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Daniel Grollo

Biography:

Daniel Grollo is the Managing Director of Grocon, Australia's largest privately owned development and construction companies.

Daniel has been at the helm of Grocon, founded by grandfather Luigi Grollo nearly sixty years ago, for almost seven years. The Grollo brothers have made their mark enhancing the fine traditions of quality and reliability set by their legendary father Bruno Grollo.

Despite the generational change the Grocon business model is unchanged, the relations with employees retain the extended, down-to-earth family.

Grocon has nearly 1,300 direct employees in its payroll - more than the top three or four construction companies put together.

Daniel Grollo was the main driving force in the restoration and re-development of $600 million Sydney GPO complex in Martin Place and later the $700 million QV redevelopment which occupies an entire city block in central Melbourne.

Grocon's $435 million redevelopment of the Melbourne Cricket Ground , the centre stage for the Commonwealth Games has just been completed and the $500 million 92-storey Eureka Tower at Southbank will become the world's tallest residential skyscraper when it is completed in April.

The company has been chosen as the preferred developer of the $1.4 billion Parramatta Civic Centre urban renewal project.

Statement:

I am honoured by the opportunity to participate in the Australian Future Directions. My contribution on what I see as the major challenges and opportunities for Australia in the next fifteen years is obviously influenced both by my position as Managing Director of Grocon and as Victorian President of the Property Council of Australia. A strong influence comes also from my family's heritage - a story of migration over three generations that began in 1927 when my grandfather Luigi Grollo landed in Australia.

The opportunities in Australia are immense and I am very optimistic and excited about our future. The key areas of opportunity for Australia's future are to further develop and invest in our education system and our people and the continued responsible development of our natural resources along with the ability to continue to grow our population by increased migration adding value to both our social and cultural diversity and to the strength of our economy by addressing our very real labour shortage. We must position ourselves as a leading smart country in every aspect of our society. A country of choice for all aspiring smart migrants looking for a better future.

Our education system is unique in our region and enjoys a world class reputation, students come from all corners of the world to attend our universities, but we must support our educational institutions and recognize that the opportunity to have the regions premier educational facilities that educate our future business, political and social leaders and those of our international neighbours is an investment in our own future. The returns will be beyond expectations in years to come. I think we have not done enough in this area over the last five years.

Our natural resources are unique and represent a large contributor to the nation's current economic success. Looking forward we have another huge opportunity. Just as the Gold Rush of the late 1800s contributed so much to our developing history, today's resource boom can contribute as much again. So too, in the future, can the massive uranium deposits in Australia. I believe they should be exploited to satisfy energy requirements.  

Australia today sits on a half of the world's known deposits and it should not be beyond our capacity, intelligence and know-how to harness this resource providing clean energy to the world. More importantly also coming up with ways to reduce the impact of the waste material.

Simarily the size, the geographic and climate diversity and richness of Australia should continue to provide us with continued agricultural opportunities, but we must address and resolve the current water management and supply issues. I believe these are only limited by financial and management issues. A successful resolution would allow us to continuine to be an efficient, productive and smart supplier of fresh produce at sustainable levels.

Population growth, through immigration and the cultural diversity it has brought, is a significant component of our history, our society and our success. I think it is an important part of our future as well. The ability today to have immigration policies that allow for the smartest and most resourceful individuals and families from around the world will be incredibly valuable to our future. Australia has reaped enormous economic and social benefits from the contribution of migration in the past.

Striving for even greater success in the future means maintaining those policies so we can foster an orderly and responsible population growth that must be driven by an active and sustainable increase in the numbers of newcomers to Australia.

The major challenges are predominantly of a geographic and social nature. Australia's size and relative isolation from the rest of the world has and will continue to act as a barrier to both our economic and social progress. We have a large requirement for infrastructure investment and also investment for National security. We are a great nation with a strong and in many ways enviable society widely respected across the world.  

Our social structure is founded on freedom and opportunity. Our national ethos of   a "Fair Go", should be protected and enhanced.