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2
S
p eech
P
athology
A
ustralia
F
rom
the
P
resident
I
t’s always a challenge to begin a new edition of “From the
President”. Where to start is the first question, followed
soon by what theme to address. When I opened a new Word
document to begin writing this comment, it was with the
awareness that this volume of
ACQ
ushers in a change of
editors. This inevitably (or perhaps not inevitably) led me to
think about change. The phrase “to every thing there is a
season” sprang to mind. From there, I did what every good
technophile does, and opened Google to search for quotes
about change. Three and a half million hits. It seemed that
there must be something appropriate in there, and indeed
there were many interesting quotes reflecting a range of per
spectives. Some of them were entertaining, some were food
for thought, some were from people I had heard of, some
from people unknown to me, some were appropriate to this
time of change in the editorship of the
ACQ
. Let me share
with you just a few.
Irene Peter: “Just because everything is different doesn’t
mean that everything has changed”. Just because the editors
of
ACQ
have changed, doesn’t mean that everything has
changed. Our thanks go to Louise Brown and Chyrisse Heine
as they lay down the editorial pens (editorial typing fingers,
while more accurate, doesn’t sound quite right). Editing this
publication involves a multitude of tasks. The editors must
determine themes, source material (including pictures), organise
and oversee the review of some articles, edit others, organise
and oversee the columns, provide inspiration for the cover and
correct proofs, to name just some. Chyrisse and Louise have
produced six exciting issues, which I’m sure you have all
enjoyed. The new editors, Nicole Watts Pappas and Marleen
Westerveld, will continue with the same tasks (not everything
has changed) and, through their own special talents and
interests, bring something different to the end product. I look
forward to it!
George Bernard Shaw: “Some men see things as they are
and say ‘why?’ I dream of things that never were and say
‘why not?’” Perhaps you are surprised to see this quote
attributed to George Bernard Shaw rather than to Robert F.
Kennedy – I was. Nevertheless, we can see how this may be
applied to new editors of any of our publications – dreaming
of things that never were (in the publication), and asking
“why not?” are desirable characteristics, as is the ability to
follow up and turn the dreams into reality. Each new editorial
team brings change – new columns, a new approach. We
thank Chyrisse and Louise for the changes they made to the
ACQ
, and look forward to the innovations that Marleen and
Nicole will make.
I think we can also agree with Nancy Astor: “The main
dangers in life are people who want to change everything or
nothing”. There are many things about the
ACQ
that we, as
readers, appreciate – so we don’t want to see everything
change, nor yet do we want to see nothing change.
Change has also been taking place in other areas of the
Association. The new mutual recognition agreement (MRA)
came into effect on 1 January of this year. This revised
agreement sees the addition of two new signatory associations
– the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapy Association
and the Irish Association of Speech Language Therapists.
Thanks must go to all the negotiators, from all the countries
involved, without whose efforts there would be no agreement.
Speech-language pathologists from the six associations who
are part of the agreement will now find it easier to obtain
membership of these associations, a factor which will make it
easier to travel between countries. The registration bodies of
various countries, states and provinces, however, impose their
own regulations which fall outside of the MRA. Members
interested in using the MRA will need to look carefully at the
information provided on the Speech Pathology Australia
website, and on the website of the country to which they wish
to travel, in order to determine the extra conditions which
must be met.
There are some things which haven’t changed! TheAssociation
continues to make every effort to provide members with
relevant and valued services of all kinds. Gail Mulcair, our
CEO, continues to lead these efforts competently and with a
constant view to the future of both the profession and the
Association. The paid staff, at National Office and in the
states, provides efficient service, and the volunteers around
the country add immense value to the Association through
their actions and ideas. I thank them all.
And to finish, with tongue firmly in cheek, I would remind
you of the words of that famous person, Unknown, “change
is inevitable, except from vending machines”. Enjoy the in
evitable change that you will experience in the year to come.
Cori Williams
Get involved.
Show your passion for speech pathology!
Speech Pathology
Week 2009
is the perfect time to help raise the profile of the profession.
This year’s theme is
‘Communicate to participate’
Start planning your events and promotions and check out the
website for inspiration:
www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au