"Just a sailor" I tell people when they ask what I do. Upon reflection it was a superb training in leadership. I managed at 16 to obtain a cadetship at sea, ending up for all of my four years training on a passenger cargo ship running between Geelong, Melbourne and the Pacific Islands of Nauru and Ocean Island, and occasionally NZ.
This ship "Triaster" had 81 crew and 48 passengers, and carried all the lifeline stores, fuel and passengers to the islands bringing phosphate and passengers back.
As a deck cadet I was trained in the wide vision scope of navigation, ship construction, stability, meteorology, seamanship, cargo handling and advanced first aid on my first step to becoming a Captain. Some of my friends ended up in more focussed, almost "myopic" careers in dentristry and accounting.
Advertisement
At sea I was taught to eliminate threats and to react with quick decision-making and work shifts around the clock, even through storms. Nurses are similar and interestingly many of my seafaring friends married nurses.
One strange life lesson I learnt at Nauru, was during the westerly winds when the ship could not tie up to the mooring buoys and had to "drift", as the water was too deep to anchor. Within 3 days of drifting, the crew started to become unhinged, day 5 they were at each other's throats, despite being on wages.
Luckily being the only passenger ship on the trade we had some priority and drifting didn't happen often, thank goodness. A kindergarten teacher friend told me at the time that if you don't keep the kids busy they will quickly degenerate into fighting.
After 7 years at sea, including many seriously frightening storms, I left the sea to study Naval Architecture in Scotland, subsidising my meagre lifestyle by driving a taxi in Clydebank at weekends. This was 1971.
At that time the shipbuilding industry was decimated by PM Ted Heath's decision to close the Upper Clyde Shipyards which threw many thousands of people out of a job. Despite a safety network of the dole, within days, the robberies, domestic violence, suicides, home invasions and general disorder spiked unbelievably. There is an old Scottish saying "When poverty comes in the door, love flies out the window". I was astounded at the speed of this social collapse.
In 1976 I started my own company in Queensland, a one man band with wide vision that my years at sea had instilled in me. Captain of my own ship no less !.
Advertisement
In 1989 a greedy bank sucking 22% on my overdraft "NABbed" me despite a 13 year unblemished record of growth. But I wasn't Robinson Crusoe and Labor's Paul Keating "Recession we had to have" decimated a record number of small businesses, the hardest working Australians, with thousands out of work.
Again, despite the dole being available, there was a spike in social disorder, domestic violence, home invasions and suicides including 2 friends of mine.
With 4 kids at school and a big dog that ate more than the kids, despite a meagre dole allowance, my wife and I restarted the company. Captain of a much smaller command, this time eliminating the threat of banks, and rebuilding slowly without any debt.
4 years ago on a business trip I was in Venezuela, witnessing first hand Maduro's socialism tanking a whole nation. Maduro, a Daniel Andrews on steroids, hero of the Left, had decimated the nation and once again, millions unemployed, empty supermarkets, a currency worth nothing, robberies, home invasions and daylight kidnappings of any person old or young that looked "worthwhile".
After decades of useful experience, including recognising threats, what would I do as Captain of the good ship "Australia" with 67% of people on board as crew and 33% as passengers (retirees, etc).
Would I employ the likes of Palaszczuk or Andrews to add wisdom in steering this ship ?. Their ability to run a coffee shop, would, I suspect, be underwhelming low.
Anyway, back to the hypothetical:-
"Captain", the chief officer informs me, "we appear to have imported a virus from some new crew and passengers at the last port"
"The ship's doctor, our chief medical officer, informs us that the virus is highly infectious, and is likely to be terminal to older people, yes that's including you Captain, and any sick people"
Watching the pensive frown on my face he continues:-
"I also remind you Captain that the fuel reserves are getting low and the green gestapo are still preventing us from starting up the SMR (small modular nuclear reactor), which can power us totally for the next 7 years without refueling.
The UN Polit Bureau, the owner's representative on board, wants you to close down the ship and drift for a while, after all we should follow the lead of other ships out here, NZ, UK, Italy, France etc., they have all closed down."
The officers stand around me waiting for me to accede to the instructions of the higher authorities, and issue instructions to lock down the whole ship and drift.
Drift aimlessly, deplete our reserves and be unprepared for any other storm that can come along and overwhelm us? - I think not !.
"Luckily for you guys" I declare in a loud voice" I am a Scotsman with a bit of related experience and a lot of vision, and we have a saying in Scotland that 'only the dead fish go with the flow' !.
This is what will happen, we are going to continue our voyage but firstly a few basic but essential precautions :-
Seal off the helipad and side doors eliminating new arrival problems by air or sea. The latest arrivals if they refuse to self isolate, put them in the brig and slide a pizza under their door every 3 days, if they escape, catch them, throw them over the side.
Isolate the sick in the hospital and the elderly in the Promenade deck.
Isolate the command team, navigation and comms team to the Bridge deck, and the only access point is the mess room where food will be delivered. Isolate the engineers in their sector and only access by the engineers mess room.
Upgrade hygiene standards to "over the top" in all areas of the ship, including temperature sensors.
Get that miserable gestapo team into the small ship's launch and drop them off close to the ship NZ which is drifting to the east of us. They love gestapo !
Immediately fire up the SMR as we need cheap reliable power
Start a vegetable garden on the aft upper deck, start fishing and maintain a healthy level of food reserves.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I want everyone to be kept busy and happy
Where there is no vision, the people perish. We have a lifeline voyage to complete with everyone in good mental and physical health. ! "
Summary
1, Rollback EPA madness and unlock every stalled project including nuclear, create vision.
2, Remember the 5 million employed in small business are taking the brunt of this, not ineffective bureaucrats who are still in a job. Get small business back to work - Immediately
3, Announce daily national death totals (appx 450), flu (appx 10) and then Covid19 (1 every 2 days)– KEEP PERSPECTIVE ! Are we surrendering our economy for a realistic reason ?
4, Copy success (Taiwan) which is open for business, and don't follow media hysteria