It was a great honour to be appointed as President of AALARA at the recent AGM held on 27 May.

AALARA is an outstanding industry association and I believe a great deal has been achieved to improve the standards and professionalism of the industry for the benefit of all members, employees and for the general public.

I would like to thank all our exhibitors and sponsors from the recent AALARA Annual Conference. In this difficult economic climate the ongoing support is greatly appreciated and by all accounts some good business was achieved during our very successful event.

The AALARA Board is now focused on some very important priorities with one in particular having a significant impact the future of our industry.

You will be aware that the Australian Government is currently modernising employment awards and some of the clauses in the Exposure Draft of the "Amusement, Events and Recreation Award 2010" are of great concern.

Your Board is actively lobbying the Australian Government for amendments to the proposed award and we encourage all members to be active in bringing our concern to the attention of your local Federal Member.

The Board has made a submission to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and are seeking a meeting with the responsible Minister Julia Gillard.

The AALARA Board is currently developing a new Strategic Plan for the future of our association. Tony Hood from the Webb Group is facilitating the process and if you would like to put forward your valuable ideas please contact Tony at [email protected]

Finally, exciting plans are afoot for next year's AALARA Conference/ Exhibition to be held jointly with IAAPA in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from July 13-16, 2010.

More than 3,000 professionals will participate from amusement and theme parks, waterparks, zoos, aquariums, museums, family entertainment centres, casinos, and resorts. The spectacular event will feature new attractions and products, showcase what's new in the industry, promote best practices, and of course allow networking with colleagues.

The venue is located in the heart of Petronas' Kuala Lumpur City Centre development (KLCC), the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and I hope you will join us there.

Rob Bradley

AALARA President