• Project Manager (S15CM0052)...
• Project Manager - Trading...
• MANAGER STRATEGIC INDUSTRY...
• Technical Support / Network...
• Marketing Manager

Getting too comfortable

IDG News Service, Information Age

14/02/2002 17:12:47

Getting too comfortable

Thank you to David Hills and Dennis Doyle for asking me to speak here tonight.

I was asked to speak here tonight about two months ago. Frankly, I had to think about it for about four seconds - before I said yes.

I relish the chance to speak with such an exciting group of young Australians.

Perhaps partially because, at your age I was certainly not a young achiever, I would not have qualified to be here tonight. I was not a school prefect, even a house prefect, I played no sport and was very, very awkward.

So at one level, tonight is my chance to hang out with you, the class of 2001 Young Achievers. In a sense, tonight is my chance - perhaps I speak for many of the so-called adults here - to suck up to you. I mean, that's if you don't mind if we tag along?

What I hoped to do tonight is try and talk a bit about the opportunity I see in Australia. I don't want to be too harsh on what I might loosely call my generation - and I consider that to be everyone here older than you - but we have pretty much failed to seize the opportunity.

I know I have about 13 minutes left, and I know you want to get to Awards, the dessert and to the DJ, so I am going to try very quickly to touch on three little issues:

(a) The Global Geopolitical Balance; (b) The International Economy and (c) - for good measure - the State of the Australian NationTo do this I want to use a slightly over simplified principle that I call the Prickly Principle. The Prickly Principle states:

1. Action should be taken to prevent, not merely to respond to a crisis2. Comfort is the enemy of Action3. We need to be a little uncomfortable if we are to avoid a crisisTo go over those:

Part 1, "Action should be taken to prevent…" should be self-explanatory. Part 2, "Comfort is the enemy of Action". You only need a remote control, a TV and a couch to know that . As a comedian we worked with once said: "When I was a young boy we had it tough, we had to stand up, walk six feet to the TV every time we wanted to change the channel."

As Australians we are very comfortable.

Imagine this. If you do nothing, other than get a job, you'll be guaranteed to finish in the top 3 per cent of the world's wealthiest people. Imagine a class where doing nothing but turning up got you 97 per cent in the final exam? That is how comfortable we are.

Part 3, "We need to be a little uncomfortable if we are to avoid crisis", is not about the Regent Hotel's cushioned seats or wearing tight shoes. It is about mental comfort.

It is about being prepared to act even when doing so makes you uncomfortable. It is about accepting discomfort as a necessary part of life. Not something to be afraid of, something to embrace if we are to achieve what we desire.

I will try briefly to apply the Prickly Principle to A, The Global Geopolitical Balance, B The International Economy and C, the State of the Australian Nation.

As perhaps my 15 minutes does not quite allow me to address all the issues in the Global Geopolitical Balance, let me just look at the events of September 11 in isolation.

In 1997, we knew that groups associated with Mr. Bin Laden had plans to fly highjacked planes into the World Trade Centre. This was uncovered during investigation into the 1993 bombing of the same buildings; I paid close attention as my wife was working in the buildings at the time and we were living four blocks from the Twin Towers.

The truck bomb did not work, and we knew Mr. Bin Laden was still intent on attacking the West. We knew he wanted to do it; we knew how he wanted to do it; - yet we did nothing. Why? Because the West was enjoying the greatest period of comfort mankind had ever seen, the greatest creation of so-called "wealth" in history.

Where was the call to address the threat? Where was the call to address inequality of opportunity around the world? Where was the action? Buried under a soft blanket of new-found comfort.

B. The International Economy

Again, my time perhaps limits me to just one part of this issue. I want to touch on the Internet bubble; not that it was an unprecedented consumer of cash, and not that a couple of great things have come out of it, but rather that it demonstrated, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you, your generation, cannot rely on our generation to look after the economy.

At the height of the boom, companies were trading at absurd levels: so absurd that professional investors buying the stocks knew they were absurd. Yet, we did nothing about it. As we all know it resulted in a collapse, and much economic pain. Those that spoke out about it, those that said the uncomfortable truths, were mocked. Even the legendary US investor, Warren Buffett, the world's most successful investor, was ridiculed for his 1999 article in Fortune magazine.

So what you know, is not to rely on our generation to ACT before there is a crisis. We have already shown we are rather fond of comfort - that we like the couch, so to speak.

And, perhaps more dangerously, that we will shout down the wisdom from the smartest amongst us.

Final area: The State of the Australian NationIn my remaining four minutes I will touch on the three R's - Refugees, Reconciliation and Republic.

In each of these three areas I believe we have a crisis. A crisis caused by inaction. In-action caused by our relative comfort.

The so called "Refugee Crisis" exists because as a nation we failed to address the issue of immigration until it was (again) a matter or refugees landing on our coast. One of the major parties is presently canvassing opinion on what the desired population level for Australia should be. After the election they are forming a view! Running a country without a population plan is like running a business without a business plan, like cooking dinner not knowing how many will be fed. When a few extra turn up, all of a sudden it's a crisis. The Refugee issue is just the symptom of failing to address immigration as a nation until it became a crisis.

Reconciliation. To some it is hardly a crisis, however I suggest that view is held more by those who have not witnessed the destruction in the most disadvantaged indigenous communities. The gap between the majority of Australia and the most disadvantaged indigenous communities is a crisis.

And finally, the Republic. Again, hardly what many people would call a crisis. Nothing threatens our constitution - for now. Nothing threatens our State - for now. But what the constitutional debate represents is a crisis of confidence.

On returning to Australia people ask me frequently "do I like it here?", "Is it OK?", "Isn't it boring after New York?"

Do I like it? Are you kidding? This place is paradise. The water is clean, roads work, healthcare is world class, schools stable, beaches close or country near, economically and politically stable and a growing economy. We must recognise what a great country we have and have confidence to make Australia what it can be.

Addressing Immigration, Indigenous issues and constitution change are hard issues, and at times bloody boring issues, but I believe they are core to Australia building confidence as a nation.

The confidence to not say "Do you like it here?" but rather, "Glad to have you back. Did you bring us anything useful? What are you going to do to make Australia a better place, today?"

But these are comfortable times. The refugees are off playing volley ball in Nauru, the Republic is a Mambo T-shirt, and reconciliation is still walking over a bridge somewhere.

If Australia is going to address these issues I believe it will be because people like you have done the uncomfortable and raised issues when others are happily sitting on the couch.

So why did I set out to say all this tonight? Frankly it is "Enlightened Self-Interest". In this room we have a group of young people, who have self-selected to act when they could have sat back and watched.

A group of people who risked ridicule. A group of people who didn't rely on the generation before them to come up with all the answers.

A group of people who wanted to make the outcome of their action their own.

I am saying all this - as I believe this group of people contains many who will help lead us to a better balance in the world.

I commend you all.

You had it comfortable and you chose to act. You have been successful and tonight is your night.

However, please don't let it make you too comfortable.

Because if you sit back in the couch, clinging to your award from tonight, then we've lost some of the best team we've got.

Thank you for inviting me tonight. It really is a pleasure. Please do enjoy the rest of the night before you get up in the morning and get going about changing the world.