Parking Australia Convention & Exhibition Comes to a Close

Today marks the close of the Parking Australia Convention and Exhibition (PACE) 2016, which saw over 300 industry professionals attend the two-day event at Crown Perth. This year marked the 15th biennial convention and exhibition and coincided with Parking Australia's 30th anniversary.

The parking industry continues to face rapid change on a number of fronts, from technological advances, policy changes, developments in the transport environment and economic realities. In keeping with the theme of 'Raising the Bar', this year's conference provided an opportunity for attendees to learn about the current trends and developments taking place in the industry.

"PACE 2016 was bigger and better than ever before," said Lorraine Duffy, Chief Executive at Parking Australia. "The landmark event saw a number of thought leaders discuss some of the biggest trends impacting the parking industry. I would like to thank all our speakers, sponsors and exhibitors for raising the standards of the parking industry in Australia."

"I would also like to thank the Hon. Michael Sutherland MLA, Member for Mt Lawley and Speaker for the Legislative Assembly, for opening PACE 2016, as well as Christina Morrissy, Channel 9 and 6PR presenter, who was an excellent MC for the event," she continued.

This year saw some high profile international and national keynote speakers present at PACE. Vanessa Solesbee, Practice Builder with Kimley-Horn and Associates, held a keynote session on Wednesday 9th November discussing how to facilitate a meaningful community dialogue about parking, whilst Kieran Fitsall, Head of Service Improvement and Transformation at Westminster City Council, opened the final day on Thursday 10th November with a case study on Westminster Council in the UK.

The third keynote speaker, Rachel Smith, Urban Transport Planner and Author, discussed technology, disruptors, robots, fear and our Aussie sense of entitlement during her keynote session.

Key highlights during the convention were also the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative's electric powered driverless POD, as well as the site visit to Perth Airport, the announcement of the Accredited Operator Scheme and Parking Australia's 30th Birthday Party.

Two New Directors Appointed to the Board

During this year's convention, Parking Australia also held its Annual General Meeting of the company where two directors were elected to the board.

Graham Arndt, Director of Asset Management at Curtin University in WA, was re-elected to the Board of Directors. Arndt has been a director of the board since 2010 and has been actively involved in the parking industry since 2005.

Arndt will continue to offer his experience, learnings and insight to work towards making Parking Australia the go-to organisation, and leading voice, for parking issues in Australia. He is one of the longest serving board members and will provide continuity as Parking Australia continues to raise the bar and standards of the parking industry.

Joining Arndt is Mosstyn Howell, Founder and CEO at UbiPark, who joins the board of directors for the first time. He has over 15 years' experience working in the parking industry and strives to connect the parking world with the emerging technologies and industries that will have a major impact on how we commute in the future.

"It is my great pleasure to welcome Mosstyn to the board and of course see Graham retain his position. They both bring unparalleled experience and insight to the board, and will be huge assets towards delivering the initiatives Parking Australia will be launching over the coming year," said Duffy.

About Parking Australia

Parking Australia is the peak national body representing the parking industry across Australia. Parking Australia was founded to promote excellence in the management of parking facilities, and includes a broad cross-section of local government and statutory authorities, businesses, car park operators and property owners. Parking Australia's work to promote best practice across private parking industry includes introducing an Accredited Operator Scheme supported by a Code of Practice for the industry to ensure the way private parking operators deliver their services to the public is in line with the community's expectations.