Today is something of a grey day in Auckland having rained all night, and today is Anzac Day. I watched the National Remembrance Ceremony via television from Wellington. As we remember, I remember particularly Grandad Carter, my mum’s dad, a survivor of Gallipoli. He must have seen terrible things but never talked about them.
Grandad came to New Zealand when he was 17 years of age with 17 shillings in his pocket. He did farm work and later with some dogs became something of an agricultural contractor. After the war Grandad did not carry on with farming, however many settlers in New Zealand did farm and of course many returned soldiers were given parcels of land to begin a farming career.
Agriculture became the foundation of our economy and remains so although from time to time, tourism does earn us a bit more. We have led the world and perhaps the greatest example of forward thinking and innovation is evidenced in our dairy industry. Many small milk processing plants were set up in rural communities becoming the centre often of that community around which the post office, school and other services were established.
In the cycle of life, various of the factories combined into bigger more productive collectives and the smaller rural factories closed down, either left to rot or perhaps become reincarnated in a much later life as homes, other businesses or community centres with small museums and galleries.
As those collectives grew, Fonterra was created to make New Zealand a major competitive force in the international economy. Some people seem to think it is a large, faceless overseas corporation (bear in mind many urban kids believe milk comes in plastic bottle from the supermarket). Unlike the other seven processors of milk here of which many have some off-shore ownership, Fonterra is a co-operative of 10,500 New Zealand dairy farmers.
In an odd mix of socialism and free market expectations of an earlier Government, legislation was introduced to allow the formation of Fonterra in 2001 to promote competition at the farm gate giving farmers the ability to choose who they supplied. The legislation also required Fonterra to sell half of its domestic business and then supply those competitors with 250 million litres of milk each year.
Whilst the expectation may have been that the competitors Fonterra were forced to sell milk to would supply the domestic market, surprise, surprise, most decided to target the more lucrative export markets. In the New Zealand Farmers Weekly, columnist Alan Emmerson began his Opinion, “The recent fiasco about the price of milk is, in a word, ridiculous. Ridiculous because presumably we live in a free market and, as politicians have told us for decades, ‘the market decides’. It seems the market only decides when it is politically expedient to do so.”
I think the ultimate irony in this silly matter was a page in the NZ Herald on March 16. The feature was headed ‘Stop kowtowing to unfair prices.’ Yet immediately below that another article headed, ‘Broader measures needed to kick-start economy.’ And how do we propose to do that? Interfere in the ability of New Zealand’s dairy industry to earn $10.4billion in exports! Without milk our economy would be struggling. As prices increase there is more money coming into New Zealand. The NZ Institute of Economic Research has calculated that for every $1 increase in dairy payout it is worth $270 in the pocket of each and every New Zealander.
And let’s not forget that whilst once upon a time NZ’s productivity rated highly amongst OECD countries now we don’t even rate on that productivity radar. Interesting however, that agriculture was one of the most productive industries in the country from 2006 to 2009 according to Statistics NZ. Labour productivity alone (the amount of goods and services produced per worker) increased over the three years.
Which, in a roundabout way, brings me back to Anzac Day. There have been calls for the day to be a holiday. I heard one commentator on the radio say we work hard and given the occasion it would be appropriate to declare the day a public holiday. Without doubt we do work hard. Apparently New Zealanders work the longest hours on average than those in just about every other country in the OECD.
We work the longest hours, we are the least productive, and we need to stimulate the economy. Is the answer another paid non productive holiday, and political interference in the operation of one of the most productive industries and significant contributors to our economy?
As a post script, we attended the Royal Easter Show which includes both the largest wine and art shows in the country. The Grand Champion Syrah was the Villa Maria Reserve Syrah 2009. Nautilus was the Champion Sparkling.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Beauty and the Beast – the saving grace of the Christchurch refugee centre.
I have been wrestling with many competing ideas for my next BLOG. The decision was made for me when I read an email from my friend Jilly Thomas - I have decided to simply post her email -
Today I had the pleasure of working a 9 hour shift, from 7.30 am to 4.30pm at the Chch refugee centre, set up by Civil Defence, in the Faith Church in Lambie Drive, Manukau. The behind the scenes organisation was mind boggling and I met the most amazing people from all walks of life including those who were to help and those who needed help.
My hat goes off to Red Cross, their staff and volunteers. To Civil Defence. To Victim Support. To NZ Housing. To WINZ; to CYFS; to ministry of social welfare; to Min Health and the DHB's; to Faith Church; to Auckland Council and to everyone else involved. The logistics was well thought out and there were numerous community organisations involved.
I spent some time talking with a social worker from the Pacific Islands who was there to support Muslim refugees - the fact that some of these people have already gone through massive upheavals in their own country and after years of living in refugee camps have finally made it to NZ for a better life, then to be exposed to the terror of the earthquake. With English as a second language and little understanding of the support for refugees they are afraid of ending up in another refugee camp. That's just one example of NZ’s community groups and how the earthquake has impacted on them.
I offered a sympathetic ear, listened to their stories & fought back the tears.
Some just needed to download their experiences - where they were on Tuesday, what they saw, how lucky they feel to be alive, that it could have been worse. The young mother now separated from her premature baby, she at the refugee centre and the baby across the city in Waitakere hospital. The young man who arrived yesterday and had the best night's sleep in over 6 months despite being woken by the sound of a plane flying overhead which reminded him of the noise of the earthquake - he was lucky he could rationalise that it was only a plane and went back to sleep. No shaking of the bed, no rocking or short sharp jolts.
Concerns ranged from "they were cooking at the time - what happens when the power goes back on? What about their cat? How guilty they feel about leaving in-laws and extended family behind. They talked about the support from the army, the fire brigade, the police, the government. One person even recounted how he saw a helicopter flying overhead with a port-a-loo. Such surreal experiences.
They are bravely picking up the pieces, they want the best for their families. I met people of all ages who are shocked and traumatised. Who have lost their homes, their businesses, their security. Some only have the clothes they arrived in. An Indian couple, vegetarians, lived on fruit for 9 days and had their first full meals last night.
Yet, what all these refugees have in common - no matter what their culture or creed - is resilience, patience, guts and determination. The will to survive and make a new life for themselves. Some were in the centre for hours waiting for temporary accommodation to be organised for them. No-one complained. They were all grateful for the tea, coffee, water and biscuits that were offered to them. To be able to flush a loo.
So the 9 hours I spent today was such a miniscule intrusion in my life - it is nothing compared to what these refugees have been through and what they will be going through for days, weeks years, to come. Yes, I would volunteer again.
Want to help? - organise a class fund raising event by washing cars or making and selling cupcakes; donate clothing, school uniforms, blankets; financial contributions to Red Cross Christchurch earthquake appeal; support organisations and companies that are fundraising by purchasing their products. Volunteer to sell 'I love Chch' t- shirts. Food products not required.
Jilly Thomas
Newmarket
Sat 5/03/2011 7:11 p.m
Today I had the pleasure of working a 9 hour shift, from 7.30 am to 4.30pm at the Chch refugee centre, set up by Civil Defence, in the Faith Church in Lambie Drive, Manukau. The behind the scenes organisation was mind boggling and I met the most amazing people from all walks of life including those who were to help and those who needed help.
My hat goes off to Red Cross, their staff and volunteers. To Civil Defence. To Victim Support. To NZ Housing. To WINZ; to CYFS; to ministry of social welfare; to Min Health and the DHB's; to Faith Church; to Auckland Council and to everyone else involved. The logistics was well thought out and there were numerous community organisations involved.
I spent some time talking with a social worker from the Pacific Islands who was there to support Muslim refugees - the fact that some of these people have already gone through massive upheavals in their own country and after years of living in refugee camps have finally made it to NZ for a better life, then to be exposed to the terror of the earthquake. With English as a second language and little understanding of the support for refugees they are afraid of ending up in another refugee camp. That's just one example of NZ’s community groups and how the earthquake has impacted on them.
I offered a sympathetic ear, listened to their stories & fought back the tears.
Some just needed to download their experiences - where they were on Tuesday, what they saw, how lucky they feel to be alive, that it could have been worse. The young mother now separated from her premature baby, she at the refugee centre and the baby across the city in Waitakere hospital. The young man who arrived yesterday and had the best night's sleep in over 6 months despite being woken by the sound of a plane flying overhead which reminded him of the noise of the earthquake - he was lucky he could rationalise that it was only a plane and went back to sleep. No shaking of the bed, no rocking or short sharp jolts.
Concerns ranged from "they were cooking at the time - what happens when the power goes back on? What about their cat? How guilty they feel about leaving in-laws and extended family behind. They talked about the support from the army, the fire brigade, the police, the government. One person even recounted how he saw a helicopter flying overhead with a port-a-loo. Such surreal experiences.
They are bravely picking up the pieces, they want the best for their families. I met people of all ages who are shocked and traumatised. Who have lost their homes, their businesses, their security. Some only have the clothes they arrived in. An Indian couple, vegetarians, lived on fruit for 9 days and had their first full meals last night.
Yet, what all these refugees have in common - no matter what their culture or creed - is resilience, patience, guts and determination. The will to survive and make a new life for themselves. Some were in the centre for hours waiting for temporary accommodation to be organised for them. No-one complained. They were all grateful for the tea, coffee, water and biscuits that were offered to them. To be able to flush a loo.
So the 9 hours I spent today was such a miniscule intrusion in my life - it is nothing compared to what these refugees have been through and what they will be going through for days, weeks years, to come. Yes, I would volunteer again.
Want to help? - organise a class fund raising event by washing cars or making and selling cupcakes; donate clothing, school uniforms, blankets; financial contributions to Red Cross Christchurch earthquake appeal; support organisations and companies that are fundraising by purchasing their products. Volunteer to sell 'I love Chch' t- shirts. Food products not required.
Jilly Thomas
Newmarket
Sat 5/03/2011 7:11 p.m
Saturday, February 5, 2011
On Horses and People
A friend of mine loaned me a book recently,J.B. Cummings,BART My Life. Anyone who knows anything at all about thoroughbred racing will know the name of the man regarded as probably Australia's greatest horse trainer. His memoir was winner of the the Australian book industry award for Biography 2010.
Not only is it interesting from a horse point of view, but there is also great life and management learning.
The first of many important lessons appears early where Bart notes there is no magic. He says, "...there is relentless work, discipline, adherence to your methods and plans, taking a genuine interest in the horse's welfare, and, above all, plain commonsense."
A great mentor of mine said many years ago, "The problem with commonsense is that it is not too common." Where does commonsense come from? How do we get it? Like judgement, I don't think it can be taught. It is something learned from experience.
Bart believed that his real education began when he left school early and worked for his father. He noted that his father was more interested in making him think, always encouraging him to ask questions. One of the lessons learnt was that when horses are well looked after, they appreciate it, they never forget. Bart's father felt that horses were often riddles waiting to be worked out. "Soon I realised that this was why Dad was so quiet: every scrap of information, every insight and observation about every one of his horses he was retaining in his mind," said Bart.
Coincidentally, I watched a broadcast on TED.com by the deaf percussionist Evelyne Glennie. She was illustrating how listening to music involves much more than simply letting sounds hit your eardrums.I found one comment particularly pertinent to my topic, "In the same way I need time with this intstrument, I need time with people to interpret them.Not just translate them, but interpret them."
Such insights and much of what Bart writes is timely as I am working with our thoroughbred colt. As a foal he was a lovely tractable fellow, learning quickly. Suddenly, about the time he was twelve months old, his behaviour became coltish and I was no longer able to work with him in the paddock, let alone get him to the barn.
It took four of us and a more mature horse to herd him into our barn. Suffice it to say, after some time, we are kind of friends again. I say 'kind of' because I am accutely aware of how tenuous our relationship is as he watches me intently for an excuse not to trust me. The continued relationship depends entirely on how I behave. One ill considered, impatient mistake on my part and all will be lost.
Bart talks about understanding horses behaviour, and when hiring stable staff, he looks for horsemen who shared his view, "...that the horse's happiness comes first. You really have to love the horse and read its moods. A lot of trainers do not put themselves in the horse's skin and do not ask themselves why horses are behaving in a certain way. Horses are always sending you messages, and you need to learn their language. Unless you are Mister Ed, they won't tell you in english. You need to have empathy."
Substitute the word 'people' for the word 'horse' and the word 'manager' for 'trainer'...
It seems that no matter how much experience I accumulate there is always more to learn. In my areas of interest which include, people, horses and management, this means, to paraphrase the words of the great horseman, There is no magic. Only relentless work. People/horses are riddles waiting to be worked out.
Evelyn Glennie's words noted earlier make a fitting conclusion. " I need time with people to interpret them. Not just translate them, but interpret them."
Not only is it interesting from a horse point of view, but there is also great life and management learning.
The first of many important lessons appears early where Bart notes there is no magic. He says, "...there is relentless work, discipline, adherence to your methods and plans, taking a genuine interest in the horse's welfare, and, above all, plain commonsense."
A great mentor of mine said many years ago, "The problem with commonsense is that it is not too common." Where does commonsense come from? How do we get it? Like judgement, I don't think it can be taught. It is something learned from experience.
Bart believed that his real education began when he left school early and worked for his father. He noted that his father was more interested in making him think, always encouraging him to ask questions. One of the lessons learnt was that when horses are well looked after, they appreciate it, they never forget. Bart's father felt that horses were often riddles waiting to be worked out. "Soon I realised that this was why Dad was so quiet: every scrap of information, every insight and observation about every one of his horses he was retaining in his mind," said Bart.
Coincidentally, I watched a broadcast on TED.com by the deaf percussionist Evelyne Glennie. She was illustrating how listening to music involves much more than simply letting sounds hit your eardrums.I found one comment particularly pertinent to my topic, "In the same way I need time with this intstrument, I need time with people to interpret them.Not just translate them, but interpret them."
Such insights and much of what Bart writes is timely as I am working with our thoroughbred colt. As a foal he was a lovely tractable fellow, learning quickly. Suddenly, about the time he was twelve months old, his behaviour became coltish and I was no longer able to work with him in the paddock, let alone get him to the barn.
It took four of us and a more mature horse to herd him into our barn. Suffice it to say, after some time, we are kind of friends again. I say 'kind of' because I am accutely aware of how tenuous our relationship is as he watches me intently for an excuse not to trust me. The continued relationship depends entirely on how I behave. One ill considered, impatient mistake on my part and all will be lost.
Bart talks about understanding horses behaviour, and when hiring stable staff, he looks for horsemen who shared his view, "...that the horse's happiness comes first. You really have to love the horse and read its moods. A lot of trainers do not put themselves in the horse's skin and do not ask themselves why horses are behaving in a certain way. Horses are always sending you messages, and you need to learn their language. Unless you are Mister Ed, they won't tell you in english. You need to have empathy."
Substitute the word 'people' for the word 'horse' and the word 'manager' for 'trainer'...
It seems that no matter how much experience I accumulate there is always more to learn. In my areas of interest which include, people, horses and management, this means, to paraphrase the words of the great horseman, There is no magic. Only relentless work. People/horses are riddles waiting to be worked out.
Evelyn Glennie's words noted earlier make a fitting conclusion. " I need time with people to interpret them. Not just translate them, but interpret them."
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Finding the Right Kind of Help
I have the privilege of being the Chairman of Trustees of the Franklin Family Support Trust. Although the ‘new’ Franklin is a district of the re-constituted Auckland City, the Trust serves the ‘old’ Franklin which is now spread across three different local bodies.
One thing that came as something of a shock to me is the number of various agencies and organisations, both Government and NGO that operate in the Franklin to help those in need. Some 80 or so!
I remember a story told to me by the previous CEO of the Franklin Family Support Trust, Jill Dean, on the scene that greeted staff first thing one morning at their Pukekohe Office. A young woman turned up with a couple of children. She was high on drugs, throwing up, and clearly distressed. She had decided she couldn’t stand ‘it’ anymore and was going to commit suicide. She didn’t want anyone to help her, she just wanted someone to take care of the children. It transpired the kids hadn’t been going to school, and when they did, they were disruptive. It seems they had no home. The tipping point was probably the eviction notice.
Just take a moment and try to think how many different agencies would need to be involved with the scenario to try and rescue this family, starting with the Trust, then the ambulance, then Child Youth and Family, and so on.
How does anyone who is highly stressed even begin the process of determining who they should turn to for help? And even if they could, now they have to find them then deal with the multiple bureaucracies. It is simply not going to happen.
According to Wendy Martin, the current CEO of Franklin Family Support, “Experience has shown us that people look for social services when they have exhausted their own resources and these barriers can become insurmountable to them”.
Wendy tells how The Trust set about developing a simple, one page common referral process for referrers (e.g. Health, Education and Justice) into social and community services. The aim of the initiative was to collaborate and form partnerships with the government sector along with all social and community service providers in Franklin to simply provide a common point of contact and assessment of need. "Government services struggle to link families to the NGO sector resulting in families falling through the gaps", said Wendy.
It has now been easier and quicker for individuals, health service providers, educators and the police to refer into services. Earlier, preventative, non-statutory, voluntary intervention, which makes better use of professional services and smarter use of available resources, can only result in healthier, stronger, safer, well-resourced and well-supported families.
Our community now benefits from decreased truancy, decreased crime and improved social wellbeing.
Wendy notes that, “Collaboration is the organisational expression of interdependence, an expression of exactly what we’re trying to encourage and build in our community. It’s my strong belief that if we, as service providers, can’t reflect this in our work, we can’t realistically expect this from our clients either”.
Wendy Martin, her predecessor Jill Dean and their staff and volunteers have worked over a number of years to get this concept accepted, find the seed funding, get the project underway and of course, continue to look for funding and resources to sustain it.
You can read more about this common referral system by reading the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations BLOG published by their Communications Manager, David Barrow. Go to their website http://www.nzfvwo.org.nz/ for more information and resources.
p.s. A year later, the young mother I referred to earlier, was well, in a housing corp house, the kids were at school and doing well and she had a job. All of that was coordinated and facilitated by the staff of the Trust.
One thing that came as something of a shock to me is the number of various agencies and organisations, both Government and NGO that operate in the Franklin to help those in need. Some 80 or so!
I remember a story told to me by the previous CEO of the Franklin Family Support Trust, Jill Dean, on the scene that greeted staff first thing one morning at their Pukekohe Office. A young woman turned up with a couple of children. She was high on drugs, throwing up, and clearly distressed. She had decided she couldn’t stand ‘it’ anymore and was going to commit suicide. She didn’t want anyone to help her, she just wanted someone to take care of the children. It transpired the kids hadn’t been going to school, and when they did, they were disruptive. It seems they had no home. The tipping point was probably the eviction notice.
Just take a moment and try to think how many different agencies would need to be involved with the scenario to try and rescue this family, starting with the Trust, then the ambulance, then Child Youth and Family, and so on.
How does anyone who is highly stressed even begin the process of determining who they should turn to for help? And even if they could, now they have to find them then deal with the multiple bureaucracies. It is simply not going to happen.
According to Wendy Martin, the current CEO of Franklin Family Support, “Experience has shown us that people look for social services when they have exhausted their own resources and these barriers can become insurmountable to them”.
Wendy tells how The Trust set about developing a simple, one page common referral process for referrers (e.g. Health, Education and Justice) into social and community services. The aim of the initiative was to collaborate and form partnerships with the government sector along with all social and community service providers in Franklin to simply provide a common point of contact and assessment of need. "Government services struggle to link families to the NGO sector resulting in families falling through the gaps", said Wendy.
It has now been easier and quicker for individuals, health service providers, educators and the police to refer into services. Earlier, preventative, non-statutory, voluntary intervention, which makes better use of professional services and smarter use of available resources, can only result in healthier, stronger, safer, well-resourced and well-supported families.
Our community now benefits from decreased truancy, decreased crime and improved social wellbeing.
Wendy notes that, “Collaboration is the organisational expression of interdependence, an expression of exactly what we’re trying to encourage and build in our community. It’s my strong belief that if we, as service providers, can’t reflect this in our work, we can’t realistically expect this from our clients either”.
Wendy Martin, her predecessor Jill Dean and their staff and volunteers have worked over a number of years to get this concept accepted, find the seed funding, get the project underway and of course, continue to look for funding and resources to sustain it.
You can read more about this common referral system by reading the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations BLOG published by their Communications Manager, David Barrow. Go to their website http://www.nzfvwo.org.nz/ for more information and resources.
p.s. A year later, the young mother I referred to earlier, was well, in a housing corp house, the kids were at school and doing well and she had a job. All of that was coordinated and facilitated by the staff of the Trust.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
On Jandals & Entrepreneurs
Yesterday October 4th saw the anniversary of Morris Yock’s trade marking of the jandal. The story of how Auckland businessman and his son Anthony began manufacturing the jandal in their garage in Te Papapa in 1957 is an interesting read and you can get in a nutshell on http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/timeline/4/10
I thought it interesting the Microsoft Outlook dictionary doesn’t know about jandals.
The day before, I had a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast with a dear and long time friend. We were at Shed 16, just off the motorway on Jesmond Road, Drury, south of Auckland. I must digress momentarily to tell you that unlike many places, their coffee was deliciously hot.
The rendezvous was also an opportunity to meet her new friend, a most interesting entrepreneur who is producing a portable building which folds up into a container for transport, then just unfolds again when located. We had seen these at the Mystery Creek Field Days and at a Homes Show in Auckland. http://www.habode.com/overview.html
Rod and I talked about getting great ideas off the ground. My interest of course is in building business cultures which encourage creativity and innovation. Rod’s perspective was of someone who actually does it!
In the back of my mind as we talked was a recent NZ Herald article, “New Zealand economy gets a C, must try harder.” [30 Sept 2010 / B4] The article by Owen Hembry noted, “The country is not a star performer and was often behind the average when compared with a peer group of OECD countries.” In fact, we were graded ‘D’ on Innovations and business sophistication, 20th of 31 peer countries. Really, that’s a terrible rating isn’t it?
New Zealand has an Economic Growth Agenda which encompasses six main policy drivers, one of which is supposed to be support for science, innovation and trade. You can read more about that on www.med.govt.nz
Why isn’t it working?
The discussion with Rod reminded me of the story I had heard before, especially when I chaired our local Economic Development Agency. There just isn’t the investment money around to get the new ideas off the ground. We know where that money went of course, into highly speculative and badly run finance companies all in the hope of ‘too good to be true’ returns. And now there is even less money available to invest in our economic development as the Government bales out the failures – all good capital straight down the long, dark and unproductive drain hole.
As Rod and others like him have said, nobody really wants to know you, and the Ministry of Economic Development is no exception, until you have an obvious success on your hands, and then the few investors around want your soul as part of the deal.
In my view, that’s hardly a culture which encourages creativity, innovation, or economic development.
I thought it interesting the Microsoft Outlook dictionary doesn’t know about jandals.
The day before, I had a leisurely Sunday morning breakfast with a dear and long time friend. We were at Shed 16, just off the motorway on Jesmond Road, Drury, south of Auckland. I must digress momentarily to tell you that unlike many places, their coffee was deliciously hot.
The rendezvous was also an opportunity to meet her new friend, a most interesting entrepreneur who is producing a portable building which folds up into a container for transport, then just unfolds again when located. We had seen these at the Mystery Creek Field Days and at a Homes Show in Auckland. http://www.habode.com/overview.html
Rod and I talked about getting great ideas off the ground. My interest of course is in building business cultures which encourage creativity and innovation. Rod’s perspective was of someone who actually does it!
In the back of my mind as we talked was a recent NZ Herald article, “New Zealand economy gets a C, must try harder.” [30 Sept 2010 / B4] The article by Owen Hembry noted, “The country is not a star performer and was often behind the average when compared with a peer group of OECD countries.” In fact, we were graded ‘D’ on Innovations and business sophistication, 20th of 31 peer countries. Really, that’s a terrible rating isn’t it?
New Zealand has an Economic Growth Agenda which encompasses six main policy drivers, one of which is supposed to be support for science, innovation and trade. You can read more about that on www.med.govt.nz
Why isn’t it working?
The discussion with Rod reminded me of the story I had heard before, especially when I chaired our local Economic Development Agency. There just isn’t the investment money around to get the new ideas off the ground. We know where that money went of course, into highly speculative and badly run finance companies all in the hope of ‘too good to be true’ returns. And now there is even less money available to invest in our economic development as the Government bales out the failures – all good capital straight down the long, dark and unproductive drain hole.
As Rod and others like him have said, nobody really wants to know you, and the Ministry of Economic Development is no exception, until you have an obvious success on your hands, and then the few investors around want your soul as part of the deal.
In my view, that’s hardly a culture which encourages creativity, innovation, or economic development.
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