Statement by Master Electricians Australia President Tony Arnold

Earlier this year, Master Electricians Australia began negotiations with NECA in an effort to create a single, unified national electrical contracting industry association.

At the time, our commitment to our members and corporate partners was a very simple one – we would only proceed with a merger or any other arrangement if it was in Members best interests.

Unfortunately, after eight months of discussions, we have not been able to strike a deal that we believe respects the prestige of the Master Electricians Australia brand, and protects those elements of our united national association that we know our members value.

Therefore, both sides have reluctantly agreed to end the merger discussions.

Having instigated and enthusiastically participated in this process, Master Electricians Australia is disappointed that it has not resulted in the outcome we had hoped for.  We thank the leadership of NECA for participating in the process, and acknowledge the significant effort by Alan Brown in looking at all framework options to facilitate a merger.

However, had we proceeded, the merged organisation would have been so different to Master Electricians Australia in both its structure and its ethos that, we felt our members would have been disappointed with the outcome.

We will now redouble our efforts to serve the electrical contracting industry through our united, national organisation, and to protect and promote the prestige of the Master Electricians Brand.

We know how much value our members place in the national brand – how much pride they take in saying they are accredited Master Electricians or members.  And we also know how much strength our united national body brings to important advocacy issues such as Power of Choice or security of payments.

So while we are disappointed that we were not able to form a single, united national body, we remain committed to achieving the best outcomes for our members, our supporters and the entire industry, and look forward to working closely with NECA in area of advocacy where common outcomes are best for industry.

We will continue to stand firmly behind the culture, values and commitment to excellence that we believe are the hallmark of Master Electricians.