THE PRICE $6.50 RDER The National Magazine of The Order of Australia Association No 27 Winter 2010 Tasmania 2011: National Meeting details and registration form — 4-page lift-out inside. ISSN 1835-4378 (Print) ISSN 1835-4386 (Online) The Murray-Darling Basin. Worth saving? 2 The Order, Winter 2010 Who's who and what's where in The Order 5 An honours award is not so much icing on the cake as a carrot on a stick, says Dr Kristine Klugman OAM, president of Civil Liberties Australia, who is concerned that that our freedoms disappear, little by little, unnoticed. 7 Luca Belgiorno-Nettis AM, director of The newdemocracy Foundation, believes Australians want their politics unconstrained by petty bickering along party lines. What a welcome to the newlook edition of The Order! Your comments are on two pages of letters to the editor. We’d like letters of fewer than 200 words to allow as many as possible to be published. 3-4 Stick it on your car! Profiles of three brilliant OAA Foundation awardees, their mentors and generous donors. On other pages Youngsters leap into the Murray River — but how long will it be able to sustain all the demands on it? Brian Grogan OAM says restoration and preservation of the Murray-Darling Basin is truly in the national interest but needs enhanced local-government input. The Murray-Darling pp 12–13 The Order of Australia Association office holders National President The Hon Shane Stone AC QC National Chairman Mrs. Dina Browne AO Deputy National Chairman Air Commodore Peter McDermott AM CSC National Treasurer Mr Geoff Vincent AM National Secretary Colonel Roger Dace AM QGM National Membership Secretary Ms Colleen Thurgar AM Executive Ofﬁcer Mrs Pamela Peterson 8–11 15–17 Nelson Mandela, an honorary Companion in the Order of Australia, is the subject of a new book of photographs and his signiﬁcant speeches. Cover story Peter Henderson AC struck a chord with readers with his last article on Muddling the Language. He returns to the fray complaining about the infuriating practice of putting emphasis on the wrong syllable of a word or of distorting a whole sentence by emphasising the least important word in it. Words and pictures from this year’s national conference in Adelaide. 23 Let's keep the states, says John Campbell OAM 18 National Chairman's report 22 National Secretary's notes 22 People in the news 19–20 State and regional news 20–21 6 The new Order of Australia Association decal for display on your car, caravan, boat, bike or briefcase. The price of the sticker is $4 + $1postage. The size is 78mm high by 57mm wide. Details of how to order are on page 22. 19 How do you train young people to become the business people of tomorrow? They are enormously creative and, unfettered by the constraints of reality, can come up with amazing ideas, says Norman Owens OAM, chairman and founder of Australian Business Week and its Enterprise Education programs. Lost insignia?The Order of Australia Association cannot replace lost insignia or lapel pins. You can obtain replacements from: The Secretary, The Order of Australia, Government House, Yarralumla ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6283 3533 email: honours@gg.gov.au The Order is the national publication of The Order of Australia Association. It appears also on the Association’s web site, www.theorderofaustralia.asn.au Editor: Ian Mathews AM ian.mathews7@bigpond.com Production subeditor: Bruce Brammall Please send material for publication, including letters to the editor and photographs, to oaasecretariat@ozemail.com.au or by post to The Order of Australia Association, Old Parliament House, 18 King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600 ph: (02) 6273 0322 Views expressed in The Order are not necessarily the views of the Order of Australia Association. The Association does not necessarily endorse any third-party advertisement published in The Order or accept any responsibility or liability for those advertisements or the goods and services they advertise. ISSN 1835-4378 (print) ISSN 1835-4386 (online) Print post approved RRP $6.50 inc GST — Free to OAA members 3 The Order, Winter 2010 Letters Some letters have been edited to allow as many as possible to be published. Send letters (of 200 words or fewer) to The Order of Australia Association, Old Parliament House, Canberra, ACT 2600 or email to oaasecretariat@ozemail.com.au Meet and greet I am writing in response to Dr Conn’s article Our weakness: only one in four awardees joins. First, I believe that many life members would support a voluntary donation to the Association of $100 to assist short-term ﬁnancial difﬁculties. Secondly, I am always amazed that holders of awards in the Order (who are obvious by their lapel badge) do not introduce themselves to each other. I have been doing this for some time and have had a great response. Maybe we should encourage “badge wearers” to greet each other and at least exchange names and a “good day”. It may help bond the group. John W Dale AM (1991) AO (2002) Bellevue Hill, NSW Busy retirement I thought Dr Conn’s piece about membership [The Order No 26] so clearheaded that it warranted support. I would go further than he in his analysis of why people do not join the Association. Those of us who get these awards are frequently at or near retirement but we may still be active. In my own case my interests, which led to my nomination, are still a large part, perhaps even a larger part, of my life. They include issues to do with the environment and the arts. I am now on many more boards etc in the not-forproﬁt sector than even before. So having a light interest in the Association, as I do, is not a matter of disrespect, simply an ordering of priorities. I can assure you I was thrilled to be made an AM and happy to join the OAA. I think you seem to be doing good things and I applaud you. However, I would be happy to get a much cheaper magazine once or twice a year, particularly if you have some of the good articles in the recent edition! Max Bourke AM http://www.thomasfoundation.org.au [The Order is free to OAA members — Ed] OAA ‘unaware’ The main reason I am writing is the article by Dr Neil Conn AO — an absorbing one indeed (No. 26, pp 10, 11). I am a life member of the Association of 10 years’ standing and paid happily the amount asked when I was encouraged by the Association to become a life member. Living in the outer suburbs of Sydney I do not often go to the city as public transport is unreliable, dangerous at night and driving with its associated problems quite out of the question at 80 years of age. City-based social activities are therefore not on my agenda. My life and the lives of most other recipients of the OAM in this district are largely taken up by activities for which we were given the award. From time to time new areas of need arise in our community and we answer the need with money or service as required. The Association is clearly not aware of the social and ﬁnancial situation of the majority of OAM recipients. I wonder whether this is rather a main reason why there are not more OAM members in the Association. You need to make the Association more relevant to the ordinary volunteer who gives extraordinary service to their community. I quite agree with the comment that “we need to achieve a better balance between fellowship and community involvement, particularly at a local community level”. I loved the article Muddling the language (No. 26, p18). When my grandchildren speak to me I am not sure what they are speaking about. In fact it could be a foreign language. I am never sure whether it is my age or my ignorance — a bit of both, I think. Olive Fowler OAM Camden, NSW Fundamental error I cringe when I read in the press, hear on the radio or see on television that someone “has been awarded The Order of Australia”. How ludicrous is such a statement when The Order is an organisation, not an award! It was therefore disappointing to read in the number 26 issue of The Order, near the top of page 7, that Hazel Murphy AM was “awarded the Order of Australia for services to the Australian wine industry”. Our own magazine should not make this fundamental error. I hasten to add that the recent changes to the magazine are ﬁrst-class and I congratulate those responsible. How can we educate journalists about the honours system and the various awards in the Order? Perhaps a press release shortly before each half-yearly announcement of awards might be worthwhile. Geoff Neilson Immediate Past President Victoria Branch Verbs and singelets I read with great interest the article Muddling the language by Peter Henderson [No. 26] who says he will “get on to spoken English” when he feels stronger. This reminded me that I have been noticing poor pronunciation by young newsreaders on TV. It seems to me that they wrongly stress the verbs, e.g. “the police will be investigating the murder” (is there an option of their not investigating?); “the team are practising at the oval”; “you can ﬁnd details on the internet”. They also seem to have trouble with “gl” words, which sound like juggeling, mingelling, singelets and ringelets; and, of course, the old “pitcher” for “picture” still persists. Perhaps I am just getting old and picky. Valerie Blackley May and might Re “New Meanings for Old Words” in Peter Henderson’s article Muddling the language [No. 26]: a misuse that irritates me more than any other is “may” instead of “might”. “May” is meant to express a “possibility, opportunity or permission” (Macquarie Dictionary) whereas “might” expresses “a power to do or accomplish” — two different things, yet so many people, including journalists, treat the two words as synonyms or, worse still, never use “might” at all, preferring “may” to cover all of these instances. Ian Gollings Garran, ACT Bill of Rights? No, thanks The case against the introduction of a Bill of Rights in Australia, argued by John Howard AC, in The Order, No.26, overﬂows with compelling judgments, clearly based on the former PM’s wide experience in high ofﬁce. The democracy in Australia is, and certainly should be, the envy of many countries around the globe. Consequently the classical adage, “if it ain’t broke don’t ﬁx it” comfortably applies to the Bill of Rights saga. The very concept of the Bill of Rights is plainly ﬂawed: how can one possibly contemplate rights, without simultaneously postulating responsibilities? Looking to the future we should not create unrealistically liberal human rights only having to wind them back in the face of spreading terrorism and, in particular, the apocalyptic consequences of fast-growing globaI overpopulation, both of which must be ﬁrmly confronted. If we are to survive, the governments of the day should not be handicapped with imprudent charters, impeding the swift introduction of hard and almost certainly unpopular yet essential laws, affecting the conventional human rights as we know them today. Dr Wojclech Gorski OAM Marmion, WA 4 The Order, Winter 2010 More of your letters Seeking something worthwhile I was very impressed with the latest The Order. It is the ﬁrst I have seen in my 16 years’ membership that was totally worth looking at and reading. Congratulations. The content did not relate a lot to community activity or programs but it was at least encouraging for the future. The articles were informative and thoughtprovoking. I enjoyed it. When I joined the Association I assumed it did something worthwhile. Since then I have been disgusted to see that most activities and published material relates to dinners and similar functions and lots of patting ourselves on the back. I guess I had hoped the association would have major programs of community activity and would prove to be a real beneﬁt to Australia. I was disappointed. The programs providing ﬁnancial assistance to students certainly are signiﬁcant but, sadly, are notable particularly because of their being the exception to the rule. Since retiring in 1992 I have been involved in various community activities, particularly the worldwide U3A movement but have never been able to identify obvious opportunities through the Association, particularly at the local level. Dr Don Kinsey AM Arcadia, Qld Primary industry key in reform of states I certainly think we should consider abolishing the states (p4, No 26) but at present local government is not a constitutionally recognised government entity. This needs to be rectiﬁed. Also in the article crucial areas were mentioned but primary industry was not included. The problems of property rights and the right to farm and the value of so-called freehold land are of major concern to farmers at present. Farmers are becoming bound up with red tape, disillusioned and not being given the help they deserve. This all goes in with control by the states. I am not a qualiﬁed person to discuss all these concerns but would welcome an article on these problems. Another of my concerns is why people should not be responsible for their actions but have to blame someone else for a wrong action? All races seem to behave like this at present. As regards new Association members: I do not think new recipients have any idea of the work of the Association or the value of joining it. The Association should be present when people join the Order. Often, I think, new members of The Order think they become members of the Association automatically. Julian Campbell AM Mundooie, Warren, NSW Time to tackle the jealousies of the states I have been receiving The Order for a number of years now. My usual practice has been to take a perfunctory look at it and then put it in the recycling bin. What a pleasant surprise it was to receive The Order Summer 2009–10 and to read it — a breath of fresh air to digest material written by people who think. Dr Mark Drummond’s article (p4) about abolishing the states is something I have been advocating for years. I know many thinking people who would agree that interstate jealousies by an entrenched mediocrity is a grave hindrance to this country and lacks sagacity. I believe there is an awareness of this by state politicians who have been conducting a campaign to lessen inﬂuence of local government. I feel that many politicians seek power and self-aggrandisement and longevity of term rather than serving their constituents. Why can’t we have governments that travel in positive directions rather than act for their members? People are capable of very good and of horriﬁc actions. I believe that the way to bring out the good in us all is by education. We need to look at our structures, strategies, systems, skills, styles of leadership and superordinate goals. Everything, in time, decays and becomes something different. What was once appropriate might not be so now. To remain a vibrant country we need to analyse and reﬁne constantly. Mankind faces some of the greatest challenges in its history; we could, and might, become another extinct species. The world will exist for billions of years but our genus will have been responsible for its own disappearance; so wise leadership is of paramount importance. I cannot think of an organisation better equipped to provide it than The Order of Australia Association but it does require analysis and thought such as is displayed by Dr Neil Conn (No. 26, pp 10–11). If we do not act, true democracy will not happen; it will not happen unless all our citizens become enlightened and develop the admirable practice of self-discipline. E J (Ted) Cohen OAM Barrington, NSW Keep it short We edit some letters so we can publish as many as possible. Send yours (200 words or fewer) to The Order of Australia Association, Old Parliament House, Canberra, ACT 2600 or email to oaasecretariat@ozemail.com.au CHOGM ‘useless and extravagant’ I enjoyed reading The Lazarus Club in the Summer 2009–10 issue of The Order but was somewhat surprised that you felt the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM) should continue. You started by pointing out that the Commonwealth was an unlikely association of nations held together by the dubious distinction of (most) having been the colonial possessions of Great Britain — hardly a convincing raison d’être. You then raised the question: what does the Commonwealth of Nations do that isn’t being done already by the United Nations and its agencies? The answer was in the last sentence of your article: it gives heads of government opportunities for a chin-wag from time to time. The cost to the Australian Federal Government of the Melbourne CHOGM back in 1982 was $18 million. An expensive chin-wag. No further useless and extravagant meetings should be held and this pointless organisation should be disbanded. Clive Hodges, St Lucia, Queensland Weatherised? While looking through my husband’s copy of The Order I saw Peter Henderson’s article on words. Those of us who had a good English teacher in the ’40s were able to relate to every word! Recently I read that houses should be insulated and “weatherised”. Our house is insulated but how do I weatherise it? Marjorie Taylor Keep it up I am writing to congratulate you on The Order, as reﬂected in the Summer Edition 2009–2010. The enlarged scope of matters discussed as well as enlarged reporting on The Order and what the people are doing makes for very interesting reading. I missed nothing. Many thanks to all those who contributed to it. Keeping it up will be demanding for all but much welcomed. John B Reid AO Mascot, NSW New honour for Governor-General The University of Sydney has awarded an honorary doctorate of laws to a former principal of its Women’s College, now Australia’s ﬁrst woman Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce AC. The degree was conferred on May 21 by the university’s Chancellor and NSW Governor Marie Bashir AC CVO. The Order, Winter 2010 5 Being rewarded just means you need to serve more by Dr Kristine Klugman OAM* A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government — Edward Abbey 1927-1989 M y personal belief is that, the higher the honours you receive, the more you have to contribute to society in future! An honours award is not so much icing on the cake as a carrot on a stick! That’s one of the reasons I’m President of Civil Liberties Australia, a venture quite remote from what I got my “gong” for 25 years ago. It’s also why I encourage people with awards to get involved with liberties and rights groups, even if it’s only a supportive $25 membership annually. It’s im- Dr Klugman, right, and the Member for Fremantle, Melissa Parke, met recently to disportant that community leaders speak up cuss civil liberties matters being considered by the Australian Parliament. They found a when our freedoms are slipping away. shared UN connection: Dr Klugman’s daughter, Dr Jeni Klugman, heads UNDP’s New That’s the danger — that they disapYork Report Ofﬁce and Ms Parke was a senior lawyer with the UN 1999–2007, serving pear, little by little, unnoticed. in Kosovo, Gaza, Lebanon, Cyprus and New York. Photo: Bill Rowlings The motto of CLA is Protecting people’s freedoms — mostly against incursions by governments and bureaucracies, helping little people overwhelmed by which won’t protect children; excessive container. He’s already served six “the system”. anti-terror and crime laws (you would be months’ home detention. Because he The objectives of CLA are to protect amazed how easily you could become a was renting a house on a large rural and advance civil liberties and human suspect and have all your assets frozen); property worth $1.8m, he is up for that rights and responsibilities, as a watchinvasions of privacy; unnecessary surveilfull amount under “Proceeds of Crime” dog, catalyst, publicist and educator. It lance; and overt discrimination. legislation — $100,000 per plant. This is a constant and continuing battle, never As examples, here are some recent one is still before the courts. won. CLA cases: • A frightened elderly couple in a rural People who join CLA fundamentally • An Australian living overseas comtown complained when police forcibelieve in the rights (and responsibiliplained that the Department of Social bly entered and refused to leave their ties) of the individual in the face of state Security was intruding into his privacy, premises, behaving threateningly. We power. This statement sounds abstract, requiring details of why he separated are helping them appeal through an until one considers its practical applicafrom his wife and what was in his will. integrity commission process because tion. The matter is still with the Ombudsthe police refuse to take responsibility We get desperate appeals from people man, where we have kept up pressure for inappropriate action. who have tried all other avenues. We take for more than two years. • A police car in another country town cases up only if they indicate a generic • A woman in a government department chased and ran over a youth, who has problem which needs ﬁxing at top level complained that senior executives hid suffered signiﬁcantly ever since. None through representations or parliamentary reality from the Parliament and people. of the legal proceedings have delivered submissions to change government policy It seems that they did, at least in part what most people would call justice, or practice, so other little people don’t — but being right doesn’t help whistleand no compensation has been received suffer in future. blowers, who are immediately ostraby the victim, whose life is ruined. Readers of this magazine — literate, incised. Years later she ﬁghts to retain CLA is continuing to try to help a disformed, educated, inﬂuential and skilled her mental strength, having at ﬁrst lost traught father battle for justice. at local lobbying and political interacboth conﬁdence and a compensation This readership is an elite, on whom I tions — are able (with respect) to look case. Whistleblowers need enormous believe rests more heavily the “responsiafter yourselves if individual rights are continuing support from people in powbilities” part of “rights and responsibiliabused. You know how the system works, erful positions in society so they can ties”. Community leaders and opinion have connections, know where the strings stay true to the principles that motivate makers bear a particular moral obligation are which should be pulled ... them to speak up for the public good. to safeguard Australia’s freedoms, I think. It is less savvy people who, faced with • An average metal worker, not a crime Visit CLA’s web site — www.cla.asn.au gross injustices, are left with a desperboss, grew 18 marijuana plants in a — and please consider joining. ate feeling that life in Australia just isn’t fair: they need repIn Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists and I didn’t resentation and help by organisations like speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the CLA. Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came * Dr Klugman’s Really, though, for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a OAM was everyone in the com- trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics but I didn’t speak awarded in the munity suffers from mid-1980s for up because I was a protestant. Then they came for me and by that ill-advised policies “services to time there was no one left to speak for me. that infringe freedoms education and — Reverend Martin Niemöller 1892–1984; prisoner in Sachsenhausen and and liberties — such the community”. Dachau 1938–45; President World Council of Churches 1961–68 as internet censorship, It is a constant battle, never won. 6 The Order, Winter 2010 Muddling the language II By Peter Henderson AC Tongue-twisting pronunciations I n the last edition, in which I sounded off about words, I focused on meanings and usage. This time I am on about weight — the infuriating practice of putting emphasis on the wrong syllable of a word or distorting a whole sentence by emphasising its least important word. I should acknowledge at the outset that I am indebted to the ABC for many of the examples that follow. First of all let’s look at the unfortunately fashionable practice of giving heavy emphasis to one speciﬁc syllable in a word. Most frequently it is the ﬁrst syllable but the last syllable is also popular and, less frequently, the weight is given to a syllable somewhere in the middle. This practice raises unnecessary doubts and invites silly questions, as in the examples below (the capitals indicate the emphasised syllable). First-syllable distortions: DICtator, SPECtator: are there different sorts of tators? Is reference being made to potatoes? ADdress: is this a form of clothing? FRUSTrated: who or what is the frust that goes in for rating things? RObust: an indelicate comment about a lady? BOUtique: is this a kind of hardwood? ROmance: something we do in a boat? Last-syllable distortions: hurriCANE: sugar cane in a rush? fronTIER: the antonym of back tier? cereMONY: Sounds like Sarah is all moanie. terriTORY: A British conservative by the name of Terry? maraTHON: are there other types of thons? monARCH: might there be pluralarchs? Some middle-syllable ones: arIStocrat perGOLa gonDOLa Some Christian names also suffer from this treatment: Elaine become EElaine Yvonne becomes EEvonne Eleanor becomes EleanOR In all these groups of words the longstanding convention has been to give equal weight to each syllable. Why can’t we keep doing so? Then there are the words that are either verbs or nouns depending on the syllable emphasised — one proTESTS about something but one makes a PROtest — but we are told frequently and wrongly about the activities of PROtestors. Again, PROcess is the noun and proCESS is the verb. TRANSport is the noun and transPORT is the verb. SPECtator: Are there different sorts of tators? Is reference being made to potatoes? Words’ meanings can be changed fundamentally by changes of emphasis in pronunciation. Next there are the words that begin with “re”. Again the practice has always been to give equal weight to each syllable in these words. So why do we now have REcess and REsearch? Then, what about shortening the “e” instead of stressing it? Eckonomic = economic Levverage = leverage Pennalise = penalise I come now to prepositions: for, to, at, in, from, over and so on. I don’t want you to think I have some unreasoning dislike of air hostesses (or ﬂight attendants), but when I get on board a plane and am told that this is the ﬂight TO Melbourne, I wonder why it has to be distinguished so markedly from a ﬂight from Melbourne, or if someone has suggested that we are on the wrong plane. The important word is “Melbourne”, not “to”. Again, why does it have to be “our reporter IN Afghanistan”? Is he or she about to be contrasted with a different reporter somewhere outside the country? Not usually. Parts of verbs fall into the same category as prepositions. For instance, “He WILL come to Canberra.” Has it been suggested previously that there is some doubt about it and that he mightn’t make it? Of considerable prominence also is the uneducated use of what is becoming the “airy” group of words, in which one syllable is picked out and pronounced as part of, but quite separately from, the rest of the word. These fall into a special category of their own. I think that, without being unfair, we can probably credit the Americans with these distortions (and the mindless media types who copy and broadcast them), of which the following are common examples: Word Wrongly Correctly library primary secondary necessary voluntary military lybrairee prymairee secondairee necessairee voluntairee militairee lybr’ree prym’ree second’ree necess’ree volunt’ree milit’ree The senseless pause in the wrong place in a sentence is a frequent and irritating practice on TV and radio. For example: “Henry came (heavy pause) into the room.” The pause seems rarely to have any point or reason. I wonder why anyone makes it. Are the speakers trying to make the whole thing sound more portentous and themselves more signiﬁcant? Do they ever listen to themselves? If they do, don’t they ever feel just slightly uneasy. No-one speaks like that in normal conversation, although I suppose they might if the copycat factor came into play, as in this vignette: PROtestors surrounded the libRAIRY where EElaine was engaged in ECKonomic REsearch going to the fronTIERS of knowledge. The MONarch, who came from a long line of RObust arIStocrats, was a worried SPECtator in a nearby perGOLA. He didn’t like these demonstrations in his own terriTORY. Enough. I’m off to watch my cherished episodes of Grumpy Old Men. Peter Henderson AC is former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs this Letter to the Editor Can’t we stop the uneducated controlling our language? Dear Editor, I, along with you, do not like the misuse of our English language. While I have no claims to being more proﬁcient than the average Australian in its use, there are occasions which raise my ire, most often when listening to radio or television. I am so tired of anyone and everything being referred to as an icon or idol. My understanding of “icon” is a religious painting or artifact, not a football hero or well-known beach. An idol is, I believe, an object of worship, not a (frequently very poor) singer on a reality show, or a golfer. Are other people annoyed by these terms being used so often, so inappropriately, or am I just a “grumpy old woman”? Patricia Igoe AM Ravenswood, Tasmania The Order, Winter 2010 7 Are we sick of blame-game politics? Yes we are! ‘The conventional wisdom is that people don’t want to be involved in politics. However, our experience with the Citizens’ Parliament showed that, when asked to seriously consider a political question, the answer is different.’ Fred Chaney AO Australia’s First Citizens’ Parliament at Old Parliament House Canberra in 2009. Nick Greiner AC Putting people back in charge A self-employed electrician, an artist, a ﬁsherman and more, my friend Adam is a self-made man. He brews his own beer and is great for a laugh. We’ve known each other since high school. He fathered a child in his 20s, out of wedlock, when he was living in far north Queensland, at about the time at which I married my wife Anita. That was the end of his fathering days but not his domestication. He’s now living on the South Coast of NSW with a resourceful, lively lady, Sue, whose husband died of a heart attack a few years back. She’s a professional marketing consultant — also self-made — having worked for global companies while raising two children. In many ways, Adam and Sue are everyday Australians: each has a unique story. They get on with their lives and don’t complain. They reserve their gripes for politicians and government. That’s not unusual. Things are still good in the Lucky Country but, if there’s any complaint, it’s usually about how they’re governed, particularly on a state or federal level. New South Wales takes the cake in the State complaint box, of course; premiers, ministers and cabinets in and out like circus acts. The Federal Government seems to be travelling better but throw in Tony Abbot (and Barnaby Joyce) and Canberra starts looking a little clownish too. I sometimes say to Adam and Sue that the system is the problem. The party system is broken; the respective ideological positions have effectively merged; manufactured difference and populism rule. At this point, after a few glasses of wine, Adam’s eyes usually glaze and Sue’s mind has drifted off; Anita has already got up from the table. They’re trying to tell me I’m wasting my time. It’s a conversation that’s been repeated so often that it’s become boring. That’s why we’re doing more than talking. The newdemocracy Foundation brings together ex-politicians from both sides of politics with academics and business people interested in political reform. Some of our members are people who are considered “heavyweights”: former politicians such as the Hon Fred Chaney AO, the Hon Dr Geoff Gallop AC, the Hon Nick Greiner AC and academics such as Professors David Yencken AO, Martin Krygier and Dr Kath Fisher. However, our role is not to talk but rather to listen. Our belief is that the people who best know how to ﬁx Australia’s political stalemate are Australians themselves; everyday Australians who aren’t constrained by petty bickering along party lines. That’s why, together with the University of Sydney, the Australian National University and Curtin University in WA, we organised Australia’s ﬁrst Citizens’ Parliament. Held in February 2009 at Old Parliament House in Canberra, we invited 150 randomly selected Australians to deliberate on how to improve Australia’s By Luca Belgiorno-Nettis AM Director the newdemocracy Foundation political system. After many meetings and discussions, these 150 Australians — of all ages and from all walks of life — came up with a list of six high-priority recommendations: • Reduce duplication between levels of government by harmonising laws across state boundaries; • Empower citizens to participate in politics through education; • Accountability regarding political promises and procedure for redress; • Empower citizens to participate in politics through community engagement; • Change the electoral system to optional preferential voting; • Youth engagement in politics. The conventional wisdom is that people don’t want to be involved in politics. However, our experience with the Citizens’ Parliament showed that, when asked to seriously consider a political question, the answer is different. Adam and Sue are hard-working, sensible people and, like most Australians, they’d like to see government make good decisions. They’re frustrated because they have little say beyond the vote — largely meaningless in this post-partisan 2010. However, when given the chance, Australians have plenty to say about how their country should be governed. For more information go to: www.newdemocracy.com.au The Order, Winter 2010 8 T he 24th National Conference of The Order of Australia Association, held in Adelaide from February 11 to14, was a lively, enjoyable, successful — and proﬁtable — event. Including tours, there were 17 functions, some of which had waiting lists; quotas were ﬁlled early. Some highlights: • Registrations exceeded 200, above the break-even budgeted number, 150; • Sponsorships of money, bags, wines and entertainment helped make the conference proﬁtable; • 70 visitors were hosted for home dining; • Adoption of the theme Celebrating Australia’s Diversity gave the conference direction and purpose. The welcome reception in the impressive St Peter’s College Memorial Hall was a delightful event, the SA Patron, His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AC CSC RANR, and Mrs Scarce attending. Conference, tours and services made it all worthwhile Above: Sikh dancers brought colour and grace to the MultiFaith Observance. Left: SA’s Attorney-General, the Hon Michael Atkinson MP (at podium), representing the Premier, with the Lord Mayor, the Rt Hon Michael Harbison (extreme left) hosted the State/Civic Reception in the Queen Adelaide Room at Adelaide Town Hall. T ours to Fleurieu Peninsula, organised by regional coordinator Ms Jocelyn Bayly OAM, to the Australian Submarine Corporation, to Kangaroo Island hosted by Mr Michael Willson AM and Mr Graham Trethewy OAM and to the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Art Gallery were popular and well attended. T he conference symposium on the topic Sustainability of Australia’s Diversity was described as “outstanding — a key contribution”. Held in the delightful Elder Hall of the University of Adelaide, the symposium was chaired by the Hon Dean Brown AO. Speakers were Professor Wasim Saman, Dr Barbara Hardy AO, Professor Dean Jaensch AO and Professor Graeme Hugo. T he conference dinner at the Adelaide Convention Centre was a sparkling, lively occasion. Trumpeters from the Brighton Secondary School Music Centre and a string trio added music to the delights of food and wine. The SA Governor, Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AC CSC RANR, presented Foundation scholarships to three students. [Reports — page 16] W reaths were laid by the Governor, the Association President, the Lord Among South Australian members at the closing lunch (all nearest camera) were Mrs May Jackson OAM (left), Mrs Diana Ramsay AO and Dr David Game AO KCSJ. Mayor and the President of the South Australian Returned and Services League at the State War Memorial. We heard the story of heroism by a South Australian section of the 10th Battalion on the ﬁrst day at Gallipoli. B onython Hall, at the University of Adelaide, was the venue of the inspirational Multifaith Observance. Eight faiths were illustrated with scripture, chant, dance and music. Tokens of the faiths were carried in procession at the commencement of the observance. The Lieutenant Governor, Mr Hieu Van Le AO, who is Chairman of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, was the principal speaker on the topic Sustainability of Australia’s Diversity in Open Religious Practice. [Report — pp 10, 11] T hose attending the closing lunch, held in the Vines Room at the National Wine Centre, heard David Hickinbotham describe the contribution that the Hickinbotham family had made over four generations to the Australian wine industry since his grandfather, David Hickinbotham, the father of wine chemistry, worked as a wine chemist at Roseworthy Agricultural College. 9 The Order, Winter 2010 Members’ ideas to set course for future By Peter McDermott AM CSC Deputy National Chairman T he 2010 OAA annual conference in Adelaide featured a members’ forum at which 120 members and guests were asked to raise issues of interest in a friendly forum outside the formality of the AGM. The new-look forum replaced the Regional Groups Forum to allow issues right across the Association, at national, branch and regional levels, to be addressed. Selected members of the national committee sitting as a panel were (pictured at right from L-R): National Treasurer Geoff Vincent AM, National Secretary Roger Dace AM QGM, National Chairman Dina Browne AO, National President Neil Conn AO, and panel moderator Deputy National Chairman Peter McDermott AM CSC. The outgoing National President set the scene by speaking to his challenging article in the last edition of The Order. He thought that we should: • extend our membership to allow all honours awardees to join us; • balance our focus on social-based activity with more lofty goals; • put more weight behind our Foundation; and • review our national conferences to make them more attractive. Improving membership numbers was a hot topic, all agreeing that there was a real role here for regional groups to THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA ASSOCIATION help encourage new MERCHANDISE awardees to join. Both the tie and the scarves are of new design. The scarves are made of polyester twill or polyester chiffon. Please SEND ME: No. ........ Tie @ $35.00 + $2 postage ........ Tie (original design) @ $35.00 + $2 postage ........ Scarf @ $27.50 + $2 postage ........ Pen @ $10.00 + $1 postage ........ Cufflinks (sets) @ $30.00 + $5 postage ........ Brooch @ $15.00 + $2 postage ........ Decal (57mm x 78mm) @ $ 4.00 + $1 postage ........ Booklet Speeches to Members of the Association by Sir Zelman Cowen @ $10.00 + $2 postage  Cheque attached; or charge my  Visa  Mastercard Card Number ………………………………………………… Expiry Date …………………………………………………. Name on Card ......…………………………………………... Signature …………………………………………………… My full mailing address is…………………………………... ………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………. Telephone:……………………………………………………. Fax:………………………………………………..........…….. Fax or mail your order to: Mr Richard Rozen OAM, National Merchandise Officer The Order of Australia Association 3/144 Were Street, Brighton, Vic 3186 Fax: (03) 9592 1767 Tel: (03) 9592 8068 NOTE: ONLY MEMBERS MAY WEAR TIES, SCARVES, BROOCHES, CUFFLINKS Members heard the results of a Victorian Branch trial in which regional group members accepted the chairman’s invitation to join through personal contact. All agreed that the branches and regional groups were the eyes and hands of the OAA and could support the nerve centre of the national organisation in following up membership in a A Governor General’s Legacy See last item in advertisement at left. local, personal way, as well as conducting meaningful activities of beneﬁt and interest to members. The Victorian Chairman, Mr Don Hyde AM, reiterated the success of the trial which will now ﬂow through to all branches and regional groups to give them more responsibility in membership development. In a similar vein, the National Chairman spoke of the preferred manner of operation of the Association, whereby initiatives agreed at the national level were passed to branches and regional groups for implementation — the emphasis being on empowering the whole of the Association to take a lead in a coordinated and managed approach. Many members thought that the structure and appeal of annual conferences could be improved. The panel challenged members to speak their mind on what they expected from the annual meeting of the Association. The National President told members that the NSW Branch chairman, Bill Galvin OAM, had been appointed the previous day to form a subcommittee of the national committee to review the conduct of the annual meetings. All were invited to let Bill and his team know what they wanted from their conferences. Bill advised that planning was well advanced for the 2011 meeting in Tasmania and 2012 meeting in Darwin, which would be managed so that costs would be kept low, making the total package much more affordable for members. The concept of a panel of the senior leadership answering frankly and clarifying issues was much appreciated. Members clearly expected that their concerns be recorded and acted upon and the national committee and its executive subcommittee now have a full agenda of issues that will be thoroughly reviewed, action taken being reported back to members through their branch chairmen and through The Order. 10 The Order, Winter 2010 South Australia’s Lieutenant Governor, who is a refugee This is the text of an address by the Lieutenant Governor of South Australia and Chairman of South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, Mr Hieu Van Le AO, (pictured) at The Order of Australia Association’s Multifaith Observance Service on February 14 at the University of Adelaide. ... as someone who arrived here in a leaky boat among the first Vietnamese ‘boat people’ of the 1970s, virtually my every waking hour is today dedicated to the advancement of multiculturalism. A s an alumnus of the University of Adelaide, I have much fondness for this hall and this campus. And — as an Australian citizen and a recent awardee — I have great respect for the Order of Australia and the Association. This is a special moment for all of us. Besides being the ﬁnal day of your National Conference, today marks precisely the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Order of Australia. On such an occasion it’s good for us to reﬂect on the enduring value of the Order. More than that, it’s good for us to think about one aspect of national life that the Order of Australia continues both to reﬂect and foster — and that is our country’s remarkable and much-admired cultural diversity. For many people, one of the most important elements of cultural identity is their religion — as well as the ability to practise that religion in an environment of freedom and respect. We in South Australia place a high premium on social harmony and — as someone who arrived here in a leaky boat among the ﬁrst Vietnamese “boat people” of the 1970s — virtually my every waking hour is today dedicated to the advancement of multiculturalism. In the context of the wonderful hymns, songs, chants and readings we’re enjoying here this morning, I want to say that Adelaide is a particularly ﬁne place in which to hold a multifaith service. Across our city there are many examples of thoughtful multifaith dialogue and I’ll touch on those in a moment. Perhaps more signiﬁcantly, the very founding of South Australia was characterised by what we might call “religious pluralism”. The colony was established at a time of great conﬂict, in Britain, between the Church of England and the so-called “dissenting” denominations — such as the Baptists, Congregationalists and Methodists. The Dissenters bristled at the restrictions imposed on their churches Mr Hieu Van Le AO and at what they saw as daily inequalities and humiliations. So when the South Australian Association was formed in 1834 and when Dissenters became prominent among leaders of the putative colony, the topic of religious freedom was clearly on the agenda. Well before the ﬁrst ships left Britain for the long journey to South Australia it was resolved that this new colony — this radical new society — would be a place of “civil and religious liberty”. One visiting writer from Victoria noted that, within a radius of less than 1,000 yards of the city centre, there were no fewer than 22 places of worship. Circulars promoting the new colony were distributed among Dissenter congregations across England. This would be a land without an established church, the theory went, a place without state endowments or grants for religious purposes. As one historian has written, it was intended that South Australia “should be neutral in religion but not secular”. This principle more or less held in those early days and the range of faiths being practised led Adelaide eventually to become known as the “City of Churches”. One visiting writer from Victoria noted that, within a radius of less than 1,000 yards of the city centre, there were no fewer than 22 places of worship. “So far, so good,” he wrote, “but there seems to be an anomaly, for within the same area there are 51 hotels”. Besides the Anglicans and the Catholics, South Australia was home to Scottish Presbyterians, German Lutherans, Quakers, Unitarians and even Swedenborgians. There were plenty of non-Christians, too. The Jewish community established a congregation in 1848 — one that has been going strongly ever since and recently celebrated its 160th birthday. Members of the so-called Afghan cameleers — who opened up the vast outback with telegraph lines — established Australia’s very ﬁrst mosque.That was built at Marree, in the far north of South Australia, in 1888 and it was followed just two years later by construction of a mosque in the south-western corner of Adelaide’s “square mile” — a magniﬁcent structure that remains standing and is still used today. Of course, throughout the 20th Century the range of faiths present in South Australia grew with the arrival of every new group of settlers. There came Sikhs, for example, along with Hindus, Baha’is and Buddhists, some of the latter group hailing from my homeland of Vietnam. Today, this state’s religious proﬁle is vast and fascinating. Indeed, in the 2006 Census, South Australians identiﬁed themselves as being followers of almost 150 categories and subcategories of faith. Albanian Orthodox, Rastafarianism, Taoism, Witchcraft, Animism, Druidism, Atheism — all these and more were given as answers to the question “what is your religious afﬁliation?” We in South Australia are proud of our religious diversity and the generally harmonious way in which faiths get along. Continued opposite ...it’s good for us to think about one aspect of national life that the Order of Australia continues both to reflect and foster — and that is our country’s remarkable and much-admired cultural diversity. The Order, Winter 2010 11 himself, tells us just how lucky we are Continued from previous page From my point of view, as both Chairman of SAMEAC and someone who arrived here as a refugee after ﬂeeing war and tyranny, this diversity should be seen in a wider context. That context includes the model of multiculturalism that exists in South Australia, an ethos covering all aspects of identity and culture, not just religion. The bigger picture also includes the establishment of a stable civil society — a system of justice and democracy, of rights and responsibilities, that allows different religions to ﬂourish in the ﬁrst place and for everyone to worship as they wish, unhindered. I must confess that I am not expecting the imminent arrival of a multi-religious utopia, either here in Adelaide or anywhere else in the world and I am enough of a realist to know that the mere collection of different religions in the one place does not, in itself, constitute dialogue or harmony. Being conscious of the existence of other faiths is not the same as talking to one another – to genuinely appreciating one another. One of the more high-profile multifaith initiatives to come out of South Australia recently has been Project Abraham. This has brought Christians, Muslims and Jews together to create an ongoing discussion among members of the three Abrahamic faiths Nevertheless, I do think that South Australia has used its history of religious pluralism as a solid basis on which to build understanding. As early as the 1940s, the various Christian groups in our State started to come together and cooperate on matters of common interest and this led to the setting up of the South Australian Council of Churches.This has continued ever since. In more recent times we’ve been home to many valuable examples of genuine interfaith and multifaith dialogue. The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide has recently extended the hand of friendship and understanding to the state’s Muslims through the successful “Building Bridges” program. The Intercultural Dialogue Society was established in South Australia in 2007 and it has held dinners and other events that have been attended by politi- The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide has extended the hand of friendship and understanding recently to South Australia’s Muslims through the successful ‘Building Bridges’ program. cal, religious and community leaders. Also, Adelaide’s Muslim ‘Ayn Academy recently embarked on its “Mosaic” initiative, which is designed to achieve what it calls “faith harmony in Australia”. One of the more high-proﬁle multifaith initiatives to come out of South Australia recently has been Project Abraham. This has brought Christians, Muslims and Jews together to create an ongoing discussion among members of the three Abrahamic faiths. The purpose of the project was to explore the common elements of these three faiths, and to educate the wider community about their practices. The group used this accord as a launching pad for a series of seminars, a school program, a travelling exhibition and a DVD and book. After visits to various South Australian centres, Project Abraham expanded its membership and support base and then went national — eventually holding events in places like Gosford, Shepparton and the Gold Coast. There are many other examples of multifaith dialogue occurring in South Australia — some of them quite small and unheralded but no less important. I hope that these kinds of initiatives will continue to ﬂourish and expand into other parts of Australia. Before closing, I want to say a few words about why I’m particularly proud to have spoken to you this morning. I’ve always felt extremely lucky to have arrived, settled, and successfully made a life for myself and my family, here in Australia. Like most refugees, I came from a country torn apart by war, ideology, and social and political division. Many aspects of Australian life impressed me when I arrived — especially the egalitarian concept of “a fair go” and the easygoing nature of the people. But the quality that struck me most, I think, was the remarkable stability of this country — a quality that one doesn’t fully appreciate until it is absent. I often ask myself why Australia is so apparently “lucky” and is the envy of the world. When I do so, I quickly come to the conclusion that our good fortune stems from the strength of our institutions and our civil society. We’ve inherited from Britain a system that — although, of course, imperfect — manages to strike a ﬁne balance in many important areas. There’s the bal- ance between church and state. There’s the balance between private and public, between the Parliament and the executive, between the executive and the judiciary. And there’s the balance between government and non-government organisations — the latter including groups such as the Order of Australia Association. We take it for granted that groups like yours can meet on a regular basis and carry out their business freely and that their members can associate with whomever they wish. I applaud you for making Australia’s cultural diversity the theme of this year’s gathering. But in numerous places around the world — both historically and today — such liberties are simply not allowed. Freedom of speech, tolerance of different views, respect for independent organisations — all these are central to the ethos that underpins our democratic institutions and way of life. It has helped add real substance to the architecture of nationhood that was established. by Australia’s “founding fathers”, through the Act of Federation in 1901. That system of government — that set of complementary values and institutions — has underpinned Australia’s muchadmired form of democracy. And this democracy has, in turn, allowed people from all over the world to live here in harmony and avail themselves of opportunity. That’s why I am so personally grateful for what Australia has given me and that’s why I felt so privileged to be appointed an Ofﬁcer of the Order of Australia in the recent 2010 Australia Day honours. I applaud you for making Australia’s cultural diversity the theme of this year’s gathering. That diversity is something we must never take for granted. And the social richness and strength diversity delivers are national qualities that Australians should always cherish and seek to build upon. I wish the Association all the very best for the future. Today is the ﬁrst day of the Lunar calendar year, the year of the Tiger; I wish you all a new year ﬁlled with happiness, good health, prosperity and successes. 12 The Order, Winter 2010 13 The Order, Winter 2010 The Murray-Darling Basin: food bowl, artery of history and essential to Australia's future The water man By Brian J Grogan OAM T he words of celebrated poet Dorothea McKellar, “A land of droughts and ﬂooding rains”, certainly ring true for the Murray-Darling Basin as elsewhere in Australia. The problem we have in Australia is that we have barely 200 years of weather records, as against hundreds or a thousand years for other nations. This is not to avoid the more recent challenge of any altered climate-change trend. The current severe drought has had some areas of Australia experience 15 successive years of receiving less than 50 per cent of average annual rainfall, such rain often occurring in irregular seasons. Little wonder that the cumulative land and economic impacts have been so extremely dire. The media focus has predictably emphasised the negatives but has achieved some positives of raising general public and political consciousness, bringing the need for assistance and placing funding and other resources higher up the priority ladder. Such assistance to restoration and preservation of the Murray-Darling Basin is truly in the national interest. Not only is the Basin the nation’s food bowl but it is of enormous heritage and environmental signiﬁcance to our nation. It is my personal view that the order of priorities across this vast and unpredictable Basin is: • the establishment of reliable and adequate water supplies; • building and maintaining morale and conﬁdence in future generations of Basin communities; • protecting the socio-economic capacity of Basin communities; • adequate recognition and protection of the Basin’s unique environment; and, most importantly, • enhancing the capacity of the Basin to continue to produce high-quality food, ﬁbre and other resources for the nation. The Basin — and regional Australia — would certainly beneﬁt from not concentrating continuing growth of the Australian population on the eastern seaboard or in the metropolitan cities, as well as from recognising the need to increase domestic and export production of food and ﬁbre. In spite of suggestions to divert attention to northern Australia, the Murray-Darling Basin can and must play a continuing major part. This is not to ignore, disregard or gloss over the many problems created by our past European style of settlement. Our treatment of the Aborigines, overindulgent land Brian J Grogan OAM S Children frolicking in the Murray River near the township of Renmark, South Australia. The river provides recreation for locals. Picture: Arthur Mostead ... Governments and agencies come and go but the municipal councils and their communities remain ... clearances, inappropriate developments and demonstrably unsustainable land and water practices are just some of the reasons for our present difﬁculties, which are highlighted in times of cyclical or neardrought periods. This is not to attribute blame wholly just to past generations but also to governments and their agencies, which were also equally culpable. Although hindsight underlines past mistakes, great credit, which is not always granted readily, must be given to current generations, whose inventiveness introduces revised land and water practices for the future sustainability of our natural resources. Cropping changes to no-till practice, improved irrigation and drainage practices, using much less for more production, protection of native vegetation, strategic tree plantings and the Landcare movement are a few that continue to add value to opportunities to improve over-all investment and outcomes. Even local government has become involved increasingly in natural-resource management and now invests more in the environment than state and commonwealth agencies combined. With the eventual end of the present drought cycle, a much-restored and continuing sustainable future lies ahead of the Murray-Darling Basin, its many regions and their communities. This will be enhanced by the injection of public funds into restorative and enhancement works as now scheduled. The Australian community can be assured that this funding will be complemented in large measure by private and individual investment. However, we all should demand future operations to further develop and not regress because of reintroduction of past failed practices, both private and government. A continuing challenge across the Basin is the governance relationships. The previous Murray-Darling Basin Commission was much beset by separate interests and policies of the states. The new Murray-Darling Basin Authority promises “a whole-of-Basin approach” with a new Basin Plan due later this year. Such a plan must not close off options — e.g. new supply points — or allow states the intrusive right of veto that constricts revised adaptive management. Also, the grass-roots connection through the conduit of local-government councils across the Basin must occur. In the past, this has often been ignored or occurred too late and often only by pseudo-consultation processes! Governments and agencies come and go but the municipal councils and their communities remain and have to live with policy decisions made by those who live a long way from our river systems! The Murray Darling Association policy, on behalf of its 90-plus Basin councils, is that the connection to local government is a primary requirement, particularly on socioeconomic issues. Both federal and state governments must engage with and involve local government and local government must be a match for such determinations. Indeed, our collective Murray-Darling Basin future depends upon it. on of a Kerang, Victoria, irrigation farmer, Brian spent more than 40 satisfying and interesting years in the Victorian water industry, including various periods in irrigation, major works such as dam-construction projects and culminating as foundation Chief Executive Ofﬁcer — Lower Murray Water, based in Mildura. During his 30-plus years in Sunraysia, Brian has been involved with a wide range of community and public organisations. Some of have been as President, Sunraysia Institute of Tafe; member, Water for Growth Committee; member, Mallee Catchment Management Board; and two terms as Councillor on Mildura Rural City Council. Brian had a pivotal role in encouraging the establishment of the Mildura campus of Latrobe University and the establishment of the Lower Basin Laboratory, Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre. He was honoured subsequently by the naming of the Brian Grogan building at Mildura Campus. Much interested in the wider MurrayDarling Basin, Brian has served as National President, Murray Darling Association Inc, a long-standing body dealing with four states and the ACT, as well as its representative on the Murray-Darling Basin Councils and Communities for Conservation and Sustainable Development. Still active as Chairman of the Murray Darling Environmental Foundation, he is attempting to build and generate its growth and momentum. Brian’s present approach is, “Active retirement with contribution to community for the beneﬁt of the grandchildren.” Supplement to The Order, Winter 2010 The Order of Australia Association PROGRAM for the 25th ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING HOBART 10–11 February 2011 See you in Tasmania Booking accommodation Because of great demand at this time, please book your own accommodation as soon as possible. A list of hotels and B&Bs is on the Association website, www.theorderofaustralia.asn.au e take great pleasure in W inviting you to Tasmania for the 25th OAA Annual National Meeting — a two-day event in Hobart with wonderful optional tours offered before and after. The conference committee has endeavoured to keep costs well down by confining activities largely to two locations in Hobart and by having attendees arrange their own accommodation. The internationally recognised Wooden Boat Festival, Salamanca Market and Hobart Regatta take place that weekend, so there will be plenty to see and do during your stay. These events attract thousands of tourists so please register and book accommodation early. he weather should be in T the 20s, comfortable and pleasant. However, pack a sun hat and a warm jacket, as frequent changes are common. For local knowledge and assistance, contact OAA member Brian Sims AM on (03) 6225 2562; or email bsims@iinet.net.au; or, for expert help, phone Discover Tasmania on 1300 827 743 or on the web: www.discovertasmania.com Have a holiday before the meeting or afterwards — or both! Carefully planned day tours in each of Tasmania’s three regions provide pre-meeting opportunities to sample a mixture of fresh attractions, including National Trust buildings, historic country towns, wilderness areas and boat trips; wineries, honey, raspberry and cherry farms. Meals are generally at your own cost unless otherwise stated. Welcome dinners at restaurants in each location will give you the chance to meet local members. You will need to book your own accommodation in the region you select. Post-meeting tours also offer quintessential Tassie experiences. At a reasonable cost, and designed to save you packing and moving each day, this is a great chance to explore the Apple Isle. More details next page 2 Supplement to The Order, Winter 2010 The National Meeting, Hobart, February 10 & 11 his event will take place in two main venues. Thursday will centre T on the superb Town Hall, with registration and a chance to catch up with friends over coffee from 9am to noon. The Lord Mayor’s welcome and the meeting’s opening by the National President is at 1.30pm.The symposium We are Australian — four distinguished speakers — begins at 2pm, after which we go to Parliament House (a 15-minute walk or go by taxi) for the Premier’s reception at 5pm. Evening at leisure. Wrest Point is the focus for Friday, beginning at 9am with a simple Multifaith Observance and wreath-laying on The Boardwalk, by the river. The AGM begins at 10.15am, then morning tea and the Members’ Forum. Afternoon at leisure and then buses will go from Wrest Point (at 5.30pm) to Government House for the Governor’s reception, returning for the annual dinner, which begins at 7.30 at Wrest Point. For all events, lounge suits and miniature medals will be acceptable dress. Come early for pre-meeting tours Monday 7th, Devonport to Ambleside, Latrobe, Bells Parade, Railton topiary, Sheffield murals. Includes Raspberry Farm, Anvers Chocolates; Dame Enid Lyons’s home; Maritime Museum, and return to the Argosy Motor Inn, Devonport. Tuesday 8th, Devonport to Ulverstone through Penguin to Burnie, Pioneer Village Museum, Wynyard Exhibition Centre and vintage cars; Wharf Hotel Wynyard (lunch); Table Cape, Stanley Discovery Centre, Highfield and return to Devonport; Wednesday 9th, Devonport via Launceston to Hobart, with fascinating stops at Evandale (Collectors on ABC), Campbell Town, Ross (lunch at Wool Centre), Oatlands and Kempton. Monday 7th, Launceston to Deloraine and Meander, exciting Ginseng Farm, Mole Creek (hotel lunch), cave area, Cethana Dam, Raspberry Farm and return to Launceston. Tuesday 8th, Launceston to Legerwood (unique wood carvings); Barnbougle Golf Course (lunch), peaceful Bridport, Batman Bridge, Beaconsfield, Tamar Ridge Winery and river road, via vineyards back to Launceston. Wednesday 9th, Launceston to Hobart as above. WEST — Three-day tour — Mon 7th–Wed 9th Launceston — A 3-day, 2-night tour from Launceston to Queenstown via Cradle Mountain and Zeehan, then a day excursion to Strahan, Gordon River, Wilderness Railway and back to Queenstown. On the Hobart’s beautiful harbour is formed by a wider part of the Derwent River. Comprehesive details of all tours are on the web site, www.theorderofaustralia.asn.au and available from your branch. All tours will depend on the numbers’ ﬁlling – alternatives will be offered if any tour is not ﬁlled. 3rd day the coach goes via Nelson Falls, Tarraleah and Derwent Bridge to Hobart. Or select one of the tours on offer each day in Hobart. Tuesday 8th (1) Huon Valley, including sheep milking, Hartzview winery, Huon River and a Cherry Orchard. OR Tuesday 8th (2) A morning or afternoon tour to the Female Factory for Devonshire tea with Matron: includes history, tours, viewing of bonnets. Before this, go to the top of Mount Wellington (outstanding views if weather fine) or, if the weather is poor, visit the Cascades Brewery (tour $20 extra). Wear warm, wind & waterproof coat, hat and walking shoes. Wednesday 9th (1 ) History and champagnois with CEO and members of Friends of Theatre Royal; short walk to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery for tour (including bond store) and lunch with Director; OR Wednesday 9th (2) Heritage tour of greater Hobart including visits to Arthur Circus, St George’s Church, the Real Tennis Court, the Hobart Synagogue; lunch at “Lyndhurst” (Collectors on ABC) Wednesday 9th: Registrants are invited to join welcome dinners in selected Hobart restaurants, offering your choice of menu at affordable prices. Stay on for post-meeting tours No trip to Hobart would be complete without a visit to Salamanca weekend market. Saturday, February 12th, visit the Salamanca Market or the Wooden Boat Festival and then go on an optional OAA lunch trip on the Derwent in the ferry Cartela. Sunday, February 13th, take a tour to Launceston, via the Lake Highway and Golden Valley. The following day enjoy a historical tour of northern environs, including Eskleigh. Or on the Sunday, take a 2 day/1 night tour from Hobart up the east coast via Coles Bay, overnight at Bicheno and reaching Launceston via memorable north-eastern roads like the Weldborough Pass. On the final day, Tuesday, February 14, a lunch river trip down the Tamar and a dinner ‘finale’ in Launceston are available. 3 Supplement to The Order, Winter 2010 REGISTRATION FORM Please complete this form for National Meeting, optional tours and payment details. Copy and forward originals to: Mr A Douglas OAM 10 Aotea Rd, Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005 OR Register on line at http://www.tashost.com.au/oaa/index.php National Meeting 10–11 February DELEGATE GUEST(S) TOTAL 1.30 Lord Mayor’s Welcome — Town Hall Yes/No Yes/No – 2.00 Symposium —Town Hall 4.30 Tour of Parliament 5.00 Premier’s Reception — Parl’t House Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No Yes/No – Yes/No Yes/No – 10.15 AGM and morning tea- Wrest Point Yes/No Yes/No – 11.30 Members’ Forum — Wrest Point Yes/No Yes/No – Bus to & from Govt House Yes/No Yes/No – 6.00 Governor’s Reception — Govt House Yes/No Yes/No – Registration per person After 30 Nov 2010 COST $ 70 $100 THURSDAY 10 February 9am–noon Registration — Town Hall FRIDAY 11 February 9am Multi-faith Observance – Wrest Point 12.30 Lunch — Wrest Point — own choice 7.30 Annual Dinner — Wrest Point $22 $75 TOTAL PRE-MEETING (7-9 Feb) TOURS Tours Area Mon 7 NORTH WEST Day Tour 1 Railton,Shefﬁeld,Mersey Valley Dinner -The Argosy; own cost Day Tour 2 - Penguin, Wynyard, Stanley Welcome Reception – The Argosy Day 3 – Midlands H’way to Hobart $60 NORTH Day Tour 1 Deloraine, Mole Creek etc Day Tour 2 Legerwood, Beaconsﬁeld etc. $50 $60 Day 3 Midlands H’way to Hobart $25 Tues 8 Wed 9 Mon 7 Tues 8 Wed 9 from and back to Devonport. - to Hobart from and back to Launceston - to Hobart Mon 7 - Wed 9 WEST COAST Tues 8 SOUTH Wed 9 L’ton- Hobart from and back to Hobart – Please book your own accommodation $ SELF $70 $17 $30 GUEST YES/NO 3 days 2 nights Launceston-Queenstown-Hobart all inclusive twin share - $560 pp $125 single supplement Day 1 - Huon Valley ; or $60 Day 1 - Mt Wellington & Female Factory $35 Day 2 - Theatre Royal / Museum; or $50 Day 2 - Heritage Hobart tour $70 Welcome Dinners own cost - pay at the venue TOTAL $ CONTINUED NEXT PAGE 4 Supplement to The Order, Winter 2010 POST-MEETING (12-14 Feb) TOURS Tours Please book your own accommodation Sat 12 OAA Derwent River Trip - Lunch on the Cartela $60 Sun 13 EAST COAST 2 days, 1 night – Hobart-Bicheno-Launceston inclusive $180 pp twin share ($40 single supplement) OR LAKE HIGHWAY 1 day - Hobart to L’ton via Lake Highway; central highlands; Own Lunch $36 Mon 14 Historic tour Evandale, Eskleigh etc incl. lunch $70 Tues15 Tamar river cruise - incl morning tea & lunch LAUNCESTON FINALE - Dinner – own cost from Hobart from L’ton from Launceston SELF GUEST $120 Yes/No TOTAL PAYMENT NAME …………………………………………………………….Title...............Post nominal ................. ADDRESS…………………………………………………………………..……………………………....... ………………………………………………………………………………..POST CODE ……………...... PH………………………….EMAIL…………………………………………………………………….…..... GUEST(S)………………………………………………………..Title………….Post Nominal………....... SPECIAL NEEDS (diet/physical) …………………………………………………………………….…..... National Meeting - TOTAL $ Pre-Meeting and Post Meeting Activities - TOTAL $ GRAND TOTAL $ Please ﬁnd enclosed my cheque made payable to OAA Meeting 2011 EFT payment : BSB 067 102 Acc Number: 10319542 Acc Name: Order of Australia Association Ltd National Meeting Tasmania Please debit my credit card for $.............................. Mastercard Visa NAME ON CARD (print) …………………………………………………………………………… CARD NUMBER Expiry Date CARD HOLDER’S SIGNATURE …………………………………………………………………………… Copy and forward originals to: Mr A Douglas OAM 10 Aotea Rd Sandy Bay TAS 7005 ENQUIRIES – Alastair Douglas OAM (03) 6225 2012 oaameetingtas@tashost.com.au Linley Grant OAM (03) 6234 6672 mgr70303@bigpond.net.au Accommodation Advice: Brian Sims AM (03) 6225 2562 bsims@iinet.net.au Disclaimer Every effort has been made to present, as accurately as possible, all the information contained in this brochure. The Meeting Organising Committee reserves the right to change the program if necessary. The National Ofﬁce and the Tasmanian Branch will not be held ﬁnancially or administratively responsible for the pre and post tours. 14 The Order, Winter 2010 Art in the vineyard Ian Mathews AM recounts the difficulties of an artist at work among the vines In the style of many different works of art on display in reputable galleries, here’s Figures in a vineyard taken by the writer at sunrise on a Fleurieu Peninsula vineyard near McLaren Vale. W e all know about art. Well, we know what we like, which doesn’t always mesh with what gallery directors put on their walls. There’s every conceivable art form from oils to water colours, landscape to still life, modernism to pointillism. You name it (or not), there’s an art form to suit or annoy everybody. I know. I’ve been painting recently in a vineyard. Vineyards lend themselves to landscape art: the symmetry of the rows, the contrasting light and shade of the vines. My efforts, however, fall under the heading of numeric art — painting numbers on the end posts of a row of vines. One could call it ﬁgure painting but that would only confuse those who appreciate people, clothed and unclothed, as models. This was mathematical art at its most elementary. I had to paint the ﬁgures one to forty-six — 1 to 46 — in the correct order. It sounds so simple. It’s not. My ﬁrst problem — and one that most artists don’t have — was that my “canvas” was virtually at ankle level. That might have suited Toulouse Lautrec, although he preferred the comfort of backstage settings. Each end post in a vineyard is supported by a much smaller strainer post at about knee level. Half-way down that post, at shin level, was my area of operation; and to manage that I squatted at ankle level to number 184 posts. That accounts for the same ﬁgure at each end of a half-kilometre row plus two more where the rows were broken for a tractor track. Hence, four posts requiring the same number in every row. Breaks in the rows often indicate a change of grape variety — chardonnay, merlot, shiraz. This sort of art requires a reason. As in any row of houses, numbers identify each row of vines. This makes it easier for a variety of jobs, from irrigation and spraying to pruning and picking, and a dozen jobs in between. This is not always original painting; some posts bore numbers from a long-past stencil job. No criticism of the artist or artisan concerned but stencils lack the personal stamp. I’m not against painting by numbers as such. It’s said that Turner painted his cloudscapes by numbers after making sketches of clouds in Switzerland and matching the colours he observed with his numbered home-made paints in his studio. Once I'd started on the painting, numbers became shapes and eventually had no value as numbers. I frequently had to check the previous post just to make This perspective photo demonstrates the depth of the vineyard rows, their identity numbers are seen in the foreground. sure the next number was in sequence. As shapes rather than the numbers that I write every day, I painted them with different strokes. Eight, for instance, is outlined with my paintbrush as two circles rather than an S biting its starting point as I would write 8 with a pen. I even ﬁnd I draw a four backwards. Correcting the paintwork would only add to the confusion so it stands as a dyslectic .. In another attempt I interrupted myself making a mess of another 4 so it, too, stands rather like a Chinese character at the end of its row. My favourite numbers were nine and seven. One can do a 9 with an elegant ﬂourish of the brush; 7 takes just two straight (well, straightish) strokes. Although the numbers became just simple shapes, some still had signiﬁcance: birthdays, anniversaries and 33 — a vintage year for the writer. These were emphasised by repeating the number on the circular head of the strainer post. Ideal viewing for helicopter pilots. Such extra-arty numbers required a degree of pointillism, so favoured by Seurat. Occasionally, an adventurous ant or blown leaf would stick to my masterpieces in much the same way as, it is said, that at least one of Claude Monet’s haystacks — he did 25 of them — captured a piece of blown grass. The 46 rows on which I painted numeric addresses represented only a fraction of the whole vineyard. Oddly, vineyards are often “interrupted” by other vineyards as if your backyard were split for your next-door neighbour’s swimming pool. There are few fences between competing vineyards. There is no signature on this work of art. It will stand for several vintages until weather, heat and rain take their toll and another artist will work on Figures in a vineyard. The Order, Winter 2010 15 Mentors are essential to awardees’ progress In addition to the $40,000 payment to help with education expenses, a most important feature of The Order of Australia Association Foundation Scholarship is to provide each awardee with a mentor. The Foundation chooses each volunteer mentor from people who have received an appointment or award in The Order of Australia and are eminent in the awardee's chosen professional ﬁeld of study. The mentor’s main functions are to: • Give advice to the awardee of the direction of studies, elective subjects, suitable research avenues etc; • Monitor the awardee’s academic progress, checking that levels of excellence are maintained and give advice to overcome problems; • Give a brief report to the Foundation of the awardee’s progress and achievements at the end of each semester; • Advise the awardee on short-term placements at other institutions in the course of studies as well as further studies beyond graduation; • Advise and assist on a suitable career path after graduation. Here are proﬁles of three mentors appointed to help those who received their scholarships at the annual conference in Adelaide. Dr Robert Frater AO PhD DSc (Eng) Hon DSc (Macq) FAA FTSE r Frater has researched electronics,telecommunications, radioastronomy instrumentation, electroacoustics and biomedical devices for more than 40 years and was responsible for many ground-breaking developments in instrumentation and systems for radioastronomy and optical astronomy. In particular, he directed work on the Australia Telescope at Narrabri. He was Professor/Director of the Fleurs Radio Observatory in Electrical Engineering at the University of Sydney. He also played crucial roles in CSIRO as a division chief and as Deputy Chief Executive. In 1996, Dr Frater was made an Ofﬁcer in The Order of Australia “In recognition of service to radio astronomy.” He has been working for the past ten years in the medical-device world at ResMed, where he is Vice-President for Innovation. He chairs the NCRIS Australian National Fabrication Facility and the NICTA Evaluation Committee and serves on the Research Advisory Committees for Australian Hearing. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He and his wife Margaret established in 2010 the Bob and Margaret Frater Travelling Scholarship for eligible teachers in the NSW and ACT Catholic Primary School system. Mentoring is an important part of the culture of ResMed and his own experience of being mentored himself has inspired Dr Frater in his role as mentor to others. He has spoken of the importance of those who have acted as mentors D for him from the worlds of academe, industry, CSIRO and government. He says “ResMed’s funding for a Foundation scholarship gives me the opportunity to take on the role of mentor for Pallavi Gosain who is herself studying to be a biomedical engineer, aiming to contribute to the improvement of healthcare resources.” Dr Michael Rice AM ED MB BS FRACP r Rice is a paediatrician with a special interest in the care of children with cancer. After postgraduate training in Adelaide, Melbourne and New York, he returned to the Adelaide Children’s Hospital in 1967 and established a comprehensive cancer service for children in South Australia. He is a former Head of Oncology at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide. In the course of his practice, he has seen major changes in the treatment of cancer to the point at which, as he says, the majority of childhood cancers are now curable, albeit after an often difﬁcult period of initial treatment. He was appointed a Member of The Order of Australia in 2004 “For service to medicine, particularly paediatrics in the ﬁelds of oncology and haematology, to a range of professional and medical organisations, and to the community.” He has been closely involved with the training and assessment of junior doctors and has participated in medical policy development in the Australian Medical Association at state and federal levels and as a member of various government advisory committees. He has always had an interest in D helping young people to develop their professional careers and so is pleased to accept the role of mentor to Alyssa Fitzpatrick, who has evinced an interest in improving the care of people with cancer. Emeritus Professor Derek Frewin AO MB BS MD FRACP FRCP FRACMA rofessor Frewin served as the Dean of the University of Adelaide’s Medical School from 1991 to 2005 and as the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at that University 1996–2005. He is a clinical pharmacologist/ physician by training and has a particular interest in the causes and treatment of high blood pressure. His current clinical appointment is to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he is the Senior Consultant Physician and Head of its hypertension clinic. Professor Frewin was chairman of the Committee of Deans of Australian Medical Schools, a member of the Australian Medical Council and its sub-committees, an invited member of the Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges and on numerous Hospital Boards and other Health Boards in South Australia. He received a Fulbright-Hays Senior Scholar award in 1972–73, which enabled him to work at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Centre in New York. He subsequently held several visiting professorships at Columbia between 1974 and 1987 and another at the University of Otago Medical School in 1981. In 2001 he received the Australian Medical Association (SA) award for his “longterm dedication and commitment to medical education, research and clinical medicine”. Professor Frewin was appointed an Ofﬁcer in the Order of Australia in 2003 “For service to the advancement of medical education, to research in the ﬁeld of hypertension and to the community, particularly in relation to the care of the ageing and of people affected by drug addiction”. As current Patron of the Adelaide Medical Students’ Society (AMSS) and a member of its newly formed Foundation Board, Professor Frewin has already worked closely with Mark Hassall, who served as the AMSS President in 2009. He said he was delighted and honoured to be invited to mentor such a distinguished Foundation awardee as Mark. P 16 The Order, Winter 2010 Scholarship awardees for 2009 tell their stories A LYSSA FITZPATRICK: Twenty-year-old Alyssa, of Adelaide, is enrolled for the double degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Adelaide. Dux of Loreto College, she had outstanding results throughout and ﬁnished with a Tertiary Entrance Rank score of 99.95 — the highest possible. In her three years at university she has been top student in her cohort and still participated extensively in university and community activities: as elected medical student representative in Insight-Global Health Group at the University; a social justice advocate and worker; an active worker for the Heart Foundation Doorknock Appeal; and in the University Volunteer Program for International Students, in which she is partnered with a student from China with whom she converses and helps with orientation in libraries, museums and social centres. Alyssa contributes and leads by example. Her leisure activities include classical ballet, netball and advanced piano studies. She is interested in the ﬁeld of oncology and spent lasts summer at the Hanson Cancer Research Institute studying emerging treatments. She is keen to undertake work in rural areas to improve the quality of access to professional practice. Another ambition is to work in developing countries. She would like to maintain a balance between clinical and research work. Funding for this scholarship was generously donated by Mrs Diana Ramsay AO. Alyssa receives her certiﬁcate from the Governor. M Report above ARK HASSALL: Mark, 22, of Garran, ACT, is enrolled for the double degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Adelaide. At Marist College, Canberra, Mark achieved a Universities Admission Index score of 98.2. He had excelled as College Captain, House Captain and as delegate to the National Youth Science Forum. He has completed all levels in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. At university, Mark has won distinctions and in 2009 became a Bachelor of Medical Science with ﬁrst-class honours. His leadership potential shows in his election as president of the Adelaide Medical Students’ Society in 2009; his membership of the council of the South Australian Institute of Medical Education and Training and his role as co-ordinator of SA Health’s medical student focus group of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. His community service includes helping to raise $32,000 for the National Heart Foundation; being a Big Brother Big Sister mentor and a volunteer Lifeline counsellor; sponsoring a child through World Vision; and fund-raising for the Florey Foundation, the Hanson Cancer Research Institute and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Recreation: he has run the London Marathon, Adelaide’s City2Bay and its Marathon and will be in the Young Endeavour sailing scheme this year. He is excited about combining leadership and research in his profession. His interest in research — especially neurology — is evident and he values the power of collaborative projects. Funding for this scholarship was generously donated by Dr David Game AO. See picture at right Pallavi Gosain receives her scholarship certiﬁcate from the Governor of South Australia, Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AC CSC RANR. P See report below ALLAVI GOSAIN: Twenty-year-old Pallavi, of Merrylands, NSW, is enrolled for the double degrees of Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) and Biomedical Engineering at the University of New South Wales. Educated at Girraween High School (a selective school), Pallavi has beneﬁted from an accelerated progression through secondary schooling to achieve a Universities Admission Index of 99.85. She was Dux in 2007 and received a NSW Premier’s Award. As secretary of the student Charity and Philanthropic Society at school, Pallavi worked to raise funds for the Salvation Army and UNICEF and to raise awareness of many social disadvantages. Her recreational activities involve vigoro, cricket, hockey and soccer. She competed in a university student project to develop a bionic hand and has maintained a high-distinction average at university. She is keenly interested in emerging ﬁelds of research and scientiﬁc breakthroughs. The Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering has invited her to join its Elite Student program. Pallavi hopes to contribute to the improvement of health-care resources to combat the alarming increase in lifestyle diseases. As a biomedical engineer she pursues more efﬁcient and cost-effective instrumentation, new pharmaceutical products and better biocompatible materials for surgical procedures. She aspires to work with organisations that can bring pharmaceuticals, immunisation programs and treatments to underprivileged communities. To do this she intends to travel and work with Engineering Without Borders and other similar organisations. Funding for this scholarship was generously donated by ResMed. The Governor presents Mark Hassall’s certiﬁcate. See report, left The Order, Winter 2010 17 Awardees’ gratitude H ere are letters to Professor O’Keeffe and the board of the Order of Australia Association Foundation, from awardees. Mark Hassall, of Canberra, ACT, writes: I am writing in sincere thanks for my OAAF scholarship and your welcoming and enthusiastic correspondence and guidance in the lead up to this presentation. These past months have been a very exciting period and I have immensely enjoyed the entire experience; from when I ﬁrst learned of my successful application, until the presentation ceremony itself .... When I walked into the dinner on that Saturday night I was blown away by the atmosphere, the calibre of the attendees and the general enthusiasm of all those present to introduce themselves to me and welcome my family and me to the evening. Again and again I was humbled by the sincere interest your colleagues showed in my hopes, my career and my plans for the scholarship itself. Building upon this foundation of validation, the ﬁnances of the scholarship will permit me to undertake my core university education more easily by helping me manage my HECS debt and my living expenses. It also offers the phenomenal opportunity to pursue educational experiences [such as] a medical elective at the University of Dartmouth teaching hospital in the USA. Meeting my mentor, Professor Derek Frewin AO, I believe will be the ﬁrst of many fruitful and otherwise unavailable catch-ups that will help sculpt my professional pathway over these vital early transitional years ... There’s no doubt this scholarship represents a fundamental change in the trajectory of my conﬁdence, my career and the realisation of my personal and professional potential. Thank you so very much. Pallavi Gosain, of Merrylands, NSW: I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the Order of Australia Foundation for its support and generosity in accepting me into this scholarship program. This scholarship has opened a world of opportunities to me as I progress through my education and career. On behalf of my family, I would also like to thank the Foundation for a truly wonderful evening in Adelaide. Receiving my certiﬁcate in the presence of so many eminent Australians was both an inspiring and humbling experience, and one that I will always treasure. The encouragement provided by so many people throughout the night made me feel I was that much closer to achieving my goals. I also wish to thank Professor Brian OAA Foundation O’Keeffe AO, Professor Elaine Murphy AM and my mentor, Dr Robert Frater AO, for their valuable time and guidance. In the coming years, I hope that I can demonstrate the values of the Foundation through my contribution to the Australian community. Alyssa Fitzpatrick, of Adelaide, SA: I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for all of your direction and assistance in the lead-up to the conference dinner last weekend. The dinner was a wonderful experience for all of us awardees and I wish to thank you for all of your efforts which made the night so memorable. I am deeply grateful to all members of the Association who make the awards possible each year. The opportunities provided by the scholarship are once in a lifetime, and I feel incredibly privileged to receive the award this year. The scholarship provides an unparalleled opportunity for all of us recipients to expand our horizons, to learn from the wisdom and experiences of our mentors, and to have the freedom and security to devote ourselves fully to our academic and volunteering pursuits. I am truly humbled by the faith you show in us, as young Australians, to contribute meaningfully to our respective ﬁelds in the years to come. I undertake to fulﬁl the aspirations of the Association which they have entrusted in me. Meet some of the Foundation’s generous donors Diana Ramsay AO DSocSc (Adel) FAICD D iana trained as a social worker at the University of Adelaide and as a medical social worker at The Women’s Hospital in Sydney, serving as Almoner from 1955 to 1960. As well as playing hockey for South Australia she has been a patron and benefactor of the arts and many welfare organisations. She and her late husband, James, have supported the State Opera of South Australia and special initiatives by the Australian Ballet and made possible fellowships for surgeons in provincial areas through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. She is a founding member of the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation, and later committee member and Governor, and was appointed Life Governor of the National Gallery of Australia Foundation in 1993. Diana’s and James’s generous support of the Art Gallery of South Australia has been described by its director as having transformed its Australian, European and Asian collections, recognised by the naming of the James and Diana Ramsay Gallery in the Elder Wing of Australian Art, and by her receipt in 2004 of the South Australia Great Arts Award. Both Diana and James were appointed Ofﬁcers of The Order of Australia in 1992 for their philanthropy and service to the arts and the community. In December 2009 Diana Ramsay launched the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation to continue to support the visual and performing arts and medical scholarships and have a strong focus on education and support projects for troubled youth. Dr David A Game AO MB BS KCSJ FRACGP FRCGP FHKCGP (Hon) MCFPC (Life) r Game has a strong relationship with the University of Adelaide Medical School, both he and his late wife having graduated MB BS in 1949. A brother, a son, his father-in-law and brother-in-law also graduated from the school. He has been associated with the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the attached teaching hospital, in various roles, ﬁrst as an intern in 1950, until January 2010, D when he retired from a sessional position in the Medical Administration Department. He was a founding member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, one of the ﬁrst to gain fellowship by examination and is a past chairman of Council, President and Censor-in-Chief. Internationally, he was the ﬁrst honorary secretary of the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA) and was also president for three years. Dr Game’s main professional activity has been in general practice. He has said that, “My professional life has rewarded me in a most gratifying and satisfying way and in return for and recognition of this I was very happy to be able to contribute to the professional life of a very promising undergraduate of the Adelaide School and a future medical practitioner.” He became an AO in 1983 in recognition of services to medicine. He has also been Chairman of the South Australian Branch of The Order of Australia Association. Another donor - Page 18 18 The Order, Winter 2010 OAA North American Group becomes active A n inaugural gathering of the widely dispersed North American members of The Order of Australia Association’s Group is being planned with the active participation of Vice-Patron Kim Beazley AC, Australia’s new Ambassador to the US. The group serves members living in, or passing through, its region — the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. ANZAC Day in Washington DC saw North American Group Chairman Gregory Copley AM lay a wreath on its behalf at the Korean War Memorial. Commodore Simon Cullen AM CSC RAN, the Australian Defence Force Liaison Ofﬁcer to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, assisted him (see picture at right). The wreath was then taken to the New Zealand Embassy for the traditional Gunﬁre Breakfast and then to the US National Cathedral for the ANZAC Day service. attended by a number of OAA members. A generous donor ResMed designs and manufactures medical equipment to treat and manage sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and other respiratory disorders. ResMed was established in Sydney in 1989. At the time sleep apnoea was an almost unknown health issue. Today the disor- der is recognised as a factor in three of the greatest health challenges facing the developed world — heart failure, stroke and type 2 diabetes. The company has a focus on continuous innovation to develop breakthrough products and technologies to improve the lives of those who suffer from these conditions. As global leaders in sleep and respiratory medicine, ResMed educates and raises awareness of the potentially serious health consequences of untreated SDB through knowledge-sharing with patients, clinicians, industry professionals and the broader community. ResMed’s 3,000-plus personnel are located in 22 countries with manufacturing operations in Australia, the US and Europe and now in Singapore. ResMed is proud to be a sponsor of a Foundation scholarship. This is its second such scholarship. Mentoring is an important part of the culture at ResMed. “Through our investment and mentoring we can play a role in contributing to the development of future leaders. The longterm impact of these young achievers on Australia’s future is immeasurable and we are delighted to assist them in reaching their full potential.” No need to tamper with the states to control them F ederation was achieved after much debate, stimulated at the time by the need to meet certain perceived needs; for example, free trade between states and a common defence system. From its inception Alfred Deakin foresaw that the ﬁnancial power of the Commonwealth could be used to induce the states to act in accordance with the wishes of the Commonwealth in matters outside the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth. His prophecy reached fulﬁlment in the High Court judgment relating to uniform taxation. In effect the ﬁnancial power provides a powerful extra-constitutional means whereby the Commonwealth, presumably acting in what it believes to be in the best interest of the nation, may encourage certain action by the states. This is easier than changing the Constitution. Conditional grants for such speciﬁc purposes from Commonwealth to states lead to the undesirable “buck-passing” and “duplicated bureaucracy” referred to by Dr Drummond. Should some of these matters be the subject of referendums? If it were the will of the people, the Constitution could then vest some or all of the matters as the exclusive preserve of the Commonwealth. Some criticisms of our federal system relate to the point of balance between the powers of the Commonwealth and states. These can be addressed by referendums rather than moving from a federation to a unitary system at the risk of “throwing out the baby with the bath water”. The article by Dr Mark Drummond in the summer edition of The Order (No.26) headed Abolish the States and save $50 billion has prompted considerable comment. In a recent debate between two former Prime Ministers, Bob Hawke AC and John Howard AC, Mr Howard ventured the opinion that Australia's founding fathers were probably wrong to saddle us with states but it was too late to “correct” it now. John Campbell OAM, who was Clerk of Victoria's Legislative Assembly for 16 years, writes, “With trepidation, I venture to offer a slightly different perspective.” One criticism often advanced is that we are over-governed compared with other nations. I offer the following comments: • Half of the G8 nations and many Commonwealth nations are federations. Surely they can’t all be wrong! • Responding to long-standing political pressure, Scottish nationalism and the desire of the Scots to share the wealth from North Sea oil, the United Kingdom has created and empowered a parliament for Scotland. • Australia is vastly larger in area than the UK, has great diversity of climate, resources, terrain and population density. Needs and problems differ between our states, providing justiﬁcation for devolution and diversity within deﬁned limits as provided by state governments. • In the UK, lower levels of government have traditionally exercised jurisdiction in some areas which, in Australia, have been the preserve of the states. It is therefore understandable that local governments spend more in the UK as Dr Drummond states. Why not have a unitary system? Professor Greg Craven claims that “the fundamental argument in favour of federalism in Australia as anywhere else is that it prevents the abuse of power by dividing it”. He also states that it guarantees a “balance of discourses” where different views are put. Having heard the excellent, wellresearched debates in the Victorian Parliament on compulsory seat belts and the abolition of capital punishment, I endorse his comments and believe the states have much to offer. Let us amend the Constitution to meet emerging needs in a changing world if that be the will of the people. Rather than abolish the federal system, I believe it is better to review its operation and maybe do some ﬁne-tuning to make it function more effectively, using the mechanism designed by the Founding Fathers to “change the rules” of the game if necessary or desirable. 1 1 Australian Parliamentary Review, Spring 2009, Vo. 24(2) p.26. 19 The Order, Winter 2010 Training the entrepreneurs of tomorrow Pills that enable you to speak a foreign language. Devices that can teleport you to another location or time. Science fiction? Perhaps, except they are the product of young minds grappling with how to run a business such as Thank You Water. Some have come up with ideas for portable skate board ramps, hollow-handled paint-brushes fitted with a hose to wash off the paint, plastic toys embedded in clear soap bars for children. “Young people are enormously creative and, unfettered by the constraints of reality, can come up with amazing ideas,” says Norman Owens OAM, chairman and founder of Australian Business Week and its Enterprise Education programs. H ow do we enable young people still at school to get a better understanding of business? That was the question the executive of the Parramatta Chamber of Commerce was asking back in 1993. Having recently completed an MBA, Norman Owens proposed that if students could get a taste of business by running their own simulated enterprises with input from the business community they could start to prepare for the world beyond the classroom. Today Australian Business Week (ABW), the not-for-proﬁt venture Norman established with his wife Margaret, a high school teacher, is providing enterprise education programs in schools, colleges and universities across Australia. In 2002 Norman was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his contribution to education. About 145,000 students have taken part in ABW Enterprise Education programs in Australia in the last 17 years, 10,724 participating in 2009. Norman says, “Many of the ideas are imaginary suggestions such as pills to enable you to speak a foreign language, or devices that can teleport you to another location or time but many are very practical and some have gone into production or been considered for production. “An idea that went into production was animal variants of the computer mouse [looking like] cows, sheep, etc. This product was commissioned by the Granny May shops and a royalty paid to the students.” A former ABW student, Justine Hart, wrote recently to Norman, “I have joined with a team of ﬁve other uni students who were inspired into action when we learnt two simple, yet staggering facts. Firstly, that two million people die each year due to lack of clean water and secondly, that Australians spend $600 million each year on bottled water. “The result? A new brand of water ... one bottle will provide at least one month’s ... water, called ‘Thank You Water’. [All] our proﬁt funds water projects, providing water to those who most desperately need it. ... “Thank You Water began as a dream with no money or experience to back it up. However, only a few months later, we have secured contracts with the largest private distributors around the country — something we were told we could never do. The support and donations received from people in assisting the launch of our vision has amazed us. We were nearly knocked off our chairs when our ﬁrst distributor put in [a] ﬁrst order for 50,000 bottles. ... we sometimes have selective hearing when it comes to the phrase ‘It can’t be done’ “The product is now rolling out in cafes and independent outlets in Vic, SA, WA, Qld and in a few weeks NSW. Now we are knocking on the doors of the big retailers and sharing with them the Thank You movement. “... one of the best things about our generation is we sometimes have selective hearing when it comes to the phrase ‘It can’t be done’.” ABW has developed a range of programs for senior high school, primary and middle school students, as well as tertiary students and corporate participants. The programs have been developed in collaboration with such universities as Sydney, Sydney (of Technology), Deakin, Queensland (of Technology), South Australia, Murdoch, and Curtin and major businesses and organisations including IBM, CPA Australia, Woolworths, Coca-Cola Amatil, Unilever and the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Programs are designed for the full range of students in Years 10, 11 and 12 and is typically conducted in-school for the entire Year 10 or 11 cohort. They let students take responsibility for their learning across the curriculum by running their own simulated business. The idea is to provide every young Australian with the opportunity to develop skills useful in the transition from school to work, including those to create and manage personal, community, business and work opportunities. The range of curriculum Norman Owens OAM with the Global Enterprise Challenge trophy. areas develop work-related skills including teamwork, time management, leadership and decision-making. The program is supported by a comprehensive kit, including manuals for participants, mentors and coordinators. Workshops initially train coordinators, usually senior teachers, and other members of organising groups in running the program. ABW works with teachers and about 2,000 volunteers in all Australian states and territories. Its operations employ innovative technology to minimise costs and are funded under a user-pays philosophy rather than sponsorship. Operations are essentially self-funding, each participant paying an average $46 for an intensive one-week program. Charges are kept to a cost recovery basis to encourage more students to participate. Occasionally there is private sponsorship (less than $10,000 in the last year) and Commonwealth and state government funding to develop new programs and resources but in the main ABW has shown that its business model is viable, sustainable and scalable. Internationally ABW has acted as the Australian organiser of the annual Global Enterprise Challenge since its inception in 2002. The GEC enjoys the support of the NASA and the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation. In 2008, ABW was the main organiser and host of this world-wide event, launched that year by the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Julia Gillard. ABW programs run in several countries, including England and Scotland. The programs are also being conducted under licence world-wide for employees of major corporations such as IBM, Dell and Fuji Xerox. More information about ABW programs is at www.abw.org.au 20 The Order, Winter 2010 Homage to the University of the Third Age People and places An acrostic by Eddy Abraham OAM Light Horse at Beersheba I am a native French speaker from Mauritius. Since my retirement in 2003 as an English as a Second Language Teacher at Kangan/Batman Institute of TAFE, I volunteer my services, teaching French to members of two Universities of the Third Age, namely Hume U3A and Yarra Valley U3A, both in Melbourne. My approach is to get the participants to acquire enough oral French to enable them to function in a French-speaking environment. I hope you ﬁnd my acrostic interesting. [Acrostic (n) a series of lines or verses in which the ﬁrst, last, or other particular letters, form a word or phrase.] The Light Horse bronze Memorial in Bicentennial Park, Tamworth, which cost $200,000. avid Evans OAM thought readers The video clip was shot on Mornington would like to see a part of Australian Station, just north of Tamworth, NSW, World War I history brought to life: the and can be seen on Youtube — James great Charge into Beersheba on October Blundell — Riding Into Town. 31, 1917. David says he plays only a David has been in radio and TV for minor role — “but the job James Blundell 34 years. He works at present as an and his ﬁlm crew did is remarkable”. announcer on ABC Radio at Tamworth. “I just happened to be the modern Light He was awarded an OAM on Australia Horse rider through the video sound clip. Day 2007, for, amongst other things, It is called Riding Into Town — James “being the person behind the Light Horse Blundell.” bronze Memorial in Bicentennial Park in David believes Beersheba was the Tamworth. It cost $200,000”. turning point for Australia in World War David also rides the mare shown in I “unlike the disaster two and a half years Light Horse re-enactment marches on earlier at Gallipoli”. Anzac Day and Beersheba Day. D Changing of the guard A fter a year at the helm of Middle East Area of Operations, Major General Mark Kelly AM (Mil) has formally handed the reins over to Major General John Cantwell AO (Mil). Defence personnel paraded and a ceremony at Australia’s main support base in the Area of Operations marked the change of command at the head of Joint Task Force 633. The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AC AFC, said the direction and professionalism exhibited by Major General Kelly during his tenure was in keeping with the ﬁnest General Kelly General Cantwell traditions of the ADF. In his farewell speech, Major General Kelly said the young men and women on parade and those across the Joint Task Force, including Australian public servants and contractors, had been a source of inspiration for him throughout his 12 months as their commander. Under an old adage, No adult of mature-age, Invested in great courage, Valiantly enough to project an image, Evident on the world stage! Redressing the situation, the grey army has turned the page, Seriously demonstrating to their entourage, Intellect is not any more on the wastage! Tireless years of accumulated educational mileage, Yearn now for intellectual leverage! Offers of courses are not in shortage. Facultative reinforcement rests on a safe anchorage! Tutors offer their services without claiming a wage. Huge choice of courses, including language, Enable members to take advantage! Time for ongoing pupillage, Harmoniously catered, for those who envisage! Irrespective of one’s heritage, Retirement takes on a new visage, Delving into memories of one’s lifelong voyage! Applaud all those, whose duties are to manage, Giving selﬂessly to their peerage! Enjoy the pleasant time that is sweet old age! OAMs run in the family T his year’s Australia Day Honours List included a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for Barbara Heine of Mt Macedon, Victoria, for service to the community through her work with hippotherapy — a health-service division of the Riding for Disabled Association — and to children and their families through her personal charity, the Kids and Families Foundation (KAFF). Five years ago, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of 2005, Barbara’s sister, Nanette Oates, was awarded an OAM for services to environmental management through the development of conservation programs and policies, and to the community through education about ﬁre safety. Their families think that it is pretty special that two sisters should each receive an OAM in such widely diverse ﬁelds of endeavour. Eddy Abraham with the then GovernorGeneral, Major General Michael Jeffrey AC CVO MC (Retd), at Government House, Canberra in February 2008. The Order, Winter 2010 21 People and places M ore than 500 recipients and guests attended a NSW Branch investiture event recently at NSW Parliament House, Sydney. Guests represented all NSW regions including Broken Hill, Thackaringa, Bourke, Nyngan and Hay, all replete with legends, grandeur and drama. The Order of Australia Association in NSW conducts these investiture events each year to celebrate the Association’s success, congratulate current recipients and generally support the future of members’ services in NSW. The number of guests having increased in the last two years, this is a strong platform to welcome new members to the association and have them meet established members. In 2009, the NSW branch established a new set of speaker events designed to welcome members after work at prime locations. Speakers have included Sir Lawrence Street AC, the Reverend Bill Crews AM and acclaimed author Thomas Keneally AM, all of whom attend the investiture events regularly. Medals for Korea veterans F our NSW veterans who served in post-armistice Korea have been presented with the Australian General Service Medal for Korea by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel, Alan Grifﬁn. They are Cecil (Bob) Robert Morris, Rodney Vincent Coupland, James Reardon and Noel Jackson. This fulﬁlled a recommendation of the 2005 Post-Armistice Korean Service Review to establish an Australian General Service Medal for Korea, providing recognition for Defence Force personnel who served in South Korea during the post-armistice period, 28 July 1953 to 19 April 1956. On 12 February 2010 it was announced that the design and regulations had been approved by Her Majesty the Queen. Level 12, 135 King Street, Sydney Picture: Gerald Charskey Some of the members who attended the recent Parliament House event (report at left). Survivor chosen as Australia Day envoy R ichard Rozen OAM was chosen by Victoria’s Australia Day Committee as an ambassador and addressed the small township of Girgarre, Victoria on Australia Day. His Order of Australia Medal was for services to chess and bridge as well as the community through the Jewish Holocaust Museum. Girgarre is 27km from Shepparton but a very long way from Radom, Poland, where he was born. He was six years old when he hid with his parents in a cupboard for 13 months, forced eventually to move to the Lubin Ghetto when their money ran out. Destined for the Treblinka Extermination Camp, the Rozencwajg family was smuggled to the safety of a Polish village where Richard spent several months disguised as a girl using the name Marisa Ulecki. He eventually joined his doctor father in the partisans and survived there for 18 months until liberation. His father was captured by the Germans in 1944 and never seen again. Richard Rozen arrived in Australia in 1951 with his mother. The 17-yearold studied electrical engineering at the RMIT, establishing a chess club, founding the St Kilda Chess Club two years later on. He went on to establish businesses in knitting and confectionery while adding bridge to his mental games ability, representing Australia in the World Bridge Championships in 1982. He turned his attention to the Child Survivors of the Holocaust, a group he convened in 1994. Among his chosen activities he lists being honorary treasurer, Katzetlers, Partisans and Fighters Association, a national chess master, bridge grand master, 11 years as President of the Victoria Bridge Association and 10 years as a guide in the Jewish Holocaust Museum. His wartime experiences were highlighted in Jane Mark’s novel The Hidden Children and Dr Paul Valent’s Child Survivors. Commenting on his appointment as an Australia Day ambassador, he says, “It is a huge privilege and honour for me. Australia has been wonderful to me and I am grateful for a chance to give something back. ...” Source: J-Wire The Order of Australia Association’s booklet of Orations 2003–2007 records the words and opinions of some of Australia’s ﬁnest minds: The 2003 Oration Science, Education and the Australian Experience by Prof. Peter Doherty AC The 2004 Oration Searching for the Real Australia by Dame Leonie Kramer AC DBE The 2005 Oration Advancing the National Interest and The Order of Australia by the Hon Sir James Gobbo AC CVO The 2006 Oration The Marginalisation of the Law in Australia: Sir Guy Green AC KBE CVO The 2007 Oration Federal Renewal and Unity in Reconciliation – A Return to Government by the People by Lieutenant General John Sanderson AC Price: $5.50 (incl GST) + postage. For a copy contact your OAA Branch. 22 The Order, Winter 2010 New president takes over T he National Committee is delighted that the Hon Shane Stone AC QC was appointed National President of the Association at the meeting held in Adelaide in February. He has had a distinguished career in public administration, politics, education, law and business. He took up the presidency with energy and enthusiasm and has already met the executive subcommittee and branches in several states to share his vision for the future of the Association. The national conference in Adelaide was well attended given the prevailing circumstances and provided a comprehensive variety of activities and events to entertain and engage members and guests. We were particularly grateful to His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AC CSC RANR, Governor of South Australia, for juggling engagements so that he was able to present the OAA Foundation scholarships at the conference dinner. The Association, the Foundation and Chairman’s Report – Summer 2009-2010 by Dina Browne AO the extraordinary awardees are indebted to His Excellency for his generosity of spirit and of time. O ne of the outcomes of the national committee meeting was the establishment of a subcommittee to explore options for the national By Roger Dace AM QGM, National Secretary National office notes Y ou will see from the letters pages in this edition of The Order that the changes in structure and content of our magazine have been generally well received but constructive criticism will help us move in the direction you think best. We have not yet been successful in ﬁnding an agency to take on the responsibility for selling advertising space. Although that remains a continuing task we are keen to hear from anyone who might wish to place advertisements for their own goods and services in The Order. For details please contact the Executive Ofﬁcer, Mrs Pamela Peterson, at oaasecretariat@ ozemail.com.au or by post to The Order of Australia Association, Old Parliament House, 18 Ready to come home King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600 or phone (02) 6273 0322 A t the last Directors’ meeting the National Committee established a new subcommittee under the coordination of Mr Mick Davis AM, Queensland Branch chairman, to consider the continuing relevance of our Constitution and associated practices. To make a submission contact the National Secretary at oaasecretariat@ozemail.com.au by June 30. The National Committee has accepted that increases in membership fees are a regrettable necessity. We hope that by offering members the opportunity to spread their membership fees over an extended period this will provide members and prospective members with the easiest practical way to remain in or join the Association. t a meeting between the GovernorGeneral and the Association’s new national president, Shane Stone AC QC, it became clear that the Governor-General is in favour of increasing, where possible, those branch community programs that will beneﬁt young people and indigenous communities. he next meeting of the National Committee will be held in Sydney on August 18. Branch chairmen are also directors of the Association so if you have an issue please raise it with your branch chairman well before that date. A In Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, recently, Chief of Army Lieut-Gen. Ken Gillespie AO farewelled Sarbi, an explosive-detection dog that vanished more than a year ago in an attack. Sarbi is in quarantine now, preparing for repatriation. T conference, the emphasis on making it more relevant and accessible and at lower cost. The committee, chaired by Mr Bill Galvin OAM (NSW) has been liaising with the Tasmanian conference committee and together they have designed a conference that does all the above. Although pre- and postconference tours are still available to those who want to extend their visits into holidays, the actual conference will be run over only two week days. This has reduced costs considerably and the Tasmanian Branch has also managed to keep the registration cost well down. The registration form and more information are elsewhere in The Order and on the web site. If you have been unable to attend a conference before, I commend this opportunity and suggest that you make early bookings. This helps the organisers and ensures that you will get a berth in very busy Hobart. I have noted before, in my reports in The Order, our concerns about membership and the role each member can play in actively encouraging recipients to join. The Association provides interest for members at all levels and we are working to increase its sphere of inﬂuence. I thank all the wonderful volunteers who help run the Association at national, branch and regional level. I am very appreciative of the commitment of the national directors/ branch chairmen, which ensures that the national committee remains effective and dynamic. Books 23 The Order, Winter 2010 This occasional book page will focus as much as possible on books written by or about people who have received an honour in the Order of Australia. The man who changed an evil world Nelson Mandela: A life in Photographs by David Elliott Cohen; text by John D Battersby Published by Sterling, New York; distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link, Windsor ISBN978140277707 3 RRP $34.99 Reviewed by Ian Mathews AM I t seems that he has always been in our mind’s eye, on the front pages, smiling gently with the powerful, addressing political leaders at the UN or in their national parliaments. It was not always so. This handsome coffee-table book deserves to be read for it contains six of Nelson Mandela's speeches, including one he could not deliver because of a ban on his speaking in public. Each reader will have an opinion of which is the most powerful. For me, it’s Mandela’s “statement from the dock” at his trial on April 20, 1964 when he was already serving ﬁve years’ imprisonment for leaving the country without a permit Mandela at his 1999 investiture as an honorary Companion in the Order of Australia. and for inciting people to strike in May 1961. His court speech sets out cogently and with terrible precision the evil effect of the apartheid system on human beings. He notes that the violence of the regime can only engender violence in return. Not surprisingly, his lawyerly eloquence failed to sway the court and he began his 27 years in prison. The mass of excellent photographs and descriptions, as well as the helpful footnotes, make this a book to treasure, to boast of your ownership, to share and, Lessons from Troy revisited Ransom, by David Malouf Published by: Knopf, Sydney 2009, ISBN: 9781741668377 pp224 RRP $29.95 Reviewed by Richard Murison D avid Malouf AO, winner of literary awards and prizes, has produced a beautifully written novel in Ransom. Malouf’s language, describing nature and country, is lyrical. His underlying theme is human relationships. He recounts the story of Achilles, Patroclus, Hector and Priam, King of Troy, in a very different way from the Iliad. The siege of Troy by the Hellenes happened about 1100 BC. Malouf re-enters this era of Troy, having heard half the story from a teacher in wartime Brisbane. In the ﬁrst 50 pages of the book he sets the background to Achilles’ committing an atrocity, which leads to Priam’s desperate vision. From the moment Priam and his wife, Hecumba, discuss putting his vision into action, the reader is captivated. In consulting her he is considerate of her tactics, ﬁnally leading to a family council of fascinating argument and counterargument. This book focuses on father and son bonds and those between bitter enemies; the overcoming of the worst of human feelings; and explores the relations between ruler and ruled, with their different feelings and knowledge of life. All this succeeds because of Malouf’s wonderful imagination. Ransom should be read by anyone curious to know why people need to hear storytelling. In taking a chance in human relations, what seems foolish is sometimes just what is most sensible. A classic photo from the book. one hopes, to learn from Nelson Mandela’s incredible life. A woman of compassion Mama Jude: An Australian nurse’s extraordinary other life in Africa By Judy Steel with Michael Sexton Published by ABC Books in association with HarperCollins [ISBN 978 0 7333 2478 9] pp301] C an one person solve the problems of illiteracy, HIV/AIDS, unemployment, hunger, lack of accommodation in Africa? No — but South Australian Judy Steel AO doesn’t accept that one person cannot make a difference. She’s living proof. She writes that, at 56 at the end of a successful career as a nurse and administrator, she and her husband Allan should have been planning their retirement. Instead she embarked on a new career, providing medical aid in the slums of Kampala but as well as a hospital, maternal-health clinic and physiotherapy centre she has established a literacy school for adults and a micro-credit bank and expanded into farming infrastructure. She hates AIDS, which has robbed much of Africa, especially Uganda, of generations. The old care for the very young who have AIDS from the womb. She writes, “Drugs that extend life and ease the pain of HIV in other parts of the world have been unavailable or outrageously expensive in Uganda.” Her book is about seven stints in Uganda, each time bringing medical supplies and solace to the dying. 24 The Order, Winter 2010 Ideas whose times have come I n the next few months we will be subjected to an onslaught of debates and points of view, all delivered in bite-sized cliches — entertainment masquerading as information. Election debates are about exposure, not explanations. New publishing ﬁrm Pantera Press has sought to bring order where now there is only discord. Its Why vs Why series adapts and improves on the “Yes” and “No” cases in referendums. The ﬁrst two publications are on nuclear power and gay marriage. Points of view and rebuttals of each argument are included in each. The reader decides which point of view should “begin” the book by turning the book over — each argument “begins” the paperback. Writers include Professor Ian Lowe AO, president of the Australian Conservation Foundation and a climate-change scientist against nuclear power. Turn the book over for the case for N-power by Professor Barry Brook, of Adelaide University’s Environment Institute. Bill Meuhlenberg, secretary of the Family Council of Victoria, puts the case against gay marriage. Turn the book over and Rodney Croome AM, puts the case for such unions. For more information go on line to www.WhyvsWhy.com M ention Australian–Indian relations and you are likely to hear about Indian students’ being bashed or the huge success of India’s 20-20 series or both. Is this all there is to the bilateral bonds? It may surprise you but a solid foundation has existed since Australia’s settlement, according to authors Peggy Holroyde AM and Joyce Westrip OAM. After 25 years of academic and neighbourhood research in both countries, they write, “... there is already a solid and lengthy foundation — indeed from 1788 onwards, when food from Calcutta and exchange of letters between governors was essential for survival — for Australia and India to build even stronger natural ties, especially in today’s complex global world”. Australian–Indian links, so long ignored or forgotten, include some scant knowledge of horses, the famous Walers being shipped out of Victoria and Western Australia for the Indian cavalry and poloplaying princes; jarrah logs exported for the sudden expansion of the Raj railway system after the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion (the Mutiny). This relationship with Asian neighbours came to an end in 1901 with federation and its ban on the threat of “cheap Asian labor”. The authors ask, “Why is India still neglected in Australian thinking, both at popular level as well as academic, when its rising industrial power and global clout are beginning to equal that of China, which so dominates Australia’s future policy projections? “And why is the vast majority of Indians so ignorant of the rapidly changing nature and increasingly sophisticated attitudes of cosmopolitan Australia?” Their timely ideas are explained in their co-authored book, Colonial Cousins: a surprising history of connections betweeen India and Australia published by Wakeﬁeld Press, Adelaide. Preserve the memory and acknowledge the support of others We can help you preserve the memory of your Investiture and acknowledge the support of family and associates who contributed to your award. We offer to : • supply you with a high-quality replica of your medal, with the appropriate ribbon; • copy your Warrant; • supply a plate with the details of your award; • prepare a display frame with two of your photographs from your Investiture day, as illustrated, or to your individual design. We offer other display options too, such as a smaller frame with a replica medal, ribbon and plate. If you use a replica medal in a frame you can display the original in its box. You might also consider having additional displays made for family members or for your supporters. Medals, Mementos & More Vic Medals & More Queensland Medals & More PO Box 375 Blackwood SA 5051 15 Stirling Crescent Glen Waverley VIC 3150 PO Box 412 Mooloolaba QLD 4557 Phone and Fax: (08) 8278 8530 Mobile: 0411 415 817 medalsandmore@bigpond.com www.medalsmementos.com Phone: (03) 9590 0052 Fax: (03) 9545 0101 Phone and Fax: (07) 5478 4830 Mobile: 0402 041 952 www.queenslandmedals.com kym@queenslandmedals.com vmedals@bigpond.net.au