Monday at Noosa – Big Conversations, Big Ideas and Plenty of Cold Chain Connection
Monday morning saw the 84th RWTA Conference and Exhibition move into full swing at Peppers Noosa, with a packed day of speakers, industry discussion, technology and, importantly, plenty of opportunities to reconnect. For those who couldn't join us this year, we have hundreds of photos now available on the RWTA website, capturing the people, conversations and atmosphere across the Conference.
Following Chairman Graham Harvey's opening address, Mathew Munro from the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) kicked off the speaker programme with Trucking into the Future: Evolution vs Revolution. Christel Cherryadi then took us Beyond Automation, exploring the human capability needed for an increasingly technology-driven future, before Naomi Frauenfelder from Healthy Heads Trucks & Sheds brought the focus firmly back to the people behind the cold chain and the importance of protecting the mental health of the workforce that helps protect Australia's food security.
The morning conversations came together in our panel, The Weakest Link: What's Really Putting Australia's Food Supply at Risk? Bringing different perspectives from transport, workforce, technology and food distribution to the same table created exactly the sort of discussion we wanted from this year's theme. Richard Forbes then continued the food-security conversation before the afternoon turned towards technology and innovation, including our Tech Talks and the stunning 2026 Frank Vale Award State Nominee presentations.
Of course, an RWTA Conference is about far more than what happens on stage. The Exhibitors Hall was busy throughout the day, conversations continued over breakfast, morning tea and lunch, and there was a wonderful energy as members and industry colleagues from across Australia and overseas caught up, exchanged ideas and made new connections. The RWTA website photo galleries capture the opening day and both conference days, giving everyone who couldn't be in Noosa a chance to see what we got up to.
And after a very full day of thinking and talking cold chain, it was time to enjoy Noosa. Monday finished with our Cocktail Dinner at Locale on Hastings Street, the perfect opportunity to put the notebooks away, continue the conversations and enjoy a great evening together.
There are far too many moments to fit into one edition of Chilled Out Chronicles, so head across to the Conference page, have a look through the photos and spot some familiar faces!
