Author: jkirkby8712

On this dull Saturday morning, the ‘Spring like’ weather has disappeared, but although it is much cooler than during the past week, not much rain has been seen around here – it is overcast, and remained that way when I went for an early walk this morning.   A little later, it was just 13 degrees, going up top a predicted maximum of 14 degrees, but I doubt it will climb any more from where it currently sits. Looking ahead for the coming week, we won’t be seeing any more runs of 20 degrees+ for the time being.  Our tease of Springtime warmth has moved on!!

 

Email news from my former university, the University of Melbourne, notes tomorrow holding a vote for the University’s new Alumni Council, for which nominations have been called for over recent weeks. I actually vaguely thought of putting  my hand up as a ‘self nomination ‘ but eventually thought the better of it. While I have kept in touch with the university publications and activities since finishing my degree in the 1970s, I certainly haven’t had any active involvement with the Alumni group, and while the role as a Council member could have some interesting aspects, I didn’t feel justified in expressing interest, and in any case, the time and commitment would probably be beyond me, especially with the university’s location in Carlton. I’m trying to get rid of unnecessary city traffic woes, that would only be adding another dimension!!

 

Anyway, I can still have a voice – for the first time all alumni will be able to vote via an online election and determine who will be the formal voice of the University’s alumni community. Nearly 40 candidates will vie for one of six elected seats on the new Council. This body will ultimately have 16 representatives and report to the University Council. In addition to the six elected by alumni, eight members will be appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and two non-voting staff representatives will take up the charge and form the Council.  Graduates, such as myself, have previously had representation through the Committee of Convocation, a longstanding group that dates back to the 1860s and that originally assisted in university governance.  However as the University’s governance arrangements strengthened, the role of the Convocation over time changed. In 2009, the state government initiated a review of the University Act.   ‘This prompted a reassessment of the best mechanism to represent all alumni, and in 2011, led to the creation of the Alumni Council’, which will be tasked with identifying key issues and providing constructive input to assist and address these.  Broadly, these could include enhancing the student experience, supporting career-focused initiatives to assist alumni and students, guiding alumni programming, promoting the University and helping raise philanthropic support. Ultimately, it’s hoped  that the Council will encourage greater two-way communication with the alumni community and strengthen connections between the University and alumni.  There are over 275,000 alumni worldwide and last year only 11,000 of this group were involved in alumni activities. The university wants to double this in the next three to four years. The aim is to encourage alumni to identify with the University and its mission, and be able to pinpoint areas that  are directly relevant to their lives. This may be through learning, networking, online content, access to leaders and innovators, career opportunities, discounted services and study, provision of targeted information, and some things that have yet to be created.  The new University Statute 3.1 is clear in articulating that the Alumni Council needs to represent the diversity of the alumni body.  It is hoped that members will represent both local and international interests, as well as representing all age groups and coming from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds.   ‘The alumni election may or may not achieve this, however the Vice-Chancellor’s appointed members will serve to assist in this regard’, says the university. The alumni body worldwide is made up of an enormous wealth of experience and talent. Having some of this expertise represented on the Alumni Council creates the potential to do things that have not been considered for many years.  This is a great chance, the first in over 150 years, for a small group of change leaders to really make a difference. Personally, I think it an impressive situation to have a university which is thinking well beyond the end of it’s graduate’s learning and qualifications, and attempting to get their ongoing input and participation beyond their physical association  with the institution.

 

Meanwhile, the Carlton  selection committee made one change for this afternoon’s game against Melbourne, the team, defeated by a mammoth total week which resulted in the sacking of their coach!  Dennis Armfield has recovered from the ankle injury that forced him to leave the ground during last Friday night’s victory over North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. Aaron Joseph has been recalled to the team after missing two matches with a hamstring strain. Joseph injured his hamstring in the round 17 match against Collingwood and missed the victories against Essendon and North Melbourne.  Out of the side is my favourite,  Ryan Houlihan who celebrated his 200th AFL match in last Friday night’s victory, but didn’t do enough to earn a permanent place back in the team.. Houlihan has been named as an emergency, along with  the Irishman, Setanta O’hAilpin, and Kane Lucas.  Match TV coverage begins at around 3pm, so I guess that’s where I will be at that time. As the Club advised yesterday,   all roads lead to Jolimont this weekend, when the traditional Victorian counterparts Carlton and Melbourne meet in the equally traditional Saturday afternoon timeslot at the MCG. While the Demons have understandably been the focus of the media’s attentions since the Geelong contest, and will undoubtedly be fired for their new coach, nothing changes for the Blues in terms of their pre-match preparations.  For the Carlton players, it’s about bringing their A-game to the ground regardless.

Well I hoped that would happen, and the quarter by quarter scores below, indicate the outcome. Prior to the game, Houlihan got into the team, when Armfield’s injury didn’t improve enough for him to play.  A slow start to the Blues against a very aggressive Melbourne in the 1^st quarter, followed by an avalanche of Blues’ goals in the second quarter set up the rest of a strong win to Carlton.

 

Carlton Blues:                  6.1.37        14. 2.86       18.7.115             FINAL:    21.8.134

Melbourne Demons:        3.7.25        3. 10. 28        6.12.48              Final:         7.16.58

 

Moving away from today’s football, as I try not to gloat over another great win by the Blues, I was reminded last night of next week’s Census, with the arrival in the mail of my Census forms.  I referred to this a few days ago, the fact that the 16th Census of Population and Housing will take place on the night of  9 August 2011 [next Tuesday]. The 2011Census also marks a significant milestone – 100 years of national Census taking in Australia. An email received today from Victorian Liberal Senator, Michael Ronaldson [had not even realised I was on his mailing list], also reminded us of the importance of these Census counts.  The Census underpins Australia’s democracy and is crucial to communities, private institutions and all levels of government when planning infrastructure, community services and facilities where you live. For example Census information helps to determine where schools, hospitals, and roads are needed. Federal funding arrangements to the states and territories, including allocation of GST [General Services Tax] revenue, are also based on Census information.  The Census of Population and Housing aims to accurately count the number of people in Australia, their key characteristics, and the dwellings in which they live. It is conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) once every fi ve years. During the Census every household and person in the country is required to answer specific questions on the paper form or through eCensus online. As a bit of a traditional guy, I will probably stick with the handwritten form. The Census is compulsory, and is authorised by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.

 

A quiet Saturday night ahead of this writer. Susie has gone out somewhere, and I imagine it will be the early hours of the morning before she returns.  In the meantime, I received advice today of the death of one of the ‘girls’ from our days at Wesley Uniting Church, and the Young Adults Group [WYA] that I was a part of for a number of years.  Barbara M had been suffering from various cancer concerns for a couple of years now I believe, and our WYA contact had been keeping former members up to date for her progress.  She came to the ‘reunion’ dinner I attended early in the year, with husband Bruce, but was then only able to manage such an outing in a wheel chair. This was the second death of former members of that group from the late 1960s/early 70s this year!  A sobering thought to end my Saturday evening with…….

 

 

Certainly, not anything to complain about –  five rather pleasant, and for the most part, sunny days – so much so, that in the northwest of the State, and southern New South Wales, farmers were worrying about July’s lower than average rainfall, and early August high temperatures not attuning to crop growing, etc.  A new month, and the first week with almost Spring like conditions, though the weather people tell us it won’t last!  It would be a quiet week at the office – in fact, too quiet, as by Tuesday, this writer was feeling extremely ‘tired’ and lethargic, and would certainly have preferred to have been elsewhere, in fact, found himself off colour for most of the week – for sure, being well away from the office environment would have been a nice option. Did take some time off  late Wednesday – drove into the CBD [but should have left my car behind], ostensibly to visit the Public Library for a bit of family research. Eventually gave up trying to park the car, and not wanting to pay an exorbitant parking fee, gave that idea away, and found my away across to the Public Records Office in North Melbourne [traffic and parking a little quieter there] where I carried out some brief investigations and enquiries.

 

With Monday and Tuesday nights on the radio, and a radio committee meeting on Thursday night, not many complete evenings at home.  Susie arrived back from Bendigo on Tuesday evening, from memory, and while it was difficult to get much out of her, it seems she has given away her studies. She and Jodie drove up to the Gisborne College on Wednesday, to return some books that Susie had been using while she was on placement there last week!! After a  good conversation on Sunday about her future, I was a little disappointed that she was unwilling to share future plans now, however I didn’t push the issue. As it turned out, the car problems she had been experienced reached their climax, when she went for a drive over to Goonawarra – car would not start [faulty immobiliser, as warned], and so arrangements would need to be made to remedy that problem. Again my help not needed, she would arrange it all. That was all finalised and fixed [at a much cheaper price than had been anticipated] by Friday afternoon.

 

It’s interesting how neighbourly ‘disputes’ [minor or otherwise], so dominate our lives sometimes, and I guess because of that, it is little wonder that nations and cultures are so quickly at war.  In correspondence received from a friend during the week, she had a couple of brief examples of what are probably minor occurrences, but which if not acted upon quickly, as in these cases, can soon escalate into more unpleasant situations. My friend wrote: –  ‘Lots of drama here recently– a neighbour’s large gum tree has been  hanging over our property & was gradually leaning more & more towards  the rear of our house & verandah. If it did fall it would damage 2  bedrooms & part of the verandah. So that was done yesterday, at our  cost. No use arguing about it, if we wanted it done we could pay for  it. Mind you, they go to Europe almost every year for at least a month.  So of course you can see where their priorities lie. Another neighbour at the rear of our property has been complaining of a  large amount of water flowing done from our place. So the last few days  we have had Yarra Valley Water & the local council guys running  everywhere there are storm water drains. There is nothing leaking from  our property as the metre shows that & there is no problem with the  storm water or the pit. So they are now looking at our neighbour’s   place. Unfortunately for them the previous owners erected the garden  shed right in the corner of their property just where the storm water  pipe & it’s pit are. It has a concrete base, so I do not think the current occupiers will be best pleased’.  The question of trees and other large vegetation intruding into neighbour’s properties is quite a common cause of friction – I recall the lady over the back fence from my place expressing ‘concern’ at one stage that the branches from one of my trees were dropping all it’s leaves on her garden beds!!! Could she ‘chop’ off the offending branch. I didn’t really have any concern with that, just didn’t have the time to do it myself, so she was welcome to organise the ‘operation’. She did eventually, and I came home one evening to find all of the discarded branches and other material over my side of the fence!! Oh well!!  I got rid of them eventually.

 

Meanwhile on the political front, with Labor having negotiated their ‘reforms’ on things like the carbon tax, and refugees to Malaysia, I think they are trying to divert attention from Tony Abbott’s ongoing attacks with the announcement of various other ongoing initiatives such as health reform, etc.  Of particular interest to me, as I approach retirement, we have coming up next week, the Prime Minister’s release of the Productivity Commission’s long awaited final recommendations into aged care reform and the challenges of an ageing population. As the National Seniors organisation noted this week, currently aged care is a nightmare to navigate, dogged by staffing and bed shortages, crumbling under financial pressures and unable to meet the future demands of an ageing population. As a progression from the Productivity Commission’s draft report released in January, older Australians want to see: a greater emphasis on care, staffing levels wages and conditions; alternative funding options beyond the low-hanging fruit of the family home via bonds and reverse mortgages, and an independent aged care ombudsman. The National Seniors chief executive plans to attend the Parliament House briefing on the report in Canberra next Monday, and hopefully from that we might get some idea of what the future holds in this area.

As for Labor’s health reform policy, our Opposition Party in Parliament [‘my’ team, who of late seem to frustrate me more, than please me] had it’s usual negative response!  Maybe they are correct – as in most of these things, you so often get such conflicting stories from the opposing sides, that unless you are an ‘on the spot’ expert on the subject in question, your acceptance or otherwise of the facts presented simply depends on which side you voted for!  Unfortunately, I’m not so easily swayed by some of the Liberal tactics irrespective of what I think of the government.  On Wednesday, this was the official Liberal response to the Government’s health reforms –   ‘ Julia Gillard announced yesterday that Labor’s long awaited agreement on health ‘reform’ had been completed.  This is the third time in 18 months Labor has claimed to have reached an “historic agreement” on health reform and, once again, Labor fails to deliver on its promises in health. Key changes will not be implemented until at least 2014-15 – seven years after Labor promised to fix public hospitals or hold a referendum to take them over. Yesterday’s announcement does nothing for patients, but it is great news for health bureaucrats. Julia Gillard has simply given the states billions of dollars with no guarantees of better health outcomes for patients and has failed miserably to deliver any fundamental reform.  As Coalition Shadow Health Minister Peter Dutton said on Tuesday, ‘Julia Gillard has capitulated and given the states billions of dollars to get them to sign an agreement that this desperate Prime Minister needs to look like she is actually achieving something”.  Yes, well, a great bit of political spin, but it doesn’t really put up any concrete alternatives.

 

Meanwhile, the Government’s perspective on a national basis, was demonstrated at a local situation, when the Prime Minister visited one of Melbourne’s outer hospitals –  the comments arising from that visit, well they could be described as a whole lot of publicity spin also, but in some ways, so long as it all happens, it sounds like reform is on the cards.  Regardless of how you see this sudden agreement [or capitulation] by the various States to accept the Federal Government reforms, that in the past three years, some states have refused to agree to, perhaps over in the USA, they might take note of our ‘methods’ of getting agreement on reform measures, something the US seems to have problems with at present. Anyway, in respect to the Victorian situation  [where I believe a year or so ago, our government was arguing that Victoria already had the best health system in the country, and that national reforms proposed at the time, would damage that success], the following announcements were part of the reform package introduction. 

‘Patients at Maroondah Hospital will benefit from better access to elective surgery, emergency treatment and sub-acute hospital bedsas a result of the Gillard Government’s historic national health reforms. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the national health agreement will deliver a better deal for patients: more beds, more money and more services.  In visiting Maroondah Hospital today, Prime Minister Gillard was joined by Federal Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon and Local Federal Member for Deakin,  Mike Symon and said the local community would benefit from faster access to emergency department and elective surgery procedures. Under this agreement, the elective surgery target for patients to be treated within clinically recommended times has been increased from 95 per cent to 100 per cent by 2016. Patients will also benefit from reductions in emergency department waiting times with the new target ensuring that by 2015, 90 per cent of all patients presenting at an emergency department will be seen to within four hours This is on top of the 20 sub-acute beds already announced for Maroondah Hospital. Patients at Maroondah Hospital and around the nation can be confident that these health reforms will deliver world class care in their community. Victorians will benefit from up to $822.1 million of Commonwealth Government funding including over $12 million for Eastern Health to improve elective surgery and emergency department services, increase the availability of sub-acute services and to undertake clinical redesign projects across the region over the next five years. As part of the funding for Eastern Health, in November this year Angliss Hospital will commence work on creating ten new sub-acute beds and in February 2012 Maroondah Hospital will begin work on 20 new sub-acute beds. These new beds are being funded under one project totaling $5.7 million’.

Applying all this to the national picture  –  “This is a great example of what this new health deal will deliver – more Commonwealth investment in public hospitals, which means more beds, more services and better care for patients”, Ms Gillard said. The Australian Government will step up to permanently pay for 45 per cent of growth in hospital services in 2014-15, increasing to 50 per cent in 2017-18. This means the Commonwealth and States and Territories will share future funding growth for hospitals in an equal partnership. Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon said that this year alone the Victorian Health and Hospital System will receive up to $179.5 million from the Commonwealth, building on $250 million already received by Victoria to begin work on 160 projects. “The benefits Victoria has already received demonstrate this Commonwealth and State partnership is providing the resources needed for much better health services closer to home,” Ms Roxon said.

I guess time will tell on all of these reforms  –  history has shown that since 2007, most the major Labor Government ‘reforms’ have failed dismally  –  it will be interesting to see if that trend can be reversed with a number of initiatives currently in progress!!

 

Whilst thinking of the Liberal Party, I notice that there has been a reprint of the book written by the founder of the Liberals, Sir Robert Menzies, the first reprint since 1943 – called ‘The Forgotten People and Other Studies in Democracy’. It was written against the backdrop of a then young nation, at the time, confronting war in the Pacific, and the basis of the book was a series of weekly radio broadcasts delivered by the late Robert Gordon Menzies, Australia’s longest serving former Prime Minister. These broadcasts explored the principles upon which the post-war world should be constructed [presumably in Menzies’ view], and gave a personal insight into the political soul of the founder of the Liberal Party. I suppose that as a supporter of that Party through most of my working life, I should try and get hold of a copy of the new publication. Apparently this new edition has a forward in it written by David Kemp, author, academic and former Howard Liberal Government Minister. He introduces ‘The Forgotten People’ with a searching portrayal of the political philosophy of the father of modern Liberalism in this country. He bridges the decades for a new generation of readers [I wasn’t even thought of in 1943] and pays tribute to the vast contribution of one man whose political beliefs remain central to politics and national policy making today.  I guess to many people, that sounds like a very ‘dry’ and boring read, and while I will no doubt find it ‘slow reading’ when I get to it, I’m sure the historical nature of it will prove, to me anyway, as interesting as have similar ‘political and Australian related’ publications I’ve read and commented upon over recent years through these pages.

 

As indicated in this blog heading, not much writing was achieved over the past five days, hence this rather lengthy compilation of some of the thoughts and interests that have attracted my attention during the week.  A number of special events coming up over the next 3 weeks or so, and as a consequence, the pace of the days will no be slowing down in the near future.  Despite some apprehensions, I continue to count down the days to that date in October when ‘officially’ retire from fulltime work.  I was given the opportunity to stay on a bit longer, and perhaps, if the work place was located here in Sunbury instead of inner suburban Melbourne, I might have given it some consideration, but under present circumstances, the daily commuting in the peak hour traffic, is becoming a bit much for this guy to wish to continue to cope with!!  My ‘Brisbane’ based brother [Ian, ex Army] had a birthday on Wednesday –  he has been retired for nearly 3 years now, and when I told him of my plans during a birthday phone call that morning, his response to me was ‘It’s about time’!!~!   Ian, because of circumstances which occurred earlier this year, is now living permanently in a caravan park, north of Brisbane, and seemed resignedly happy with his new lifestyle, particularly the fact that he was given approval to create his own beloved vegetable garden on his site!!

 

 

A bit of disappointing news received late this afternoon, but all part of life’s events when one has a family, and with support, etc, we shall all move on, to more opportunities and lifetime changes. As for myself, well I think I have enough ‘changes’ coming up in the approaching months, don’t need to look for any more!

 

Meanwhile, a couple of very one sided AFL football matches over the weekend including that inflicted upon the once powerful Melbourne football team  – a loss by 186 points to potential grand finalist, Geelong, saw an immediate reaction this evening, with the sacking of the Melbourne coach, Dean Bailey – he was the second AFL coach to be sacked within a week, with one of the Adelaide coaches replaced last week.  Personally, I usually feel sorry for the coaches, who always seem to be the first person to go, when a team is playing badly  –  I mean after all, it is generally the players out on the football field, who are putting in the poor performance. But, blame begins at the top in these situations!  At Carlton, while the team is going along fairly well this year, it is generally accepted, that if the team do not manage to win at least one Finals game this September, the  coach Brett Ratten  will be replaced!!  As it currently stands, the Blues are still in the likely position of dropping to 5^th on the ladder before the interim season finishes, which would mean they will only get one opportunity to win a finals game, and despite their relative strength during most of the current season,  such a win cannot be a guarantee!   With 5 rounds to go, of which Carlton has a bye in one of those weeks, the Top 8 situation currently stands as follows, with only 8 of the 16 teams in the competition to move into the final series of matches through September:

 

1. Collingwood Magpies:               64
2. Geelong Cats                              64
3. Hawthorn Hawks                       52
4. Carlton Blues                             50
5. West Coast Eagles                     48
6. Sydney Swans                            38
7. St Kilda Saints                           38
8. Fremantle Dockers                    36
9. Essendon Bombers                    34
10. North Melbourne Kangaroos     32
11. Melbourne Demons                    30
12. Western Bulldogs                       28
13. Richmond Tigers                        22
14. Adelaide Crows                          20
15. Brisbane Lions                           12
16. Gold Coast Suns                         12
17. Port Adelaide Power                     8

 

Next weekend, Carlton comes up against the luckless Melbourne team, though again, despite the latter’s poor effort on Saturday, a win should not be automatically assumed!  A danger game!

 

In the meantime, with the next newsletter of the radio station due for release within the next week or so, I decided to make a little contribution, and the following is part of that piece of writing. It was headed ‘Be careful, it will become addictive’………………

 

‘When I ventured into my first Showtime program at 3NRG at 9pm on a Thursday night in May 2005 [after dashing in from a School Council meeting, or was it a Church Council  meeting??] under the watchful eyes of Harry Beckwith, I could never have imagined that  6 years later, I would still be collecting that ‘damn’ key from you know where, or playing that Southern Star promo, or waiting for the infamous 3NRG midnight ghost to put in an appearance!! 
But here I am, still here!! Almost a 1000 shows later [all up including Fill-ins], I’m still signing that book, or grumbling about Mr Walker, or presenters quoting the temperature from that faulty weather gauge in the studio, or presenters who simply don’t turn up, or my coming in at 6.30am on a Sunday morning, and finding the studio window was left open overnight, etc, etc –  and still loving it all!!
 
So a word of warning to all those new presenters who have joined us in recent months  –  it ‘does’ become addictive, but an addiction with positive results, and generally, not harmful to one’s health – unless you are stupid enough to volunteer to do a program first thing on a Sunday morning!!!!!  Yet, it is a wonderful experience to arrive up at the studio at that time and be greeted by 635 rabbits and 3 magpies each week – although sadly, none of them stay around!!!   The rabbits take one look at this person, and then scatter in all directions, while the magpies, well they simply realise immediately that I’m not Sandie D, and I don’t have a bag of bread in my hand!!! 
 
Anyway, I’d just like to say after these six years  – enjoy what you are doing, and most importantly, make sure you ‘sound’ as though you are enjoying it, because if you don’t, your listeners will pick up on that, and switch off!  Like most of us I suspect [there are the obvious exceptions],  I don’t get much feedback, calls etc, but that doesn’t really matter –  it’s all worthwhile, if the occasional call you do get,  is from someone you don’t know, but who wants to tell you, that the song you just played, has brought back so many memories, and made their day!!!  You can go home from that program feeling content that you made someone happy!
 
I’m finishing up with ‘Showtime’  –  last program will at 6pm on Thursday, 23 August – Showtime Program No. 300.  From now on, I will concentrate on Sunday Classics [6.30 – 9am Sundays] and Smorgasbord of Music & Entertainment [9pm – Midnight, Monday nights], plus very happy to fill-in at other times as and when required. I enjoy and play ‘most’ forms of music [just a couple of genre exceptions!!!].
It is a great organisation to be a part of, and while at times, we might feel that ‘things’ are moving too slowly, the advances that 3NRG has made, particularly over the past two years, in so many areas, means it is a privilege and a pleasure to continue to be a part of the place. But we can only be as good and as vibrant as the Membership allows us to be – become involved in some way, beyond your lonely 2 hours a week, and in doing so, you will find your enjoyment of the role grows with that added involvement…………………………….one of the best decisions I have ever made, in joining 3NRG’.
 
Susan headed back up to Bendigo shortly before 5 o’clock this evening, although not long afterwards Jodie turned up to make use of her sister’s computer [Susie knew she was coming], so I had her company [in a fashion] for a few hours tonight. But, it was back to the empty house for the night again, later on!

 

I have a habit of remembering dates, but forgetting lots of other important facts!!  Today is the birthday of a friend I used to work with – have only seen her once in the last 16 years, just where have those years flown to?   Anyway, wherever you are, CL, enjoy your day, and keep smiling that beautiful smile I will  always remember J

 

Meanwhile, this writer is not really in the mood for doing any of those many tasks he should be attending to this weekend. A reasonable sleep for a change overnight, following last evening’s brief ‘party interlude’ for son James, and his celebrations at Briodie’s  [Irish] Hotel in Brunswick. He had all of his family there at different stages plus a bunch of ‘hard drinking’ friends and fans, the majority of whom turned up ‘after’ I left!!  Adam & Jodie were still there, presumably for the bulk of the evening, Interesting to learn that Adam had bought himself a share in a racehorse  – well, a ‘trotter’ to be precise, with a guy he works with, and the owner/driver of the horse. Another interesting expense for him to take on, perhaps I can begin to feel not so guilty about passing over to Adam some of his car related expenses that I continue to support him with!!!  Certainly,  he seems to be doing much better for himself these days. As for the later stages of last night’s celebrations, I’m not sure I want to hear too much about them, or what eventuated.   A very tired Susan, after her week at the school in Gisborne, came back home with me, and I think she was asleep before I even finished watching the football!!

 

Speaking of the football  –   well I am now anyway  –   I got home last night to find the TV coverage of the game, Carlton vs North Melbourne was beyond the halfway stage, and  the Blues were behind. However, as a Carlton supporter, I did get to watch the better part of the game, and  my Blues eventually got on top of their opponents, and went on to a reasonable, if not below form display! The Blues moved back into 3^rd position on the Ladder, for the time being, but could end the season down in 5^th position, depending on th their results and that of other teams around us!!  I hope not.

Quarter by quarter scores were as follows.

 

Carlton Blues:                         1.4.10     3.9.27     6.12.48      FINAL:  11.14.80

Nth Melbourne Kangaroos:   3.2.20     6.2.38     7.6.42        Final:      9.8.62

 

My earlier relaxed  mood stayed around today – it was a dismal and chilly day in Sunbury, and not an encouragement for outside work!  So I spent part of the afternoon cooking a roast for Susan and myself  [which, in retrospect, didn’t turn out as good as I had anticipated – the half leg of lamb I had purchased this morning, had more bone in it than had been obvious, and I was a little disappointed at the outcome  –  my cooking needs some attention [or maybe, I need a cook!!].

 

Meanwhile, I think I have mentioned previously that Sunbury is celebrating it’s 175^th anniversary this year since the town’s formal establishment in 1836, and the following brief extract, outlines some of the town’s history, as detailed in the Australian Heritage magazine recently. The comments below, in italics, are my notes.

 

‘The Sunbury area’s first white settlers were George Evans and William Jackson, who arrived in July 1836. It was Jackson, who, together with his brother, Samuel, named Sunbury after the English Sunbury-on-Thames. Evans took up the Emu Bottom run. His original sandstone homestead (1836) remains today as part of a more substantial building [and is today, one of Sunbury’s historic tourist and entertaining venues].  W.J.T. ‘Big’ Clarke was another early pastoralist to obtain land in the Sunbury area. The double storey, bluestone fifty room ‘Rupertswood’ mansion  [a painting print of which  was recently commissioned for the 175^th anniversary, and I have just recently purchased a copy  – currently trying to decide which location in the house I want to display it] was built by his son, Sir William Clarke, from 1874/76. The mansion features a 100 feet high tower and a description from the time states that it was built in the ‘Byzantine order of architecture’. A ballroom was added to the building in 1881/82.

Rupertswood, one of the largest residences in Victoria, was also an important social centre [and remains that way today] and played host to parties, balls and hunt meets. Clarke, who was the president of the Melbourne Cricket Club, met the English cricket team while sailing home from a European tour in 1882 and invited them to join him for Christmas and New Year at Rupertswood, a visit which has been credited as giving rise to the existence of the Ashes trophy. The Ashes, today a biannual series of test cricket matches played between England and Australia, was born as a result of Australia’s surprise seven run victory against the English team in a one off test match at The Oval in England in 1882. This was the first time that an Australian eleven had played an English eleven.

The English Sporting Times ran a satirical obituary, written by journalist Reginald Brooks, after the match which lamented the death of English cricket and stated that, ‘The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia’. The English team, captained by the Hon Ivo Bligh, travelled to Australia to reclaim ‘the Ashes’ in 1882/83, winning a three test series 21. Though there was a long held view that the Ashes trophy was presented to Bligh after the third match, further research around the centenary of the Ashes gave rise to another version of events. This account tells the story of the Ashes urn being presented to Bligh after a social game at Rupertswood. The urn was said to contain a burnt bail, but it has also been stated that the urn

contains the remains of a burnt stump, ball or ball cover. It was also

suggested by Bligh’s daughterinlaw that the urn actually contains the

remnants of her motherinlaw’s veil. Bligh retained the urn until his death in  1927. It was given to the Lord’s cricket ground in the 1930s and remains there today.

The Clarke family sold the Rupertswood property to Sunshine Harvester manufacturer, H.V. Mackay in 1922. Rupertswood was subsequently subdivided and the remaining property was acquired by the Salesian order of Catholic priests and brothers in 1927.

The railway reached Sunbury during the construction of the line between Melbourne and Bendigo from 1859 to 1862, around which time Sunbury’s first vineyards were being planted. The Sunbury region grew into an important winemaking area and Victoria was producing half of Australia’s wine at one point during the 19th century However, an infestation of the ‘Phylloxera’ vine louse devastated the state’s vineyards (though it bypassed Sunbury) after entering Victoria in the 1870s and the depression of the 1890s signalled the further decline of the winemaking industry

The ‘Craiglee’ vineyard was established in 1863 by politician and

businessman, James Stewart Johnston, who constructed the property’s

bluestone winery between 1865 and 1868. Winemaking at Craiglee ceased in the 1920s due to the economic circumstances and public tastes of the time. Vines were replanted on the site of the original vineyard by Patrick Carmody in 1976 [and on a couple of occasions in the late 1980s,  I helped  to pick the grape crop at that winery, as part of my kids’ school community outreach]. James Goodall Francis, who became the Victorian premier in 1870, also established his Goonawarra  vineyard in 1863 [the family home here in Sunbury, where my wife,, her mother and one son & daughter still currently live was built in 1983, just over the hill from this winery, on the estate which is known as the Goonawarra Estate  –  the name derived from an Aboriginal name for black swan]. The vineyard continued to operate for a while after Francis’ death in 1884, but the land here too was eventually given over to other farming activities [and then eventually, the housing estate referred to]. The remaining 17 acres of the Goonawarra property was bought and replanted as a vineyard in 1983 by John and Elizabeth Barnier. Original buildings such as the homestead (1863/75) still remain on the property today [and is used as a restaurant and winery for sales, etc]

The Sunbury township was also developing in the 1860s. A Catholic church and school, as well as an Anglican school opened in 1860. In 1867 a permanent Anglican church was established, and a Presbyterian church was built the next year.  An industrial school opened at Sunbury in 1864 [on the top of Jacksons Hill]  and was converted to a mental asylum in 1879. Extensions were made to the building between 1891 to 1914. The asylum was renamed the Caloola Centre in 1985. It was decommissioned in the early 1990s and opened as a campus of the Victorian University of Technology in 1995  [which institution subsequently ceased operations in Sunbury about 18 months ago –  Radio Station 3NRG is now one of a number of community facilities which operate out of  some of  the former buildings].

Sunbury, around 35 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, began to develop as a commuter suburb of Melbourne from the 1960s. In the 2006 Census Sunbury’s estimated population was recorded as 31,004 people [I continue with people who try and describe Sunbury as a Melbourne suburb –  we are a town in our own right, and while development of business and retail establishments, and residential areas have grown enormously since our arrival in 1983 – encouraged to come here by the motto ‘Country living, City style –  I will continue to regard our town in that manner – certainly, it is a beautiful relief, even today, from the inner suburban pandemonium of the areas I work in during the week].

 

As part of the 175 celebrations,  a ceremony to retrieve time capsules, which were interred 25 years ago to commemorate the 150th year of Sunbury, will be held on 15th August, 2011 from 2pm at the George Evans monument which is situated outside the Sunbury Library and

George Evans museum. The contents will be on display at the George Evans museum later in the year.  Back in 1986, sixteen community groups and schools filled plastic pipes with local memorabilia from the day and they have now been sealed for 25 years. It is hoped that another collection of time capsules will be buried with a view to

retrieval during Sunbury’s 200th anniversary in 2036’.

Over the coming months, I hope to include a few more little historical notes about my town in these pages. The local Sunbury Heritage and \Historical Society has recently produced a series of short ‘messages’ about our young history, and these are broadcast daily on our radio station.

 

 

First of all, for all those thousands of people who attempted the sample questions from Australia’s Citizenship Test, here are the correct answers – you will have to refer back to yesterday’s entry to refresh your memory about the questions!

 

1a, 2a, 3c, 4b, 5a, 6b, 7b, 8b, 9c, 10a, 11a, 12b, 13c, 14b, 15c, 16b, 17b, 18b, 19b, 20b

The source was which that little exercise came, was the National Seniors organisation, and they had a couple of other items, which in view of my pending retirement, are of particular interest at this stage. One related to the current Government changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme [PBS], where it has been decided to defer the listing of new medicines on the PBS. Not sure what the basis of that decision is [other than a cost cutting exercise] because their inclusion has being recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.  National Seniors is concerned about the potential negative affect of this on older people. Their view is that   “Anecdotal evidence from our members suggest that already there are some older people, including concession card holders, who defer buying prescription medicines subsidised under the PBS because of the co-contribution they have to make. “We are concerned about the impact of the deferral decision on consumers, especially low income and disadvantaged Australians whose ability to access medicines and health care services heavily depends on Government assistance.”  I shall keep an eye on that topic, as will National Seniors who have promised to keep its members in the loop regarding any changes to the PBS issue.

The second item relates to future concerns about our ageing population.  The Victorian Government is holding an Inquiry into major issues facing senior Victorians including productive ageing, the workforce, services for seniors and more. The Family & Community Development Committee is calling for submissions to its current Inquiry into Opportunities for Participation of Senior Victorians.  The Inquiry will review national and international literature on preparing for an ageing society; examine the contribution of, and challenges facing, older members of Victorian community from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds; identify the role of government in supporting older Victorians as well as look at ways to promote positive ageing.  It also plans to look at the economic significance of older Victorians in the paid workforce and the voluntary sector and barriers to participation for those seniors who desire to work or contribute to the community, and how willing economic and social contributions can be fostered.
The final report will develop recommendations or strategies for whole of government and community responses to the needs of older Victorians now, and into the future, and incorporate in the recommendations the best international practice in support of ageing well. Submissions close on 2 September 2011.  An interesting exercise, and even more so, because it is happening at the same time as Australia’s national 2011 CENSUS, which I believe has just commenced, and I can expect a visit shortly.

In our last CENSUS [in 2006], that period was in between my permanent jobs, and I had the opportunity to be employed for a few weeks as a CENSUS collector. Certainly not a job I would have previously imagined undertaking, but it proved to be quite a fascinating and ‘educational’ exercise.  I was given the opportunity to do the job again this year, but the experience of 2006, where I had the time to do most of the work involved during weekdays , made me realise that 5 years  later and still involved in full time employment with various other commitments to the radio, etc, it would be taking on too much. I was also not too keen on wandering around unfamilar streets in the evening and knocking on householder’s doors after dark – I know how annoyed I usually feel at evening visits from salespeople – CENSUS collectors are often regarded as ‘government salesmen’!!!  I was reminded of the CENSUS today, when a collector called in at the office to advise that he would be delivering CENSUS forms throughout this housing estate throughout the day. An interesting exercise in itself, considering the high population of migrants and refugees living on the estate, in respect to language difficulties, etc.  Back in 2006, for the area of Sunbury that I was responsible for, communication difficulties in respect to language was generally not a problem ass most of the population were Anglo-Saxon or long term migrants, who were familiar with the process, irrespective of whether they considered the census project with much respect or not.

CENSUS night this year, will be Tuesday, 9^th August –  more accurately described as the Census of Population and Housing, it aims to accurately count the number of people in Australia that night, their key characteristics, and the dwellings in which they live. Every household and person in the country is required to answer specific questions on the paper form [distributed to each household by t5he Census collectors], or  provide their responses through  eCensus online.

It’s an event undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics every five years.  This year’s Census also marks a significant milestone – 100 years of national Census taking in Australia. The Census underpins Australia’s democracy and is crucial to communities, private institutions and all levels of government when planning infrastructure, community services and facilities where Australians live.  For example Census information helps to determine where schools, hospitals, and roads are needed. Federal funding arrangements to the states and territories, including allocation of GST revenue, are also based on Census information, together with a whole host of other factors, etc.  As indicated above, I often wonder just how seriously some people take this responsibility, and therefore what kind of inaccuracies must arise from such a massive exercise.  Certainly, as a genealogist, the Census results from the past 100-200 years where they have been undertaken, are a valuable source of family history, which of course depends on accuracy. With that point in mind, I’m not sure how that reconciles these days with the advice that comes with the CENSUS information, that all information collected through the CENSUS is strictly private and confidential.  No one outside of the ABS (including other Government agencies) will ever see your Census responses. Also, individuals or households cannot be identified in Census results or data.  I think the laws have changed a little in recent decades, and it is probably only the historical census data that is available, as far as family records, etc, are concerned.

Speaking of family records, my son, who celebrated his 30^th birthday last weekend, is having his own planned ‘celebrations’ tonight at one of the inner city hotels. I think most of the family are attending, although I think the bulk of his ‘invites’ have gone to a wide circle of friends, and I fear it is going to be a bit of a drink fest!!  I will certainly not be staying too late after as meal, etc, and intend to leave the ‘real’ celebrations to the ‘younger generation’. James’ mother and her 90 year old mother are attending – I hope they don’t stay around too long – I don’t think this venue has the reputation of being a quiet and peaceful abode, especially on a Friday night, and can be become very crowded and noisy!! We used to frequent this same hotel [living just down the road] back in the early days of marriage because the ‘kids’ started to arrive, although it has changed much since those days – now regards itself these days as an ‘Irish Pub’  although the genuineness of that has been sharply disputed by my Irish friend – who doesn’t consider such places to be ‘authentic Irish pubs’. I bow to his opinion on that!! Anyway, James’ mother and his Nan are booked into a motel around the corner from the pub, so they well be able to ‘escape’ from the pub without hazzle whenever they want. James himself has also booked into that motel, but I would advise his mother to stay well clear!!   It had been suggested that I do the same thing, however decided that would commit me to staying at the venue much later than I intended, and decided I would return home later tonight!  Will have at least one passenger – Susie, who has probably had the most strenuous week’s work in her life, the first of four weeks teaching placement at a school north of Sunbury, considers she will be too tired for a late pub night, so is strangely grateful that her Dad does not intend to stay late!!

I just hope the night passes without any incident of concern!

Meanwhile, with that function happening, this Blues’ fan is going to miss his team playing tonight, in their match against the North Melbourne Kangaroos at the Etihad Stadium!  I haven’t been for a few weeks, but would in fact have gone straight to that game from work, until I realised the ‘clash’. Oh well, perhaps for the better –  it is a huge game for Carlton with the Blues having won just one of the last eight matches against North Melbourne!!!!  However, my team will welcome experience back into the side with the return of one of my favourite players, Ryan Houlihan, who has been recalled to the team after playing the last three weeks for the Northern Bullants in the VFL.  It is a huge game for him also, his 200th AFL game,  after making his debut for Carlton back in round 11, 2000 against North Melbourne. Just a pity for him that for much of that period, he has played with a Carlton team at it’s lowest historical ebb, prior to the last couple of years. 

[Incidentally, over the last few days, the World Swimming Championships have been going on, in Shanghai, China. Although our Australian swimmers, particularly the girls, have been performing pretty well as usual,  surprisingly, last night, just three days out from the end of the competition, saw our first individual Gold Medal  – with James Magnussen winning the Men’s 100 metres.  Equally surprising, that was the first ever 100 metre World Championship Gold Medal for Australia in that event, and Magnussen is the youngest winner [19 yrs, 3 mths] since 1975.  Looking at the overall results, it seems as though China is dominating the results [home ground advantage!!] with Russia and the USA close behind!  Apparently, we have also won Gold in one of the Men’s relays – in which Magnussen also was a part. Interestingly, Australia is 5^th on the medal table – 2 Gold, 8 Silver and 2 Bronze, behind China, Russia, USA and Brazil]

The National Senior’s organisation posed an interesting concern in this week’s on-line message – Australia’s citizenship test is under fire for being too difficult for new Australian migrants, i.e., the kind of questions they are asked about Australia as part of the process of applying to be a citizen of this country.  Apparently, some

experts believe that even some of the most hardened Australians could fail the citizenship test which questions people about culture, governance and history. This week the NSW Teachers’ Federation demanded the government drop the written questions and return to a “basic spoken English test” as used in the past.  Migrants must pass at least 15 out of the 20 questions. UK migrants top the list of successes, then India, China, South Africa, Philippines, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Korea and Malaysia.  That statement did concern me a little bit, so I thought that I had better have a look at some sample questions which the article provided. Those questions are detailed below.

 

I have to admit, that in reading through the questions, there was a complex degree of vagueness about many of them, when for migrants, let alone long term citizens, confusion as to the correct answer would have to be considered understandable. I mean really, all of the answers were and should have been obvious, but I tend to agree with the ‘experts’ in their claims.  While my own attempt at the 20 questions below produced 19 correct answers – I missed out on the passport question [No. 10] which I put down to misreading the question –  it is not difficult to see that the ‘vague’ nature of some of the multiple choices would create problems for many.  Anyway, here are the questions that appeared in the National Senior’s article – obviously people in Australia would be in the better position to attempt these, but the broad concern of the writers was as to whether readers considered the test a ‘fair requirement’ for all potential new Australians, or should the test be abandoned, and the process revert back to the original form of ‘English test’ requirement that used to exist? In the associated blogs that accompanied the article, there was sadly, some pretty racist type comments included, none of which I will bother to repeat here. A broad more positive view seemed to be along the lines that to live as an effective citizen [in any other country, not just Australia], a knowledge of that country in which you want to become a citizen should be a necessity, but the ability to communicate in the language of that country should be a first priority rather than depending on interpreters, 10+-20 years later.  I do tend to support that view, while at the same time accepting that some of the questions posed below would be poorly understood by both current Australians as well as migrants. The whole thing needs to be looked at.  We are expecting new citizens to know all the answers [or 75% of them]  –  I’m trying to think of a situation whereby existing citizens are expected to answer the same questions before they progress to some stage in their lives  – all I could think of there was as part of the process of obtaining license but the nature of the questions doesn’t really fit that situation. Perhaps someone else has some suggestions  –  perhaps as part of one’s first job application, in any sphere – because if we expect new citizens to know the answers, then we should ourselves, and I suspect that there is a certain percentage of the population who would be unable to get 15 out of 20 correct!!!

Anyway, here are the sample questions – perhaps I will hold back on the answers until a later blog –give my reader some opportunity to think about the answers, if thinking time is required!!

 

Questions 1-3: Australia and It’s People.

 

1. What do we remember on Anzac Day?

a. The landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli, Turkey

b. The arrival of the first free settlers from Great Britain

c. The landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove

 

2. What are the colours of the Australian Aboriginal Flag?

a. Black, red and yellow

b. Green, white and black

c. Blue, white and green

 

3. Which official symbol of Australia identifies  Commonwealth property?

a. The national anthem

b. Australia’s national flower

c. Commonwealth Coat of Arms

 

 

Questions 4-10: Australia’s democratic beliefs, rights and liberties .

 

4. Which of these statements about Australia’s system of government is correct?

a. The Queen of Australia chooses people to form

the Australian Parliament

b. The government is elected by the people

c. The Prime Minister chooses our Members of Parliament

 

5. Which of these is an example of freedom of speech?

a. People can peacefully protest against government decisions

b. Men and women are treated equally in a court of law

c. Australians are free to not follow a religion

 

6. Which of these statements about government in Australia is correct?

a. The government does not allow some religions

b. Government in Australia is secular

c. Religious laws are passed by parliament

 

7. Which of these is an example of equality in Australia?

a. Everyone follows the same religion

b. Men and women have the same rights

c. Everyone belongs to the same political party

 

8. Which of these is a responsibility of Australian citizens aged 18 years or over?

a. To attend local council meetings

b. To vote in elections

c. To have a current Australian passport

 

9. Which of these is a responsibility of Australian citizens aged 18 years or over?

a. To do local community service

b. To carry a passport at all times

c. To serve on a jury if called to do so

 

10. Which of these statements about passports is correct?

a. Australian citizens can apply for an Australian passport

b. Permanent residents can hold an Australian passport

c. Australian citizens need a passport and visa to return to Australia

 

Questions 11-20: Government and the Law in Australia

11. Which of these statements about voting in Australian elections is correct?

a. People are free and safe to vote for any candidate

b. Voting is by a show of hands

c. People must write their name on their vote

 

12. What happened in Australia on 1 January 1901?

a. The Australian Constitution was changed by a referendum

b. The Australian Constitution came into effect

c. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was formed

 

13. What is the name of the legal document that sets out the rules for the government  of Australia?

a. The Australian Federation

b. The Australian Commonwealth

c. The Australian Constitution

 

14. What is a referendum?

a. A vote to change the government

b. A vote to change the Australian Constitution

c. A vote to change the Prime Minister

 

15. Which arm of government has the power to interpret and apply laws?

a. Legislative

b. Executive

c. Judicial

16. Which of these is a role of the Governor-General?

a. The appointment of state premiers

b. The signing of Bills passed by the Australian Parliament

c. The appointment of the Head of State

 

17. Which of these statements about state governments is correct?

a. All states have the same constitution

b. Each state has its own constitution

c. The states have no constitution

 

18. What is the name given to the party or coalition of parties with the second largest number of members in the

      House of Representatives?

a. The Government

b. The Opposition

c. The Senate

 

19. What is the name of a proposal to make a law in parliament?

a. Royal Assent

b. Bill

c. Debate

 

20. Who maintains peace and order in Australia?

a. Public servants

b. Police

c. Lawyers

Answers in tomorrow’s blog, and I would be interested to know  how any readers went!!  J

The death occurred yesterday of Australian artist, Margaret Olley. She was found deceased in her home, in Paddington, Sydney, aged 88 years.  Unless she had moved recently, her home was a converted ‘Old Hat Factory’ She was a painter of life and poetry. As noted in today’s press, Olley staged more than 90 solo exhibitions and amassed a vast collection of prestigious awards and honorary doctorates.. She was a supporter of other artists, and one of Australia’s most generous benefactors to public galleries, and was the ‘subject’ herself, of two winning Archibald Prize portraits – William Dobell [1948], and Ben Quilty, this year.

A couple of years ago, whilst I was up in Sydney, I purchased a book called ‘The Artist’s Lunch’, which featured a number of Australian artists discussing the influence of food  on their work. Margaret Olley was one of those artists She loved cooking, and associated with that, entertaining, but it had to be on her terms. Being interviewed for that book, she said “As a young woman, I quickly discovered that it was easier to entertain people two nights running while the table was set up and the kitchen was on the go. I would often entertain twenty of thirty people over the course of two days. Then I could shut down the kitchen and go on with my painting”.  In another section, she said: “There has been many an evening when people have refused to leave. After I’ve finished making noise in the kitchen, I slowly have to turn out all of the lights, one at a time, until finally somebody says ‘Are you trying to give us a hint, Oll?’  Mind you, when everybody goes, I always like one person to stay on for a while and chat for a bit. Like a Spanish guitarist I once saw in concert, who gave encore after encore as a way of winding down”.

That was Margaret Olley – described as a ‘gifted, spirited, generous woman –  who, as an indication of what she liked to paint, once said ‘There’s nothing like painting what you’re familiar with. You can do all sorts of things with the ordinary”.

 

Artist Margaret Olley, with the winner of the 2011 Archibald Prize Ben Quilty and his children Olivia (2), Joe (5). Picture: Alan Pryke Source: The Daily Telegraph

 

The Australian Bureau of  Statistics {ABS] has some interesting, well, ‘statistics’!!  For example, I was reading an article in  Accounting magazine this week about volunteers, the emphasise being on the importance of engaging, supporting and keeping volunteers. I always take notice of that ‘topic’, having being a volunteer of sorts for most of my life in a variety of areas. As the story, written by Helen Hawkes says – ‘The number of hours volunteers contribute is soaring, making them both a highly valuable asset and a management headache for the organisations they benefit’  Volunteering is of course the sector in which no one is paid and people choose to donate time and effort – a kind of ‘free workforce’.

Of course, the value of the kind of ‘volunteering’ work being performed varies considerably. I often feel for example, that the time I spend in community radio, bares little relevance or importance, when compared for example with out volunteer fire brigades or state emergency service personnel, where the outcomes of what they do,  are essential to the very lives and property of people. How can that compare with a role on a school council, or in my case at the moment, a community radio presenter and committee member? If the radio station didn’t exist in this area, would it really matter, after all, there are countless commercial and non-commercial radio outlets around Melbourne alone as well as throughout the Victorian regional area, for those people who are really desperate to listen to the radio! I think the answer to that is that the value lies in the ‘/localised’ nature of each community station, which should be aiming to project local views and activities, and the kind of  community perspective on things that a commercial  radio could never do, or would want to. That’s just skimming the surface of course, of it’s value to it’s community, because in the world of the arts, especially music, there are thousands of musicians and singers, who without community radio, would have little if any medium by which they can demonstrate their talents apart from local festivals, gigs, concerts, etc. Yes, I do play mainstream singers, etc at different times – tonight on air for example, Leonard Cohen got a bit of a feature spot on my show. He doesn’t need local radio to be known. But 65% of the other singers & musicians that I play, do need that exposure, and appreciate the opportunities, and national exposure, that community radio organisations and their member stations, are able to provide throughout Australia. Most of these people, you will never hear on commercial radio. There is just so much talent out there in the wider Australian world, and I for one am glad to be able to let others enjoy what they have to offer…………………………………………………………………………..

Of course, the major problem faced by organisations that use volunteers, is the ability to attract and retain them, as  volunteers. As unpaid workers, they will generally be bound by different rules and priorities, and commitments will usually be restricted by family and/or paid work responsibilities, and countless other factors. As the article I was referring to notes:-  ‘Challenges include the changing needs and expectations of volunteers and  community members who benefit from their activities; the organisation’s own ability to engage, support and value volunteers; and attracting and keeping the resources required to support volunteers’ [an important aspect of which will include such essential as adequate insurance – just because a ‘worker’ does what he/she she without pay, does not negate the necessity for the organisation concerned to ensure that adequate insurance provisions are in place to cover a range of protections from public liability to worker’s compensation.  The argument is often made that volunteer organisations, such as aid agencies, etc, should not be necessary, but that governments should be taking responsibility for much of the areas of activity that volunteers undertake.  That may well be true, but the fact ids, government’s seldom go far enough in terms of needs, and the modern volunteer work force,   is an essential part of much that needs to be done in a community.

As for the ‘statistics’ that drew my attention to this article, as compiled by the ABS, they revealed that in Australia, 34% of the adult population volunteer in some form of activity – 5.4 million people with annual total hours of 713 million. That creates a medium annual number of hours volunteered of 56 hours, individually, that doesn’t sound much, but of course, amongst that 5.4 million, we would find that the majority of hours are worked by a small percentage of that total. Some interesting figures – of the typical volunteer, they are made up as follows:-

• 36% of all women volunteer;
• 32% of all men volunteer;
• 44% of volunteers are aged 35 to 44;
• 48% of volunteers raise funds;
• 31% prepare and serve food;
• 28% teach or provide information;
• 26% work in administration;
• 57% volunteer to ‘help others’;
• 44% do it for ‘personal satisfaction’; and
• 36% seek ‘to do something worthwhile’.

Not sure where us ‘radio presenters’ fit in there, no doubt a combination of a number of categories!! Speaking of which, I’ve just completed another 5 hours on air, over the past two nights, and as usual, enjoyed every minute of that time. Is that an example of pure self satisfaction?  I think not, but more specifically, a broad aim to share something I en joy with others, in this case, the radio listening community. I often comment upon, and wonder how many people are out there listening, but certainly, if the presenter doesn’t sound as though he/she is enjoying what they are doing, there should be no reason to expect the listener to want to remain tuned in!

Meantime, in my ‘role’ of keeping attune with how our various sporting champions are performing, I notice that motor cyclist Casey Stoner, last Sunday won the USA Grand Prix, in his season bid to a win a second world title. He has now won five out of this year’s 10 MotoGP races And he is apparently doing all that with a nagging neck problem, created from a crash a few weeks ago.  Meanwhile, Tour de France winner, Cadel Evans, is apparently aiming for a trio of titles to add to last weekend’s Tour win, and his World Road title championship.  He wants an Olympic Gold Medal, to join an Italian, and  a German  cycl.ist, as previous winners of those three events.  Cadel competed in the Beijing Olympics Men’s Road Race [finishing 15^th behind  this year’s Tour de France King of the Moun tains, Samuel Sanchez, while he finished 5^th in the Time Trial event, 4 days later. It seems the main obstacle to this plan, is that timing of the Olympic Games, and next year’s Tour de France are quite close together!! Anyway, interesting to see if he follows up on that ambition.

It’s feels like too, another Monday morning, and after the euphoria of the weekend’s ‘hero’ status created by our newest sports star [Cadel Evans], and the contrasting horror of what happened in Norway on Friday, well, put simply, the mundane ‘another day’ aspects of returning to the office is almost depressing!  But then I look at my calendar, and see that there are 86 days to go, before my official retirement date, and a bit of optimism returns [though admittedly, also combined with an element of apprehension at the approach of a new stage of life!!

Meanwhile, found myself feeling a little annoyed on the drive into the city – tuned into our radio station, and a presenter who was obviously having trouble [as she did last week] operating the system properly, the result of which was very poor radio [despite some good music, which was basically all that was coming through]. Had I not been on the road heading away from Sunbury, I would have gone up to the station to offer some assistance, and while I might be wrong, I was annoyed that nobody else, who could assist, seemed to be tuned in, or aware of a problem!!  Oh well, no doubt, I shall voice those views at the next committee meeting, and probably upset somebody in the process!!

Also had daughter Susie on my mind – as part of her course, she was beginning a 4 week school placement this morning, at a town about 20 minutes north of here, hoped that would be a successful outcome. Being so close to home, it also meant she would be home during the week, so at least there would be a bit more ‘company’ of sorts, during that period.  Meantime, Ishall return here later!!

I just had to include this written report, by Tom Wald [Nine’s Wide World of Sports], 24^th July 2011

‘Cadel Evans stands on the brink of one of Australia’s greatest sporting achievements after claiming the yellow jersey for Sunday’s final stage of the Tour de France.  Starting the day trailing Andy Schleck by 57 seconds, the Australian produced a masterful performance in Saturday’s 42.5km time trial in and around Grenoble to seize a one minute and 34 second advantage.  Evans finished second in the time trial, just seven seconds behind Tony Martin.

The last stage to Paris is traditionally a procession for riders in the overall classification with the main action coming from the sprinters on the Champs Elysees. Evans is keeping his celebrations on ice for now.  “There’s always more to go … we’ve still got to cross the finish line in Paris tomorrow, that’s my main focus right now actually getting through there without any trouble,” Evans told SBS television.  “Today I just went through the processes like we have a plan everyday … the plan was a,b,c,d and follow the plan and do the best we can.”  On Saturday, Evans scorched around the undulating course in the heart of the French Alps in HH minutes and HH seconds in overcast conditions.

After near misses in the 2007 and 2008 editions of the Tour, Evans’ triumph is a massive moment for the sport in Australia.  The victory makes the 34-year-old the oldest winner of the Tour in the 88 years since Henri Pelissier finished on top in 1923.  Such has been the dominance of Europeans at the Tour, that Evans is only the third champion to have come from outside the continent’s clutches.\ Evans’ performance also ticks one of the few remaining boxes on Australian sport’s to do list. The weight of the achievement must be considered up there with the nation’s finest sporting moments such as Australia II winning the 1983 America’s Cup in New York. It completes a remarkable journey after growing up in the Northern Territory and almost being killed at the age of eight after being kicked in the head by a horse.

Evans moved to Victoria in his teenage years and made his name as a mountain biker before transferring his talents to the road. After being less than a minute away in 2007 and 2008 from capturing cycling’s holy grail, Evans struggled with favouritism in 2009.  However only months after his disappointing 30th finish, he became the first Australian to win the men’s road race world title. He changed teams in late 2009 and went to BMC, a   elbow from a crash at last year’s Tour ruining his chances of challenging the leaders. On this year’s tour, he has not had as much pressure on himself and Saturday was the first day that he had worn the yellow jersey. He had been happy to mark his time before the time trial with spirited pursuits of lead groups in the final two mountain stages proving pivotal to his success. Evans’ cleanskin reputation is a bonus for cycling’s image as it tries to clean up its reputation following decades of drugs controversies. Ex-teammates of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong have accused him of taking banned substances while three-time winner Alberto Contador tested positive for anabolic agent clenbuterol at last year’s Tour. The Spanish Cycling Federation cleared him of any offence and Contador’s appeal will be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from August 1-3. Brian Kirkham was the first Australian to ride in the Tour in 1914 with the legendary Hubert Opperman participating for the first time in 1928. But it wasn’t until 1981 that an Australian slipped on the yellow jersey for the first time in Phil Anderson.\  Since then several Australians have worn the famous jersey but only Evans has threatened to climb to the top step on the Champs Elysees with it on.   His dream will be realised [formally] on Sunday’.