I am putting this here so that it is able to be seen by others and hoping that any corrections or additions can be added. Here Goes … Continue Reading →
Author Archives: Peta Guy
Eastlake Semi-Final
Finals are usually a happy time. Not this one, however.
We were told during the week that we would be only able to field 8 players because no others were qualified to play. This even applied to substitute fielders. We played with all 8 players we were allowed and our opponents were given permission to allow a player who had been playing interstate. We play our cricket on the field.
The reason we have so few players available is that two (our opening batters) have move to Melbourne, one moved to the South Coast last year. One of our regular players has an injured knee and could not play all season. Another is expecting a baby mid year (hope it is a new recruit 😎 ) and yet another regular had an operation two weeks ago and is recovering. That is a lot of players to lose. Eastlake batted and we had them struggling a bit until a couple of their experienced batters got settled. Jane bowled well as usual, Liberty, Carli and Barbara bowled exceptionally well. One spell of bowling from Barbara was outstanding with Eastalake players unable to play any aggressive shots without risk. I tore a calf muscle in my second over and had to bowl the rest of my 8 overs off 3 steps because of our lack of players. Eastlake made 276 runs which is not as bad as it looks because at least 80 of those and probably 120 would have been cut off if we had 11 fielders. Carli and Liberty did amazingly well to close out the innings. Neither player had played grade cricket until this year. Lee, our keeper chased anything behind the stumps because she thought it was better to do that than to “waste” a fielder there. That is called commitment. Jane ran the boundaries all day and Suzi played after playing 6 hockey games – two this morning. Linda, Carli, Barbara and Liberty fielded as well as they ever have.
We batted and all we could do is play as well as possible. That is what we did. We batted through our 40 overs and still had wickets in hand. Lee demonstrated her fitness by running for me for almost the whole innings. Jane batted well again and I managed to get 81 not out. Liberty and Linda contributed well but, unfortunately, Lee and Barbara got good balls early in their innings. We made about 120 in the end which is respectable with 2 recognised bats in the team and many who just step up when they need to and do the job. I am impressed by the spirit and commitment of the ANU team. Most other teams would have given up but this team played it out to the end and did as well as it could with the players we were allowed to field. Thanks to Wayne for coming along and supporting us. Extra special thanks to Damo who has been helping with training, scoring and general helpfulness for the second half of the season. I can only say watch out next season when a few of us have more experience and training behind us. And a few players come back into the side. I have an appointment with a couple of ice packs now …
Research on my father
I am doing some research into my father’s WWII service. I have heard different things and am not sure if they really stack up. Now, I have finished the research available on the web and need to visit the War Memorial to follow through his service in the 1st and 2nd New Guinea Battalions. I was able to trace his participation with the Ballarat raised 8th Battalion and he was rapidly promoted to Sergeant on enlistment. It seems he went straight into Intelligence because he was good with figures and quite literate for the time. He told me that he refused officer training because he did not like the way officers were treated as better than the soldiers. By remaining a sergeant he outranked nearly everyone and being in Intelligence, he knew what was happening and was actively involved. Sgt Guy is mentioned all through the Battalion war diary for his work reconnoitring and mapping. He showed me how to draw maps and interpret them when I was 12 years old and I developed an interest in bush walking from that. Last entry in the 8 Battalion war diary for him was of him “marching out” to 2 Battalion NG Inf. at 0530 27 March 1945 – I felt a kind of sadness as I had developed a feeling that I was allowed into the daily lives of some 1,000 men on the adventure of their lives. They had recently entered dangerous areas and were about to start a very aggressive campaign to remove Japanese forces from a section of Bougainville. I had heard a lot about Bougainville and had expected that he would still be with the 8th Battalion through that part of the war. Now I know it is more complex. I also remember Rabaul and a volcano mentioned. That suggests New Britain and the NG Infantry. Three books that I read when I was young were titled “Jungle Warfare”, “Stand Easy” and “Khaki and Green”. These books are now lost when my mother moved several times in the 1980s. They were written by people who had served in the Infantry and dad considered them to be precious mementos. He ended his service in the 1st Battalion NG infantry so there were some things that happened in between. He was also a staff sergeant at the end of the war too. At the same time as he moved into the NG Battalion, several others who were long-time 8th Battalion leaders left to do the same. I suspect there is a story behind that. I had to request that his war service records be scanned so that I can see them. Nobody had requested access before. That is sad in a way but at least it will be there to help me follow through and check things. I keep thinking of how many people exposed themselves to such danger and are largely forgotten. The ones who had young lived stopped at the same age as my son is now. The damage done to their later lives by war experiences. The fact that they were prohibited from talking about things they had seen and done for 30 or more years and what that did to relationships. <h4>Random memories</h4> Fishing with grenades. I was told about fishing with grenades. Apparently this is something “Americans” did and it was illegal in the Australian army. Exploding a grenade in the water near a reef stunned the fish and then all you needed to do was collect the fish. This was one of the perks of going out on a PT boat. Talk about a company being sent to an are that had a Battalion strength of Japanese soldiers defending it …
The worst news you could hear
This morning, I woke up to the 7 AM news and heard something that made me freeze in a moment. “A man died this morning at 4 AM at Campbell High School”. “The man aged 20, died when he fell from the roof “. I immediately thought about where my son was and I knew he was ok.
Then I realised he probably knew whoever it was. Later, I got a call to tell me that it was someone we all know well. He played football with my son for four years and was actually at the same orientation week party last night at ANU. While I am glad my own son is safe, I feel so badly for the parents of this other young man (his name has not been released to the public yet). I can remember the pride they had in their fine young man who was so talented in many ways. At 20 years old the world is just full of possibilities and opportunities to have fun – and to take risks. So many of our young men take risks and feel that they are indestructible. Then something goes wrong.
Every parent knows this is what happens between the ages of 18 and 25 and knowing it is rare but far too common we wait up at night listening for the door handle so we can sleep easily. Fearing a telephone call to go to some hospital or worse. Knowing that our children are independent now and need to do things on their own. No longer needing us to pick them up when they fall and patch up their knees and wounded pride. But wanting to anyway – because they are so precious to us. Farewell Robin and your so short life . To your parents, I can only say that I feel so much for your distress and I know that there is little that can be done to console your grief now.
Case for structural adjustment in Canberra IT business
In mid 2008, Sir Peter Gershon finalised a report into the efficiency and effectiveness of ICT in the Federal Government. That report was delivered to the Minister of Finance and responded to in late 2008. AGIMO was given a large role in the implementation of recommendations.
There is no doubt that the recommendations are good for the Government and promote operational efficiency across Agencies. The issues arise around the unintended consequences of action taken to implement the Gershon review, impacts of the global financial crisis and the required efficiency dividends from Agencies.
From 1997 through to 2007 the message from the Federal Government was clear. If the Private Sector could do the job then let them do it rather than employ Public Servants. Based on that, a large ICT focused industry developed in Canberra, accounting for at least 20% of the Private Sector employment in the ACT. Agencies were discouraged from employing permanent Public Servants. Now Gershon recommends the reverse in many ways.
The report makes no mention of the impact on the ICT services industry. As a result of the recommendation to employ contractors as Public Servants there has already been a noticeable reduction of work for people who were employed under the arrangements encouraged by the previous Government. There is a lot right about having Public Servants performing service delivery and technical roles that are ongoing and clearly defined. Issues arise around how it is implemented rather than the end result.
The amount of change to business related to this decision is in the order of $A300-500 million in the contracting businesses1. AGIMO held two consultation sessions on 30 Jan and 2 Feb with “Industry”. Prior to this the consultation had been with a select group of industry associations. The questions asked and the answers given suggest that there are a lot of unexpected consequences of the way Agencies are reacting to the Gershon Report.
There seem to be significant issues with what appears to be Policy on the run and it is quite unclear what AGIMO and the Government want from the Private Sector and therefore small companies in particular are unsure what they should be doing. On the surface, things look grim. AGIMO says that there will be significant opportunities in the medium term (after September) but it is still unclear what those opportunities are for and who will be best placed to participate.
What is good Public Policy in this area? Are we happy to risk losing a significant talent pool? Why should we look beyond the immediate impacts (that appear to be minor)?
Energy efficiency or energy subsidies?
A simple question with a complex answer. Which is the best Public Policy? Subsidise energy usage for low income people or reduce their energy consumption by funding the improvement of home energy efficiency? Continue Reading →
Solar hot water subsidies
Glenn Pure wrote a letter in The Canberra Times on Saturday that sparked some discussion.
This page did some analysis on the subsidies and effectiveness of Solar Hot water and PV technologies – particularly payback periods and the effect of subsidies.
The bottom line is that you can get a return on investment for solar hot water in 2-5 years in Canberra if you are an average user of hot water. If you use a lot of hot water then you get a pay back quicker. There is almost no need for boosting because we have clear skies and the Evacuated Tube technology is so efficient at converting diffuse sunlight to heat.
Subsidies for solar hot water are low compared to the benefits that Government gets in terms of saving the need for building more generating capacity and from carbon emission reductions.
So the question is whether it is good Public Policy to provide large subsidies (~$A8,000) for PV electricity generation or to provide small subsidies (~$A2,400) for solar hot water where the benefits to Government and the consumer are actually higher for the smaller subsidy. If Procurement guidelines were followed then there is no doubt that the Value for Money requirements would not be met, technically putting the Government in breach of its own guidelines.
Private or Public Generation for Renewable Energy?
Nearly everyone has moved on from denying that climate change is happening.The challenge to reduce greenhouse gasses and we see a big push for renewable energy generation from individual, BUT with a considerable counter push from fossil fuel lobbyists for a continuation of subsidies for coal diesel and other fuels. The assumption that underlies current Government Policy is that the best way to look after the future is to convince individuals to take personal responsibility for using and generating energy. There has been a huge push for subsidies to individuals who install renewable energy systems in private residences and the Federal Government (Australia) has allocated $500 million for rebates to fund renewable energy and energy conservation measures as direct rebates/subsidies to individuals. This might be good but why not invest that money in public utilities? I looked around for the kind of analysis I have done here and could not find it… yet it seems to be vital information for those deciding how they might do better when choosing how they get their energy. I have done some “back of the envelope” analysis that makes you think… Continue Reading →
Shift in world power
p>Not only is Capitalism under siege but the supremacy of the USA as dominant world power is also looking like it might be at an end soon. Why do I say that when the USA is clearly the most powerful nation in military and economic terns?
the USA has been the top world power for about 70 years. They took over from Britain just before WWII and Britain took the mantle from France in the aftermath of Napoleon and had about 130 years at the top. Before Britain there was Spain, the Habsburg Empire and the Holy Roman Empire that lasted 280 years in one form or another. The Ottoman Empire was probably in the ascendancy for 3-400 years but slightly to the side of the Habsburgs. Then you go back to Greek and Roman times. 500 years for the Roman Republic and then 400 more for the Empire is a standout in longevity as well as influence. I will avoid the eastern empires here.
The common reasons that caused each of these empires to decline and be replaced with others seem to be:
- A decent into decadence and hubris
- Abuse of economic and military power causing fragmentation of alliances
- A culture building that said nobody else has anything good except us
In many ways you can see this in the USA now. Since the 1980s it has been the military and economic power but has steadily lost friends internationally by creating conflicts that suit its economic interests.
It has not been fatal but the signs have been there to see. Until 11 September 2001 and the subsequent wars “on terror” the USA was able to recover international respect and maintain its place as the world leader in most areas. In the last decade, the decline politically has been matched by a decline economically. This decline started in the 1970s and re-emerged in the 1990s and again in the past 3 years. Old industry and clinging onto old ways of doing things have limited opportunities. Still, the great ecomomic wealth of the USA was there to keep things going.
With the serious weakening of the USA economy and its “moral compass” in the past few years, it looks likely that the USA will rapidly decline in importance. Instead, it will be Asia, the subcontinent and possibly even Africa that will rise to make the USA relatively less important.
It will probably take another 10-20 years but it is likely that the USA will become more insular and its “adventures” internationally will be less and less supported by Europe, an emerging Russia and China. The effects of the trillion dollar bail outs on the USA economy and the Government will limit the ability to use Aid Diplomacy.
Where will it end up? We can look to France and Britain to see that after their decline (both due to wars and overreaching their capacity to manage large empires) they have become mature and solid international citizens that use their still large economic power and more limited military power judiciously and more in tune with other countries.
Power Economics
An alternative or just a more economic choice for the long term?
The economics of power are not always what they seem. Here is a brief analysis of the relative economic merits of renewable energy and fuels for electricity production. The coal industry has been telling us all that renewables are not ready yet. That renewables might be ok in the future and that they are limited. The reality is quite different and the economics are starkly in favour of renewables right now, as the Stern Report clearly identified. The really expensive option is to ignore climate change and keep burning coal and other fossil fuels. Continue Reading →