Elephant in the room

I was fortunate enough to attend a CEDA breakfast today (and even picked up the door prize!)with the key topic being Infrastructure and mainly concerning ports around Western Australia. There is a huge amount going on in many places with plenty of decent cooperation, investment and leadership from both the Feds and the State Government along with the likes of OPR in reference to the new $4bn port of Oakajee and associated rail. In reference to this project the port is vital to provide access to the markets for the new iron province. Being magnetite this ore will need plenty of processing and that needs power. The port itself needs only around 25mw but there is no power, as yet, for the miners and one suggestion today was that they'd need gas but wait, there's a shortage of domestic gas. Throw the grave uncertainty re the Coolimba Power Project and the elephant in the room is certainly the lack of power for the region and the frightening thing is that the equation of mines, processed ore, port facilities and shipped product is all resting on there being the power to make it happen;it seems it must not speak its name. Something of a concern with approximately A$700m of taxpayers money and A$3.3bn of investors money to be invested. Cheers, Jonathan.

Reform or simply change

As we all know, language is very powerful and one example is the use or misuse of the word "reform."

One of the definitions of the word and the pertinent one for this argument is "Reform: to improve, as by alteration, correction of error, abolition of abuses and malpractices." All of these worthy aims are a matter of opinion, a subjective matter; all change is not necessarily for the better and given the unintended consequences of most government policy they must surely be challenged at every opportunity.

Governments of course always use the word "reform" when recommending their policies/proposals to the people/Parliament and why wouldn't they? They presumably believe (rightly or wrongly) that their actions are set to make things better. Why is it then that Oppositions use the same word when arguing against these proposed changes and why is it that the Press in their scrutiny of the proposals always speak of them as the Government's reforms even when they have just spent column inches pulling them apart? I contend that both Oppositions and the Press end up colluding with the Government by using this word. Improvement is the principal connotation of the word and using it when arguing against the proposals, in the minds of the listeners, weakens the contrary argument.

In the same vein I would like to see Government, Oppositions and the Press refrain ( voluntarily of course) from using the word "resources" unless they are talking about stuff in the ground or the skills of people and not as a euphemistic disguise of the phrase, "tax payers' money." Governments only have capacity to spend money that they either raise by tax or by borrowing and that borrowing both in terms of interest and capital is again paid for by taxpayers. I think if Governments particularly (and others)always substituted "tax payers' money" when they are tempted to use the word "resources" they would start to alter what they actually do say( and maybe what they actually do) and we might start, just start, to see an improvement of candour and honesty.

The Run of Liberté by Anna-Rose Shack, 2010

The Run of Liberté by Anna-Rose Shack, 2010

My Liberté, we ran side by side;
Her heaving bosom, hips strong and wide
As she pounded on with shaking skin,
She knew that only truth would win.
Her coarse, hardened feet stamped the ground,
Her billowing dress loosely wound
Was slipping down off her chest
Revealing beneath her ripe round breast.
Through the city of despair and dirt,
In alleys and courtyards always alert.
And as we fought through the palace garden
I felt my heart and my mind harden
With rage against every power holder,
Their brutal murders made me bolder.
The boom and club club of cannon fire,
But on we ran, we did not tire.
Beads of sweat glowed on her brow
And with white innocence, I know not how
She trampled those beneath her feet
Striking more on each and every street.
With each vanquish she grew twice as strong
And what we did I never thought as wrong.
Liberté was the truth that did not fall;
She was the strength that broke down every wall
With, from gently parted lips a sweet sigh,
That rippled through our veins to defy
All opposed to our freedom fight.
Liberté with all her wonderful might
Thrust the tricolour above head
And kept on running though her tears were shed.
She cried, I think, for the ignorant fools
Whose blood now seeped in crimson pools;
A hideous stain on the cobbled street
But a veritas victory and a deserved defeat.
Death to twisted lies, hate and greed,
We led the people so they were freed.
Death and end to those cruel gentlemen
Who lust for power time and time again.
Lying battered and trodden, stripped of glory
Those pathetic figures told a sorry story.
But emerging on top where all could see
We ran, we fought, for Liberté.

All successful institutions have a rational basis, not

“The great achievement of the Enlightenment had one enormous and unfortunate side-effect. We gained a false sense of the power of reason. It made us think that all successful institutions have a rational basis and that there are no limits to what we can achieve by rational action” (Suri Ratnapala in 100 Books of Liberty. )

I think this is a fantastic quote and one that is quite instructive. Many of us that are endeavouring to being new products to prospective clients and who are absolutely convinced that these products will significantly enhance bottom lines and often materially impact positively on the environment are staggered not to receive a ready hearing and enthusiastic take-up. Only tenacity can win the day.

Why is this so? Many reasons certainly; perhaps the product is not as good as we think it is, perhaps it will upset the status quo and challenge fiefdoms or perhaps we're just not good enough salespeople. I could go on but the reality is that rational thought is often overwhelmed by fear, that the adventurous spirit claimed by many people and companies is just that, a claim but with no substance and more prosaically people want to buy but they do not want to be sold to, a difficult conundrum if they don't know what the product or or can do in the first place.

The solution, just work harder but also smarter. Use the network to find the right people to help you. Make it in their best interests to do and be prepared to share the profits with them. Talking my own book? You betcha but that doesn't mean I'm wrong.