground for more than a century. Australasian Society corporate members are also working in Pacific rim countries, transferring know-how and helping to tackle the global poverty problems in less fortunate regions.

From a professional and personal point of view trenchless technology plays a major part in my every day life. Brisbane Water is one of the largest publicly owned utility companies in the world with more than 15,000 km of underground networks under its management. As Strategic Planning, Policy and Innovation Manager for the company, and a Councillor for the State of Queensland, my life centres on getting the best value for money for both my employers, and their customers, when providing them with services. This means using techniques which are both environmentally friendly and cost effective and I find that trenchless techniques are meeting a growing proportion of our requirements, especially in the fields of brown-field redevelopment.

It was an honour for me and the City when the ISTT and ASTT asked if we would host the 2006 NO-DIG Conference and Exhibition. Not only is Brisbane a beautiful and exciting city to visit, but it is also a leader in giving its population excellent services in a sustainable manner, and we are a major user of trenchless techniques. We want to share our professional experience and the delights of our city with our trenchless colleagues from all over the world, and because there is always something to learn, to invite them to add their knowledge to the mix too.

For the conference we have received many high standard abstract submissions which are being peer reviewed to populate the conference sessions. The topic groups are listed on the conference website. We have also issued an invitation to exhibit and the first registrations have been received. We have also issued an attractive prospectus giving innovative opportunities for sponsorship.

The event starts on Sunday 29 October with an opening breakfast, golf competition and exhibition preview. Monday through Thursday are the conference and exhibition days. There will be a Conference Dinner on the 31 October, site visits on Wednesday 1 November and a special combined workshop with the Australasian Tunnelling Society “Underground Planning of a Liveable City” on Thursday 2 November. With the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre just a few minutes walk from the city centre, or the free “downtown Loop”, CityBus and Citytrain services for longer distances with a delegate transit card, I can guarantee delegates will have a marvellous week for both work and relaxation.

Oh yes, one final thing. There is a saying about Brisbane weather “Beautiful one day…perfect the next.”

I and my organising committee look forward to welcoming you to Brisbane in October.