Archive Article: Making The Most Of The New Era. 3rd Oct 03
December 23, 2008

Australia is an oasis of peace in a world of turmoil. It is necessary to get this country’s problems in perspective – they are not nearly as bad as they are in other parts of the world. It is important that we do not become overwhelmed with fear. This is particularly so in Australia, where we really have so much going for us.

Last week I spoke at the crowded Batemans Bay Outstanding Business Awards Dinner. Wesley Uniting Employment was one of the Dinner’s sponsors. Batemans Bay is itself a good example of renewal and growth. It is a hive of activity. It is much different from being the sleepy little fishing village it used to be. It is now the country’s fastest growing local government area in population terms. Despite the increased population, the unemployment rate has been reduced.

But even other parts of the world are looking up. The fact is, the rich are getting richer – and the poor are getting richer (albeit at a slower rate). There is a gap between rich and poor – but even so, the average poor person today is much better off than they would have been a hundred years ago, no matter which country they live in. Going to the dentist a century ago – even if you were the richest person in the world – would have been a frightening experience. In Australia we do not have the same type of appalling poverty that we had a century ago. Even social welfare clients have their own mobile telephones – I can remember a time in England when only the rich had telephones at home. Australia now has more telephones than it has people.

Additionally, the world is liberating the brainpower of many more people than ever before. If we assume that brainpower is scattered evenly across countries, across genders and across races, then the world has been relying on a limited source of brainpower for too long: white male middle class brains.

Now we are giving far more attention to educating women and blacks. We will be able to make use of the combined brainpower of 6 billion people. Who knows where all this brainpower will lead. Therefore education and training are very important for making the most of mobilizing brainpower.

Additionally, business has changed its conception of workers. The old view was that the workers were lazy and unreliable and so they had to be supervised; but the supervisors were also lazy and unreliable and so they had to be supervised by managers, but the managers were also lazy and unreliable, and so on.

Now we have a different view of workers: they are bright, innovative, full of initiative. Turn them loose and let them make a profit. The best workers are the empowered ones, who are able to make the most of their initiative. Therefore, again education and training are important to help workers make the most of their skills – and for business to create the right environment for workers to flourish. Australia has a bright future because it has all the right ingredients. The key factors for economic growth are: the ability to grow a country’s food, natural resources, sources of energy, stable government, and an educated work force.

All the parts of the jigsaw are available for Australia. The challenge is to make sure that the jigsaw gets assembled in the right way.

Organizations like Wesley Uniting Employment are helping us to make the most of our opportunities

Broadcast Friday 3rd October 2003 on Radio 2GB’s “Brian Wilshire Programme” at 9pm.