Spring is over - summer is upon us

Heading out to Kings Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon, spring had arrived in Perth, whilst only mid September, we knew we have plenty of rainy days ahead before summer officially starts in December, how wrong I was after the initial deluge.

Ironically, spring barely rained after the super wet September, it was then one of the hottest seasons on record, actually, the hottest in one hundred and sixteen years. With showers and overcast weather on the last day of spring before the heat of summer begins, I was somewhat bewildered or was that befuddled.

Anyway, I will be heading out in the afternoon to sail on the Swan River in 25 knot expected winds, looks like it will be fun. Up at Kings Park overlooking the Swan River throughout most of spring, families were out and about, concerts playing in open air, the feeling of rebirth filled the void left by the end of the football season and for some of us - grand final disappointment.

Kings Park is just as brilliant in summer as it is in spring, outdoor concerts, outdoor cinema, theatre in the park or just wandering around the parklands, wooded areas or the war memorial. My favourite is the outdoor cinema where you lay out on a picnic rug, a bottle of wine, food and watch a movie on the big screen under the stars.

Perth may not be the most cultured city in the world, nor is the entertainment precinct outstanding, but the isolation of the city offers the resident a relaxed lifestyle where hard work is rewarded - I enjoy every trip to Kings Park & bask in the happiness that the city has offered me.

The joy of study - is there really such a thing?

Strategic management doesn't necessarily need be dull colourless and boring - but generally it is. Sitting in Seminyak overlooking Kuta Beach is an ideal classroom to relate to the concepts and implementation of strategic management, I have to be reading something after all, so why waste my time on literature I sometimes think? You can only stare out at the sea for so long.

I can remember back to my mid twenties when I would work half to three quarters of the year and backpack the rest of the time. I would have anywhere from three to six months (I would generally choose six months) to enjoy life leaving the stresses of the mining industry that was my employment of choice back then. I took novels with me, seriously adding weight to my backpack, pouring over and analysing the writings of Maugham, Fitzgerald, Elliott, Dickens, Durrell and Hemingway at every chance.

No time for literature now, I'm mid forties and reassessing my relevance in the world of employment, hopefully succeeding so I can retire in another ten to fifteen years and once again enjoy the storytelling abilities of not only the masters but of up and coming writers plying their trade.

There is no joy in study, let's get that right firstly - there is a sense of achievement in completing a qualification, a thirst for knowledge realised, a financial gain for implementing structures and programs in your workplace and finally a sense of relief when it is all over. But joy in the actual act of study - hell no, there is stress, deadlines, quizzes, online tests, case studies to write and present and two hour written examinations to overcome.

Between dives at Malapascua Island, Philippines, after getting up in the dark to hit the water just as the sun rises to interact with thresher sharks, I am able to train my sub-conscious thought to Does the industry off attractive opportunities for growth? Given such a setting, preparing a case study isn't so stressful but I normally limit myself to preparing the notes and researching material, the actual writing is still done huddled around my computer at home late at night after finishing a day of employment.

What strikes me is the time taken to complete a unit, this was spread out over two overseas trips, Puerto Galera & Malapascua in June for two weeks and Bali in September for a week. This takes a whole bunch of time, effort and money but study in such environments lifts the stress component from the course and I have found flights and airports the perfect place to read and write notes - that is after all, down time anyway.

The case to privatise the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is an Australian government owned organisation enshrined in parliament to provide broadcasting access to Australians.

Those who live in remote communities have particularly relied on the coverage of the ABC. Government services are important. I very much believe the government needs to supply services to the community when the private sector is unable to do so for commercial reasons.

I, along with many other Australians have lived in remote communities with nothing but ABC radio (Radio National) and ABC Television - that however was some time ago. These days, the choice of television networks in the bush are significantly improved.

When I worked in remote areas during the 1980s, choice was pretty much limited to the ABC - fortunately, that time has passed. Firstly, a review of the ABCs $233 million government contract to provide the Australia Network international television service is in order after sparking outrage by releasing alleged revelations of Australian phone tapping by intelligence agencies in Indonesia.

Furthermore, the government generally spends in excess of $1.2 billion per annum funding the broadcaster - this is expensive. As television and radio broadcasting is no longer a core role of the government, the ABC is competing with the private sector and should be considered for disinvestment and outright sale.   

One has to question the timing of the ABC release of spying claims to destabilise the newly elected Abbott government, the UK Guardian newspaper has been in possession of this information since May 2013. 

One also has to question the timing in regards to the official retirement former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the same week and the recent resignation of former Foreign Minister Bob Carr following their disastrous election campaign. 

Now neither can be held to account in the parliament, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's lackluster performance and change of heart in pursuing the matter is interesting to say the least. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Tanya Plibersek is just plain farcical. 

Had this information been leaked in May, conveniently waiting until after the federal election when then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd actually authorised the alleged intelligence gathering, he could have dealt with the issue himself.

The attempt by the left-leaning ABC and ultra left UK owned Guardian newspaper to cause embarrassment to the newly elected Abbott government is breathtaking.

The intelligence documents provided to the UK Guardian by former National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden, was shared with the ABC and published triggering a crisis in Australia's sometimes stormy relationship with Indonesia. 

Mark Scott, the ABC Managing Director defended his decision to reveal top-secret information into the public domain for an incident that allegedly occurred in 2009.

Furthermore, Scott was also forced to defend (to a senate committee) the airing of an ABC television program including a photoshopped image of a prominent journalist having sex with a dog. The judgement of the ABC is once again called into question.

Ironically, I don't believe Scott has apologised for the image, nor has he revealed the cost of defending the legal action of defamation - taxpayer money used to defend highly questionable material.

Apparently he feels it shouldn't be published in the public domain, furthermore he believes an apology for the actions of the ABC while he was Managing Director is not in order.

Imagine Mark Scott's outrage when salary information of ABC staff was leaked to the media, apparently it is not in the public interest to publish such confidential information - bullshit.

But alas, the ABC wasn't hacked, they inadvertently sent the information to the office of a politician themselves - apparently incompetence is as rife at the ABC as poor judgement.

One has to seriously question both the motives and judgement of the ABC. The attempt to cause damage to the Abbott government not only betrayed the government but undermined the national interest - as a taxpayer-funded public broadcaster it is chartered to uphold.

The diplomatic furore has the potential to expand to the region as further revelations will undoubtedly arise, Russia has invited Indonesia to meet directly with Snowden in Russia.

The disdain of the left-wing ideologues is truly amazing, the Abbott government in its infancy has a serious diplomatic issue with its important neighbour, left leaning commentators are very open in their hope Abbott will fail, they will stop at nothing, including harming the national interest to realise their dream. 

Indonesia has suspended cooperation with Australia regarding the smuggling of illegal boat arrivals from its shores, the issue of people smuggling is not such an issue an in Indonesia, in comparison, the Abbott government is committed to stemming illegal arrivals. 

Abbott will be spending years cleaning up the mess left by the Rudd/Gillard governments - I hope he has braced himself for further difficulties, there seems to be booby traps and time bombs at every step.

Highly vocal Indonesian Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, denied Indonesia conducted intelligence gathering by listening to the phone calls of Australian government officials.

Natalegawa's claims that Indonesia doesn't monitor telephones is clearly a false statement. The Abbott government is well aware of the falseness of the claim that is riddled with hypocrisy. 

Natalegawa has claimed Indonesia has downgraded cooperation with Canberra, one would presume that includes accepting the $500+ million aid program the Australian government provides Indonesia.

Of course, Australian involvement with Indonesian authorities for transnational crime, people smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism affects Indonesia directly, of course, we know Natalegawa is playing domestic politics for the upcoming 2014 presidential elections.

The former chief of Badan Intelijen Negara, Indonesia's national intelligence agency directly contradicted Natalegawa. Furthermore, in an extraordinary 2004 admission, Indonesia admitted to bugging the Australian embassy during the East Timor crisis, even trying to recruit Australian nationals as spies plus tapping civilian and military telephone calls - ouch.

Prime Minister Abbott's statement was technically correct as every nation conducts intelligence; he should not apologise for protecting the national interest of the country he was elected to lead.

Abbott maintained the long standing protocol of not providing details of intelligence operations. Abbott has handled the crisis well, negotiation is not conducted by megaphone in the public sphere (aka Rudd diplomacy) with commentary remaining minimalist.

Closely cropped vision of rent-a-crowd students burning Australian flags in front of the embassy is farcical, normally they would burn an effigy of Abbott, but alas, they weren't that organised.

Instead, they burnt paper flags churned out on a colour printer, others were drawn by hand, they couldn't even get real Australian flags organised.

Maybe we should just sell the ABC to Indonesia at a reasonable price - that should appease both them and us.

Diving the Monte Bello Islands

I loved my job in the early 2000s, I was a dive guide travelling up and down the Western Australian coast, together with our clients, we would charter boats to dive the remote reefs of the West Australian coast. This, of course was after the 1270 km drive north from Perth in our coaster bus, close to 18 hours driving up the sometimes desolate coast. Usually, a bus trip is much slower than a car trip as the passenger's needs to be taken into account such as multiple stops every two hours, the slower travelling speed of the coaster bus is a real bummer as well.

We made a number of trips to the Monte Bello Islands departing Exmouth at midnight; steaming all night, we arrived in the island group mid morning so after breakfast we would hit the water for the first of many dives. Dampier is a better staging post, however, our charter boat was Exmouth based. The Monte Bello islands are remote, very remote and that's why the British government sought to conduct their 1952 atomic testing program in these islands instead of Britain with a device installed in a decommissioned frigate slightly below the waterline. 1956 saw a further tests conducted on land with one device detonated at ground level and the second device detonated from a tower 31 metres above the ground.

The 25 kt atomic device was to simulate a ship mounted weapon, apparently a grave concern to the British government in the 1950s. Operation Hurricane was the first British atomic test conducted, whilst British scientists worked on the Manhattan Project, the tests were classified and information withheld, they were forced to conduct their own research program much to our disadvantage.

The fallout spread material across the continent as far as Queensland; strong winds at the time of the tests that were supposed to carry the fallout out to sea turned carrying the fallout onshore. Exposure is limited to one hour per day, signs are erected around the various beaches, unfortunately also the beach where we camped also recommended limited exposure.

Between dives, a tight group of people makes the down time fun, this was an excellent tour in a unique and remote part of the world accessed via Exmouth or Dampier, the diving and fishing is excellent. Contrary to popular opinion, there are no double headed fish, nor do they glow in the dark.

Back on board after the pre-breakfast dive, time to organise a feed while the crew (myself) refilled tanks ready for the next dive. I have to really complement the boat's cook, holding pots and pans steady as we navigated seas whilst producing amazing culinary fare under difficult conditions. We ate well with painted crayfish, fresh tuna and other magnificent marine fare caught during the trip.

The islands are now a marine park after the British atomic testing of the 1950s devastated the whole group. Half of Australia was contaminated with fallout, the tests at Maralinga were even more devastating for the environment and local aboriginal population.

Lenton Brae - a great family owned Margaret River winery

I love family owned wineries in the Swan Valley and Margaret River, of these, Lenton Brae is rated highly in my opinion. Whilst I have never been a drinker of Merlot or Cabernet Merlot blends there are notable exceptions of Voyager Cab Merlot and Lenton Brae Cab Merlot.

The wine making area with stainless steel vats and barriques stored outside, the bulk of the barriques are stored in the temperature controlled area directly under the cellar door.

Cellar door sales are the lifeblood of these small producers. Whilst Lenton Brae is found in many bottle shops and restaurants, they really don't supply the volumes the large distributors required for national coverage and tend to be overlooked purely because of volumes - this is unfortunate.

We had the luck of driving past after 4:30 and were surprised to find the cellar door is open until 6pm. Not only were we discussing their fine range of wines with the owner, she took us for a walk around the facility for a short tour.

I felt sorry for her because as she was showing us around; another potential customer came seeking a tasting but unfortunately missed her. She had left the counter unattended as it was so late in the day As she chased after their car, I admired her dedication - this time she just wasn't fast enough. This is what I love about small businesses, they try not to neglect any customer in a way that big business does even if she was unsuccessful this time.

French barriques grace this small family winery, they are not cheap with no change for $2200 and they need to be replaced every few years.

Kings Park wildflowers

Spring is almost over with summer is drawing closer, the wildflowers I viewed up in Kings Park in early spring are in full bloom. Spring is a romantic time of year, before the summer heat hits, the temperatures are pleasant and the sunshine craved.

We have been informed this was a warm spring with temps in the mid 30s; an amazing spring in retrospect, now as summer beckons, the jacaranda trees are in full bloom, Christmas trees will soon bloom as families prepare their festivities in the sun - it is a great time.

With the Swan River in the background, bees are busy collecting pollen, I am informed this indicates a healthy eco-system. Kings Park has a number of wildflower trails to wander around, the park is set up in geographical areas with many stunning trails. The park, perched on Mt Eliza overlooks Perth City with panoramic views of South Perth and the southern shore in the distance.

Fields of wildflowers greeted visitors, Kings Park boasts botanical gardens, natural bush-land and numerous parks, Kings Park is one of the largest city parks in the world eclipsing New York's Central Park in size. Spring is my favourite time to visit the park, Sunday's are bustling with activities with families enjoying the grassed parks for BBQs and picnics.

The Kangaroo Paw is endemic to the South West region of Western Australia; looking like the clenched paw of a kangaroo, the floral emblem of the state graces the state coat of arms. The Kangaroo Paw is an unusual looking plant; the flower is unique and whilst growing throughout the South West region, finds difficulty growing in new soils.

As a child, I loved these plants so went walking through the bush and pulled up a number of different species to bring home and plant in our garden, only to not survive. Strange for a plant that grows naturally in the bush.

Philanthropy in action - yet we still complain

In recent discussions regarding the generous philanthropic pledging of $65 million by Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest at my place of employment, I am left feeling somewhat disjointed.

A guy is giving away his riches, well half of it anyway with a $65 mill outlay just recently and is roundly criticised - how is this so? That isn't half of it, in the last two years - the Forrest family has donated close to $200 million. Normally the complaint of greed resonates around the office, yet a successful entrepreneur willing to donate substantial amounts is held in contempt.

The proposed PhD research scholarships seek to become an Australian version of the Oxford Rhodes Scholarship attracting leading international researchers to Western Australia. The recent wealth of Western Australia is based on iron ore and will remain so for the next few decades; the ability to attract research, investment and high calibre individuals to develop new industries post mining boom could drive the state economy of the future.

In Australia, the phenomenon known as the tall poppy syndrome is unfortunately alive and well practiced - resentment against those for being successful; they must be criticised and attacked for their achievements as they surely must have gained knowledge, wealth, status or position by devious and unjust means. In other words, if haven't I succeeded, they must be a crook - it can't possibly be me or my lack of endeavour.
Common conceptions or misconceptions of the Forrest family donation:

1. It is just a tax dodge. 
2. He gained wealth by unjust means anyway. 
3. Rich people are no better than poor people. 
4. He stole land and wealth from indigenous Australians. 
5. Twiggy used his position to unseat Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd over the mining super tax.

Inspired by Bill and Belinda Gates, Warren Buffett and the Rockefeller Foundation, hopefully the ultra rich in Australia can be motivated to increase charitable donations by people like Nicola and Andrew Forrest. The American elite have a greater penchant for charitable donations and philanthropy by their ultra rich, hopefully this attitude can catch on in Australia by individuals and corporations.

In response to such claims:

1. $65 million is a big hole in any set of accounts, it is a big sum to spend just to get a tax refund - better to maybe just spend the $65 million. There is of course a tax deduction involved but that is a secondary consideration. 
2. Twiggy was a former stockbroker who became the CEO of Anaconda Nickel after studying economics and politics at the University of Western Australia - hence the association with UWA. There are some pretty angry people who held Anaconda Nickel shares, no doubt about that. Andrew was a 1980s era stockbroker in the greed is good and anything goes era. 
3. No arguments here, there are plenty of rich people who are just horrible to deal with, my experience is self-made people tend to be approachable whilst inheritance tends to breed arrogance. However people with limited means can serve the community through volunteering, yet the people accusing Twiggy of impropriety should maybe start with looking at themselves first and start serving the community by joining volunteer bush fire brigades, old people's homes, homeless shelters, silver chain, meals on wheels and other worthwhile associations - you don't need to be rich to volunteer. 
4. This is interesting, Fortescue Metals Group is accused of offering low, the Yindjibarndi people are split in their support for the FMG offer. One could also argue to ensure everybody is happy, paying well above the market rates is the only way. Likewise, one group is negotiating, another group is holding out for more money - sounds like most corporate negotiations. 
5. Twiggy and Kev are on the record stating they are friends, they certainly have differing views on specific issues though, did Twiggy cause Keven to be dumped as Prime Minister? Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib were responsible for Rudd's downfall, Julia even came out stating her decision to knife Kevin was based on his political paralysis denying opinion polls were the trigger. Twiggy doesn't vote on the Labor caucus, that was all Julia and co.

Am I a fan of Andrew Twiggy Forrest? He has been linked to some questionable business ethics over the years, used lobbyists such as Julian Grill and Brian Burke, likewise, dealings with Kevin Rudd are destined to end in tears (Rudd was also linked to the disgraced former premier). He has certainly polarised a number of people, what you can't argue with is the fact that Forrest has joined the ranks of Gates, Buffett, Branson and other high profile billionaires to improve the world and our society.

HMS Sheffield Falklands sinking

I love diving shipwrecks, however, such wrecks usually come at a grave cost to human life. Whether you supported Britain or Argentina, the scale of losses is staggering for a 74 day conflict. Once the premier naval force of the world, the Royal Navy suffered some serious losses to shipping and reputation during the short conflict that will likely never be erased.

The HMS Sheffield was operating forward of the main fleet with two other type 42 frigates providing missile defense of the carrier taskforce when struck amidships by a single exocet missile fired close to sea level by an Argentinian fighter aircraft.

It is amazing a single missile has the capability to sink a warship, the naval engagements of World War II normally consisted of rival ships pounding each other with naval artillery or attack from the skies with 500 lb bombs destroying the superstructure and piercing deck armour.

By the time I hit the water, the wreck has been resting on the bottom for a considerable time frame with most evidence of human misery washed away, watching footage of the missile strike on the HMS Sheffield and the aftermath reminds me of the perils of armed conflict and why we need to avoid it at all costs.

Losses for the British naval forces include two destroyers, two frigates, one LSL landing ship, one LCU amphibious craft and a container ship. Argentinian naval losses include one cruiser (WWII vintage), one submarine, four cargo vessels, two patrol boats and a spy trawler.

The America's Cup - 30 years on

Its 30 years since the John Bertrand skippered Australia II defeated Dennis Connor's Liberty at Newport Rhode Island; after 132 years of dominance, the Americas Cup had been wrestled from the protective clutches of the New York Yacht Club. It was an epic series; legends were forged with folk law created in front of our eyes, the longest winning streak in international sport had been broken with an upset come from behind win. Was this the best series in the history of the America's Cup?

With the Royal Perth Yacht Club defending the cup in 1987, interest in the America's Cup was at an all time high with thirteen syndicates and twenty five yachts vying for the right to challenge Iain Murray's Kookaburra III. Dennis Connor, now representing the San Diego Yacht Club was ultimately successful winning the cup 4-0, then to be contested in San Diego. Having just attended the opening day ceremony at the Royal Perth Yacht Club, Australia II team owner Alan Bond reflected on his team's 1983 triumph and what it takes to mount a successful challenge through the Louis Vuitton Cup to win the right to challenge the defender.   

A key aspect of 12 metre racing was the establishment of fair competition between boats, although not 12 metres in length, the formula allowed experimentation and a certain amount of equalisation between boats without being a fixed class in nature.

Alan Bond spoke of his 1983 campaign where he paid his team members $12.70 per day, the current crop of sailors according to Alan are paid $300k per year with tacticians and skippers in the millions. The new style yachts are fast, really fast but seem to lack the degree of style the former class of yacht had. The new boats are targeting spectators in San Francisco bay recruiting professional crews, selling television rights and sailing yachts that are pleasing to spectators. But does this series lack a certain charisma? It is no longer country against country - Team Oracle had only one American sailor aboard, the rest are highly paid international crew.  

The series was a resounding success though, Team Oracle made a massive comeback to defeat the New Zealand challenge - it is just unfortunate the skipper of Team Oracle was a Aussie and the tactician an Aussie with five other Australians on board and seven New Zealanders, a Briton and a just single American. 

Brockman Saw Pits

I recall as a boy climbing in the saw pits with the old style saw embedded in the log. Not much has changed with the exception of the fence (and keep out sign), plenty of overgrowth and the pits filling in somewhat.

The Brockman saw pits are located just off the main road just out of Pemberton on route to Northcliffe in the south west karri forests of Western Australia.

It isn't worth the trip out of town to only see the saw pits, driving between Pemberton and Northcliffe makes the short trip down the gravel road worthwhile though. Although November, it was raining constantly throughout the day after a big low pressure system blew in across the south of the state, made a huge contrast from two days before and I actually liked the rain.

Human trafficking v people smuggling

I recently sought to distinguish the difference between human trafficking and people smuggling; initially finding myself on the Australian Federal Police (AFP) website.

I noted the AFP describe human trafficking as a form of slavery listing servitude, forced labour, debt bondage or organ harvesting as exploitative practices undertaken by criminal elements. People smuggling on the other hand involved illegal movement of people across borders in an organised manner by cartels for financial reward.

That is, on an individual basis, the people smuggling cartel engages in a consenting contractual arrangement terminating upon arrival at the destination.

By such a definition, human traffickers use coercive means to force people to illegally enter a country, further exploitation of the individual usually occurs once they arrive at their destination whereas as opposed to people smuggling, the act of transportation and facilitation are the primary source of profits for the criminal network.

Mandatory detention for illegal immigrants in Australia was introduced by the Keating government in 1992 following a marked increase in boat arrivals, the Howard government maintained mandatory detention policy further introducing measures discouraging boat arrivals reducing the number of people held in detention.

The term illegal immigrant is interesting insofar that if a person knowingly engages in a voluntary contractual arrangement with an organised syndicate engaged in people smuggling, have they in fact committed a crime? 

They certainly create the demand for the services of people smugglers, drugs are illegal yet drug producers, drug smugglers, drug sellers and drug users are all targeted by law enforcement agencies and charged accordingly.

The Bali process is the international forum targeting people smuggling, human trafficking and transnational crime - more than 45 members including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, observer countries and international agencies. 

The core objectives include greater cooperation between regional law enforcement agencies, intelligence sharing, detection of illegal movements, identifying illegal migrants return of smuggled persons and national legislation including criminalisation of human trafficking and people smuggling.

The simple fact is; this deplorable business is run by both national and international cartels seeking profits from trading in human misery, these criminal organisations must be targeted by law enforcement agencies smashing their business models and disrupting their activities to such a manner that they can no longer ply their reprehensible trade. 

This is not human trafficking with voluntary subscribers providing both the income and demand to keep the smugglers in business, increase the penalties as a deterrent and the business model collapses.