One person’s view of the Andrews disaster with suggestions for change

Dear Liberals et alia,

Megalomaniac morons lack the neurons for rational thought but are good at being serious and attracting the brain vapid or those that prefer the nose ring approach to life commonly referred to as ‘the rusted on voter’.  These are dangerous people who, instead of applying rational thought, follow anyone holding the nose ring rope because resisting hurts – nose or brain.  Look at North Korea where the population marches in lock step to starvation or Russia where resistive thought can mean prison or China where disagreement with the CCP means disappearance.

You need to convince those of the ‘open mouthed ring persuasion’ that they should think about not voting for the moron because to do so would label them ‘vapid followers of moron’.  Not good.  Do this quietly whilst speaking in unarguable logic – premise premise conclusion.

A message -for example ... 

‘The Liberal party of Victoria will be the next Government because we seek support from  the thinkers from all sides but only those who actually care about our state and ask them to vote for whom they consider to be the best at creating the way forward’ – the thinking swinging voter." 

"It’s the centrists among us who care about change, will shift allegiance on rational thought,  care about our future and think through issues without the blinkered non-thinking approach of the ‘rusted on’ voter.  We seek intelligent debate without the tirade and pontificating obfuscation."

"Sometimes the facts are so plain that there can be no debate.  For example – ‘John Holland is a Chinese Company [China Communications Construction] and was given the billion dollar contract to build our infrastructure by labor all the while China was and is trying to ruin our economy through trade sanctions."

"It seems the CCP is holding the nose ring rope on Labor.  Why else would anything as obvious as this be acceptable to any clear thinker who can see through the moronic stupidity.  Kowtowing and indeed supporting a regime which ignores international law [South China Sea], ignores major agreements [Hong Kong]and takes over others sovereignty by persuasive force [Solomon] is tantamount to sedition.  It’s the same regime who has built ghost cities just to prop up an economy through ‘look at me look at me’ diplomacy."

"They just love the nose-ring lot because they know there will be no actual thought or resistance!  The labor party and their rusted on nose ring people are the CCP’s best friends."

You need to instill in those people a sense of panic enough for them to think about issues and jump on board to our shared and governed future.

 Regards,

Jon Langevad [MBA et alia]

A SPINE FOR AUSTRALIA

It seems that the world hasn’t learned any lessons from history.  In essence, people don’t change or at least the ego driven despot / meglamanics don’t.  They pursue ‘whatever’ it takes to stay in power and expand their self universe ignoring normal people who just bend and break.  Yet, the useless talking heads, continue to just talk.

On the 1st of September 1939 one meglamanic despot invaded Poland.  The talking heads were talking and the world hid their collective heads in the sand.  Millions died.  Good result, eh?

Move forward 80 years and the world is once again refusing to consider that we have at least two or three despots who are summarily bent on killing millions to bolster their own egos.  Let me repeat, millions dead for no reason and we do nothing because we as a collective don’t want to believe that such existential threats exist. ‘She’ll be right mate [said with a big smile and brain off], what do I care, that’s in some place called Europe – ha ha’.

To quote philosopher John Stuart Mill, who delivered an 1867 inaugural address at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”   Wow! And that was 1867 which proves we have learnt zip.

With one idiot, Putin, destroying Russia including its reputation by his brain dead ego driven actions destroying the lives of millions of innocent people, the useless talking heads, talk, and continue to talk.  Look at me look at me, I am talking.  Dare to object inside Russia or China or Nth Korea and you will be silenced as dissent from ‘the presidential ego’ is not acceptable.  What does that one fact tell the universe?  How about lack of reason, lack of humanity, lack of intelligence, lack of maturity, lack of consultation and lack of empathy where respect is subjugated to personal ego.  People suffer and die driven by bellicosity.  Think the battle of Somme in 1916 where a million died over a few miles of dirt.

Yet, the talking heads just continue to talk.

What to do? 

How about conscripting Julie Bishop back to parliament as PM to work with equals Peter Dutton and Josh Frydenberg to lead Australia toward developing a spine.  Power through international respect for foreign affairs expertise, political savvy and individual strength.

How about, making the NT an Australian multi location and multi nation hub for democratic ‘world peace games’ [eg – Aus, USA, Israel, NATO, UK, France, et alia]. A combined military at crucial global location/s working together as a force for peace and world order.  Say 200,000 troops with ALL associated hardware and weaponised software – launch ready – led by that same multi nation group and not by an individual despot.  This would not be a war footing but merely essential training of a deterrent ‘world’ force driven by respect and law.

No going it alone for anyone but not just talking – doing – ready to cripple aggressive behavior by any country which disrespects others sovereignty, territory or human rights.

Nuclear proliferation was supposed to make all aggressors think twice about self annihilation but that only works if all parties are free of ego driven despots, all parties are similarly armed and all parties show a spine!

Then we can live in peace away from threats and power grabs.  Back to economic competition through and by a rules based system protecting everyone’s rights.  Prosperity for all and respect as a God given right for all.

Mismanagement of Covid19

‘The amnesiac [Coate’s enquiry], mismanagement-Andrews’, is out of control with Covid19.

Andrews’ actions propagate the self righteous / self entitled to openly defy public health orders.  These are the ‘covid spreaders’ caring little about anyone outside their own bubble whilst ignoring community responsibility.  Despite being labelled as ‘boofheads’ by the police they continue to ignore simple anti-death measures such as vaccination, masks, distancing and sanitising.  They could be big family groups insular to the health requirements of their community or just dropkicks unable to think past their nose.

Lockdowns are NOT going to create behavioural change in these people because they already have a mental fire wall separating cognitive thought from their chosen path.  Any actions they see as exacerbating a reduction in their precious freedom will only make them retreat further into stupidity.

Walk along Beaconsfield parade in Middle Park any Sunday afternoon during lockdown and watch the mask-less boofheads defiantly strut along seemingly fed by their own brain dead aggressive persona. 

Do I blame them for being angry?  Not really because even a ten year old can see ‘mismanagement-Andrews’ is out of his depth.  That same ten year old could also see Andrews desperately try to shift responsibility by prepending all statements with ‘based on health advice’ and/or emotive fear mongering words such as ‘highly infectious’ as though both of those disclaimers justify his actions.  They don’t.

The answer seems simple in that to stop the virus, stop the spreaders.  This is harder than enforcing an economy wrecking lockdown - which obviously does not stop those covid spreaders as a dropkick entitlement syndrome [DES] is alive and well. 

Mismanagement-Andrews must please take advice from statisticians who would have laughed at ‘the numbers’ he flaunts as justification for lockdowns. Traces of virus in country Victoria locks down the whole state costing millions [didn’t actually exist on retest] and one or two cases locking down a city of 5 million people [statistically absurd].

If it’s true, all we need to do is wear a mask, keep our distance and sanitise – often.  How hard can that be?  Unfortunately testing is ‘after infection’ and whilst vaccination will reduce chances of death it will still allow some spreading and, worse, the virus can apparently live on hard surfaces for an inordinate time.

Therefore the answer seems to be to encourage the spreaders to comply, by stick and carrot, without disastrous mis-management lockdowns penalising the innocent both financially and emotionally.

Firstly the ‘stick’.. If masks are SO important then those deliberately flaunting the rules need to be fined something in the order of $2,000 per offence.  Then, even the idiot can see that perhaps wearing a mask is better than shelling out $2k each time one is caught.  This is not a forever law but a temporary measure only until the virus is whacked.

Secondly the carrot ..   It seems vaccinations are our only long term solution and to that end EVERYONE must get vaccinated.  The carrot to achieve this is ‘the pass’ as has been introduced in France where fully vaccinated people enjoy greater freedoms after proving they have had the jab.  Those not wanting vaccination would not be allowed in restaurants, theatres, planes, etc.  Once again, a simple choice.  Get the jab, protect yourself, protect all those around you and enjoy a free life.  The option for those not wanting to protect our community is to stay at home.  A simple choice really, a choice everyone can understand.  Biden’s rules are similar – come to work but if you are unvaccinated then you must wear a mask, keep 1.5m distance to anyone and don’t travel. 

This can only happen with legislation allowing the police to blitz and fine and by making vaccination easy, plentiful and without grubby reporters selling fear and gloom as they have with AZ.  AZ is saving Britain!

The question is, ‘can mismanagement-Andrews make this happen?’  I hope so but then I doubt it.  His whole amnesiac management team [including health professionals] seem to be going down a different path.  A path of economic fatality and virus eradication failure despite his narcissistic power grab through state of emergency legislation.  I can’t imagine a worse person to hold that power.

The solution is to establish an arms length group of professionals to manage the pandemic with mismanagement-Andrews kept well away from any decision making.

ANDREWS AND THE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

It’s amazing how public opinion can be swayed by firstly inherent unshakable beliefs and secondly by continual spin through words and actions.

It doesn’t seem to matter what travesties have occurred because all is forgiven as a matter of course.  The infamous ‘Stockholm’ syndrome is alive and well even on a grand scale.  The perpetrators or captors do horrible things then convince their victims that they are in fact good people and to be admired through spin and their dedication to cause.

I refer to Andrews and his mis-management of Victoria.  As a politician he seems to conform to the definition – a person who acts in a manipulative and devious way, typically to gain advancement within an organization.

This is not a political comment but a management issue.

Victoria is now trillions of dollars behind in direct costs plus eye watering losses of productivity and has seen some 800 people die as a result of Andrews mal administration of the so called Covid 19 second wave.   This is not subject to discussion as it is proven beyond any doubt.  A government with collective amnesia about who spent some $30 million to use private security in hotel quarantine instead of free ADF, refused the best contact tracing system, refused to replicate what other states and territories achieved and how they did it and watched as infection rates soared and ruined people’s lives does not deserve to manage anything.

Constant vacillation over imposed restrictions and mixed messages all demonstrate a government out of control.  And, as we had precedents from all over the world and within Australia there was and is no excuse.

You can tell when a manager is out of his depth by the guilt trip of working 80+ hours a week in an effort to redress his own inabilities and dysfunctions and to be seen as ‘working hard’ so that people will see him getting more and more exhausted and feel for his dedication when in good management, interactions are controlled and delegated – not micro managed.

Mr Genuine then imposes more and more ‘restrictions’ in an effort to fix the issues he created.  Restrictions which have been proven as useless.  Still our ‘captor’ is seen as in control, dedicated, working hard and focused on his agenda of saving us.  The spin is fear  of death as well as ‘sympathy for his dedicated plight’ saving us and some 60% of people actually believe him.  The Stockholm syndrome on a large scale is alive and well.

Andrews behaviour is foolish and dangerous as has been clearly demonstrated.

Good management is around 40% dedicated and focused work and 40% strategic planning with the remaining 20% being interactions with professionals who actually know what they are talking about.  All of this accounts for perhaps 7 hours a day with the rest taken up with life, kids, golf, future.   Not hard! 

Out of control people work long hours with exponentially diminishing returns to try and do the job they are incapable of doing.  For example, an expert ‘numbers’ person adds up a series of numbers in say 2 minutes whereas a person who does not see numbers as friends takes 4 minutes and has to work ‘really hard’ to get a result.  Apart from the stress and anxiety of being out of their intellect zone it’s taken twice as long and cost twice as much.  WIth Andrews he has proven to be well out of his capability zone having to work really hard to ‘catch up’ and what happens? - blunders, bungled processes, bad decisions and lost time.  But, in this case, also 800+ lives.

One cannot just ignore what’s happened as that would disrespect those who had unnecessarily lost their lives, those who have suffered mental health issues as a result of the mal-administration and those who have lost their business, savings and financial security.

Remember, this terrible second wave need not have happened if Andrews had replaced ‘working hard’ real with cognitive thought with a team of experts  leading to good management.  All he needed to do was watch what our federal government and state and territory governments were doing and replicate same.  Not unprecedented and not out of the ordinary unless you are a narcissist depending on and fixated by the need to be seen as one in absolute control.

The cost to Victoria is immense in terms of reputation, human suffering and financial loss.  Worse, Victoria has negatively affected Australia’s reputation and caused massive financial loss.  All this borrowed money will have to be paid back with interest for negative benefit – just catch up.  Remember it was Andrews who spent $1.2b to NOT build a road.  Financial insanity!  How about selling out infrastructure Victoria to a foreign power with a secret MOU which caused such alarm bells as to force the Federal Government to enact legislation to be able to override rogue states making questionable decisions.  How about Andrews and his management team suffering collective amnesia over spending $30m on private security for the botched hotel quarantine when professional support was offered for nothing.

It goes on and on and on.

What now?

We can’t change a government out of term unless supply is threatened and the body politic turn on the elected representatives through a motion of no confidence and this won’t happen unless people cross the floor and vote against their own inabilities.  Not likely.

But, public pressure can mitigate change.  Change in management.  Let the politicians play at politicking and set in place a professional management team to transparently rescue Victoria and reset the bar.  Disaster management, yes, but far more.  For example how can we aspire to be anything unless we have a clear communicated vision leading to strategic directions leading to strategic plans leading to action plans leading to focused action.  Yes, this is textbook business 101, is not new but is proven.  Don’t ignore the millions of words written and acted on by companies and organisations worldwide for decades and decades.

I suggest Victorians demand the introduction of a highly qualified professional bi-partisan management team to rebuild Victoria from the top down starting with a vision we can all rally behind.  This is not working hard but working smart. Treat Victoria as the failing organization it is and deal with required interventions instead of replacing focus with shouty rhetoric and having to be seen to be working hard to mitigate inability.

Imagine what we can achieve given focus, strength of purpose and an innate desire to act!  All we need is a new professional, proven, high powered, respected and focused management team capable of leading that charge. The ‘jigsaw’ people capable of building a coherent picture from seemingly disparate pieces then handing the ‘plan’ to the ‘block’ people to action within explicit guidelines. [Reference jigsaw/block people to descriptions I coined some 30 years ago to describe the two critical areas of business needed for success.   Simple, intuitive and true.]

The first and hardest stage in this process is an acceptance by all that this is indeed necessary.  In this case not too hard given the obvious dysfunctions of this government.  It takes a good manager to recognise personal shortcomings and deal with them by seeking professional advice.  It takes an idiot to waddle through dysfunction with horrendous outcomes.  If Victoria was a company, Andrews and his senior team would possibly be in goal from breaching his own legislation on corporate culpability leading to death.

But, politicians seem immune from actual responsibility continually wafting around with shouty seemingly sincere voices working hard  to fix disaster whilst sinking further and further behind.  These people are NOT our Stockholm heroes but merely elected ‘block people’ attempting to do a ‘jigsaw’ persons job.  The second lurches from disaster to disaster whilst the first strategises, plans and sets in train specific objectives to achieve desired results.

This thinking is not hard and has been around for decades and decades.

In an ideal world Andrews would announce the formation of an arms length transparent advisory powerhouse professional management team ‘with teeth’ to set in train a program to reset Victoria away from the pariah mendicant state we have become.  This ‘powerhouse’ to be seen as the independent team advising the government on what to do before the government applies themselves to focused action.  Not behind closed doors but out there working with Victorians.  A definite separation of responsibility.  The bi-partisan powerhouse defines what needs to happen, why it needs to happen and when Vs the government’s responsibility to make it happen within commercial time frames. 

There are many issues requiring this powerhouse including bush fire plans, covid19 plans, strategic vision development, infrastructure planning, homelessness plans, image creation, et alia.  Quite a long list!  Imagine how the world could see Victoria as the state embracing the future through powerhouse professional management away from shouty ‘look at me’ inappropriate rhetoric.  Wow!

Politicking and narcissism need to be removed whilst the adults take over.   Indeed, Andrews could be seen as a professional manager instead of the politician who killed Victoria.

Collective amnesia at ministerial level

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he’ [proverbs 29:18] – The so called crisis council being Daniel Andrews, James Merlino, Tim Pallas, Jacinta Allan, Jenny Mikakos, Jill Hennessy, Martin Pakula and Lisa Neville obviously had no vision, no oversight, no responsibility,  no management expertise and it seems no memory as all suffered inexplicable group amnesia over the refusal to use the offered ADF but instead to use private contractors costing millions of dollars and 800 lives.  Failing to act in good faith is a failure to ‘keepeth the law’ with the result being confusion and chaos with no concrete ‘vision’ of returning to normal.   

Once more unto the breach [a second wave of Covid] we are still stuck in minutia by being enveloped in a blame game that is both brain dead and dysfunctional but is still costing innocent lives and billions of dollars.  Please don’t blame others or point to other countries misfortunes because Australia was under control with Covid 19 until Ruby Princess [28 dead] and Andrews quarantine maladministration [800 dead!]. 

This is a ‘management’ issue where elected politicians with little management experience pontificate from on high whilst the visionless minions try to make sense of gross stupidity and criminal mismanagement.  800 deaths and a trillion dollar debt is criminal. 

There is no doubt that the Victorian labor government has been and is responsible for putting Victorians at risk through and by the mal administration of the so called second wave.  Not only though as there is still the ramping up of unsustainable debt, not having a clear vision for Victoria, selling our sovereignty to a rogue power and failing to even make common sense.  Andrews is the self appointed leader of that dysfunction but not the only culprit.  The ‘gang of 8’ comes to immediate mind as a group of senior government people so far out of their comfort zone that collective amnesia has set in - as ably demonstrated at ‘the enquiry’. 

No one is to blame so it seems for 800 deaths and a trillion dollar debt. No, not me, can’t remember, no one told me, my computer crashed, was sick that day, the dog ate the memo, aliens stole the email.  Sadly, these are responsible adults holding down key management jobs yet they come across as 10 year old kids determined to get out of trouble by any obfuscation or fabrication possible.

It’s pathetic but worse it’s ‘adult’ pathetic with known consequences.  Acting in bad faith doesn’t even come close.  Mindless narcissistic drivel but with enormous ramifications for their victims – us! 

It’s easy to devolve to minutia during periods of brain overload, as a matter of fact sometimes necessary to keep our sanity.  But, this is not what we pay our leaders for.  We pay them to actually think strategically.  Simple.  Shouty is not good.

This last week has been all about minutia and finger pointing over small things.  Good television but led by pontificating idiots focused on blame shifting away from themselves.

May I repeat, this current so called second wave has been caused by the collective labor government and bureaucratic affiliates with each identified player adding their useless two bob’s worth.  Let’s focus on 800 deaths and a trillion dollar debt instead of who said what to whom at 3:27pm.  Or, is that too hard?  Simple statistics show huge flaws in management and rhetoric.

It is a management problem!

Andrews has been and is wallowing in a sea of ineptitude.  Not only are his shortcomings on show but it seems all concerned are also wallowing.  This second wave should never have occurred yet it did because of sheer incompetence by a whole gaggle  of politicians, bureaucrats, advisors and public officials.  “I am too senior and beyond reproach”.  Yeah, right.

The solution?  We, the affected, demand Andrews and his cohorts apply some degree of intelligence to fixing the mess they created.  Not only Covid19 but the debt burden and the sale of Victoria to a foreign power.  Can they do this?  No.  They need help in the form of real and proven leaders from all sides of politics.  Think what Don Argus did for Coles Myer after a management import created disaster.  A calming strategic influence – right time right place.

I mean really, a curfew no one wanted or thought necessary [except Andrews], draconian lockdowns the same professionals thought unnecessary and a political ‘roadmap’ which was and is a joke to any business or indeed any thinking person.

I would be happier if it was the same Mexicans who invaded Telstra management and tried to screw the company before an Australian steadied the ship [Thodey]. In that case one could just ship them back to their home hole in the ground but we have an elected Government bent on staying in power by any means.

Therefore, we are stuck with the labor collective for a while albeit they must accept support from the real adults lest we all sink. Adults who think strategically such as Kennett, Keating, Costello and Gillard.

Oblivion is but a small step when good people fail to act - 800 lives lost and a trillion dollar debt is not political playtime.  When the country divides, political leaders have failed.  Simple, but watch the fools try and shoot the messenger.

It’s a shame that the pandemic response is but one of Andrews failures.  A big one, but just one.

Andrews 4

 PREAMBLE:

Very broadly speaking, there are two types of people who deal with planning but from different perspectives and mindsets.  Each has a role to play but rarely do both attributes reside in the one person. 

There are the ‘block’ people who build success by gradual change from the bottom up.  This is the minutia set, the people who are happiest when dealing with individual issues and are critical to the success of basically everything.   Nuts and bolts!  Without their dedication to keeping stuff happening we would not have a world.  Their ‘escape’ is for example ‘science fiction’ where their brains can wax lyrical and expand into the unknown.

The second lot are the ‘jigsaw’ people who can visualise the big picture and how all the bits fit.  There are less of these people because the demand is less.  Dealing with minutia for these people is hard because inherent focus is different.   Their escape is to for example to meticulously clean the golf clubs before challenging the unwinnable [grass].

This gets really hard for sole traders and small business people.  ‘Poiders Plumbing’ is run by a block person happily dealing with minutia but needs to understand and market himself as a jigsaw person in order to thrive.  Wendy’s events business is all about bringing together the many facets of a function to create success but has real difficulty in hands on.  Different people, different jobs.

In management there is a dysfunction line when people cross the boundary between minutia and jigsaw - either way.  A great manager decides to ‘roll up his sleeves’ and get stuck in.  A noble cause?  Not really.  It may be therapeutic for a while but his mindset is in a different place and it will not work long term.  But, every now and again, devolving to minutia is a defence mechanism to stop us going crazy.  Going the other way, the minutia person enters an expanded universe over the line and is immediately uncomfortable because there is no one-thing on which to focus.  Again, it will not work.  Everyone has heard the expression, ‘promoted to a level of incompetence’.  Well, this can be a reason why.

This dysfunction rears its ugly head when we look at our elected representatives coming from all walks of life expected to cement our collective future in a changing world.  They love the election because they can pontificate at length about single issues pretending they are in control.  Not so.  The ‘look at me’ syndrome is born of shouty people who would be better served by a job within the bureaucracy.  Shout long enough and people will believe. 

An expression used a lot by people who are basically out of control is ‘we are working hard’ but all they are really saying is that they are in fact out of control and having to work harder and harder to keep their collective heads above water.

The in control person says, ‘We are achieving our published goals and, this is how we are doing it’.

In charge, but wallowing around without a clear and communicated vision and subsequent plan does not cut it.  It confuses the block people trying to action anything and it confuses those who need to know.

ANDREWS:

When a crisis hits all the management flaws come to the surface.  Good times management is relatively easy as all is tickety boo and we ignore small issues because in the big picture they don’t really matter.  ‘She’ll be right mate’.  And, for the ‘lucky country’, this axiom has worked for years and years.

Now we have an axiom contradictor in the form of a virus threatening and indeed changing our way of life.  The pressure is on and merely ‘working hard’ is insufficient.

Andrews ‘roadmap’ delivered yesterday as a plan to beat the contradictor was inept because it had no vision other than ‘please God may the virus go away if we are all good little boys and girls’.  There was no vision of a future other than a return of sorts to pre-Covid.  He delivered same in his shouty voice and stare down manner trying to be seen as in control.

Yet we know, he was responsible for the mal administration causing this second wave, huge monetary losses and hundreds of lives.  He is out of control and has been for the last 8 years.  An elected representative out of his comfort zone but refusing to do what all good managers do, seek advice from experts, develop a vision people can identify with and take transparent action to achieve that future.

Hard?  Of course it’s hard.  It’s hard in good times let alone during a crisis.

Victoria has a tough road to follow to get out of the world perception that we are the out of control pariah mendicant state.  We need a mantra which can both lead and enthuse. If I may quote from Robin Sharma - “I am more than I appear to be, all the worlds strength & power rests inside me.” A great line which could also serve Victoria well as we bolt out of this crisis.  Victoria - "I am more than I am being quiet, determined, respectful and focussed." 

This is the sort of focussing vision we need to be supported by a bunch of real goals thrusting us into the future.  Not a minutia led ‘level crossing maintenance’ objective but real visionary stuff.  The sort of vision Keating, Button and Howard had, combined with the strength Hawke had to galvanise a nation, the financial smarts of Costello and the CEO Premier showcased by Kennett.

What we have is quite different.  We have a minutia led Premier trying to focus on just one thing being to eradicate the virus.  It happened on his watch and he is responsible for the mal administration costing billions of our dollars and many many lives.  He needs to fix it.

But is he capable?  Obviously a minutia / block thinker trapped in a jigsaw thinking job.  So, no he is not capable.  Worse, he has refused to recognise obvious shortcomings and get appropriate help.

None of us can claim to be the absolute fund of all knowledge but the better of us recognise this and seek support.  The more serious the matter the more this is critical.

Obviously, my opinion of Andrews is not very high as it relates to the job he is not doing.  But it doesn’t mean there is not a way out.  Andrews needs to cede management control for Covid 19 to an expert team removed from government – as good managers who know their limits do.  He also needs to develop a vision for Victoria which people will gladly follow.  He needs to communicate a positive ‘carrot driven’ plan to extract ourselves from Covid normal to be seen globally as a dynamic state dealing with pressure.  He also needs to develop a set of long term goals people will flock to.  Then he needs to action those goals through transparent plans communicable to us mere lemmings.

Basically, business 101.

We don’t have basic business ‘101’.  We have people trapped in the wrong job.

 

andrews [small a]

Dear all,

Angry does not describe how I feel about Daniel Andrews. 

His government’s absolute mismanagement of our state has cost us, Victoria, literally billions.  Billions we don’t have because he’s spent it and had to borrow squillions from the Chinese just to feed his ongoing funds mismanagement.  The last time it was this bad was under Cain / Kirner. Go figure. 

Worse, Victoria is now the pariah state and seen as such by the rest of the country.  It’s cost us personally circa $30,000 over the 10 weeks of the last lockdown and something similar this time - and we are only one tiny little restaurant.  We will survive because we are financially secure – ish, have a great customer base and have planned for this sort of contingency.  Hundreds of businesses will not survive.

In terms of sport, he has finally figured out that we can still play golf because it’s naturally self distancing.  The rest of the country figured this out long ago and continued to play during the last lockdown.  We were then seen as a joke.  I despair.

Similar, archery is a non contact, naturally socially distancing sport.  This is a no-brainer.  Yet it’s banned.  Why, when golf driving ranges are open?  What’s wrong with archery when it’s so similar to the golf driving range?  No logic – no sense.  [UPDATE 15/7/20 - HE'S NOW BANNED DRIVING RANGES AS WELL]

We have a second pandemic wave because the premier sent a whole raft of mixed messages.  For example, allowing 10,000 people to march in the city.  She’ll be right mate. 

It’s not right, mate!  Idiot.

Now we have security guards also allocated by Andrews looking after hotel quarantine allegedly screwing detainees then tootling back to their family's with a healthy dose of COVID.  Fantastic.

How about a few religious festivals where bunches co-mingle generating more and more very healthy COVID infections which are on the march - with a healthy disregard for humans.

Then he gets on TV and espouses responsibility without taking blame for the absolute mismanagement.  Mismanagement which has cost us money, lives, huge disruption and a loss of reputation.  The KIWI travel bubble just burst. 

This is not a liberal / labour gripe, it’s a plea to get rid of Andrews before he destroys Victoria. What does it take for Victorians to see through this shambolic disaster?

We have been forced into this second and now necessary lockdown because of absolute mismanagement.  How many lives have been ruined by his continuing out of control crap.  No, it’s not easy but then there are supposed to be bunches of very bright people advising the Victorian government supporting good decisions.  Apparently not so.

This needs to be treated just like the rogue local councils which were stood down because of ineptitude and replaced by an interim bunch of ‘change agents’.

I look at the Victorian government hierarchy and, as I said before, despair.  Unfortunately the ability to get elected does not mean talent at anything other than getting elected.

Victoria has a narcissistic rogue government which is out of control but before we succumb and fold let’s bring in a focused management team to take over and try and resurrect disaster.

This is not a change in government, it is a change in responsibility.

And boy, are there several people who could make this happen in the short term, even if they were very very reluctant.  Paul Keating, Julie Bishop, Geoff Kennett, Peter Costello, Julia Gillard et alia.  Give me 10 minutes and even I could think of a team of 10 which could change the world.  People who are respected for their intelligence, ability to recognise and create change in the face of great odds and garner a following from us mere lemmings.  It would be nice if just one person could lead the change but there just aren’t too many Churchill's around.

If I can see this disaster as an overworked cook / dishwasher [now currently underworked] then everyone can. 

Speak up and stop the crap.

Regards,

Langevad J  [MBA et alia]

Covid and restaurants

Why do we do things in hospitality driven by knee jerk reactions and short term thinking?

My wife and I own and run a small restaurant which has been forced into just 8 diners per sitting because of very appropriate Covid restrictions.  In order to survive from day 1 after the reopening we ran two sittings which we are fortunate enough to have oversubscribed.

We do not force people to book online with a credit card and draconian penalties and we don’t stupidly surcharge a bill for using that credit card.  Both of these very very short sighted actions assume people are basically dishonest and financially stupid.  We do not have no-shows and welcome our guests as friends – some for over 17 years.  Friends who are indeed financially astute and honest and who enjoy and indeed respect the trust placed in them. 

Further, there is a trend to try and make people spend more money through the use of set multi course menus and/or minimum spends.  Once again a negative short term cash flow ‘solution’.  Except, it’s not a solution as people rightly don’t like having choice removed.  We have clients who don’t spend much [non drinkers usually] and lots who do.  The balance is appropriate at around $120 per head.  The key is that it’s a ‘balance’ and people spend because we spend a lot of time developing a product which people want to buy, not forcing something they don’t want.

Wonder why there are so many restaurant failures?  One reason, among many, is that restaurateurs show no respect for their clients devolving their offering to their own perceived bottom end financially stupid and disrespectful thinking.  When we opened some 17 years ago Telstra failed to connect our EFTPOS et alia so we had no method of taking credit card payments.  At the time we said to all clients, ‘don’t worry, just pay us next time you pass’.  Every bill was paid within the week.  I have a very healthy respect, for respect and no, it’s not earned, it’s a God given right.

This whole Covid thing is a real bugger on so many fronts causing real financial and emotional stress.  Restrictions placed to protect us against disaster are appropriate but then we see 10,000 people allowed to protest ‘cheek and jowl’ by our government.  Mixed messages from the idiots in power obviously with a brain-thinking disconnect.

We as a nation are going to ‘bolt’ out of this forced conundrum because as that nation we DO have respect for all peoples, we are not idiots and we live in the best country on earth with freedoms of everything. 

People choose based on how they are treated.

We choose Australia and people choose our little restaurant because we respect them without demanding and without hidden charges.

Belt & Road Dan strikes out!

Rowan Dean [AFR] wrote of Premier Andrews - “.. a cesspit of self indulgent cosmopolitan culture and disastrous financial management.. ” and “… secret deals signed with Beijing overlords …” and “… his bungling treasurer …” .  His opinion of his Federal counterpart was not much better.  “… the scheming eunuch Al-Bo and his insane proclamations which would send Australia into a death spiral [paraphrased but not much] …”.

Victoria, from a debt free prosperous and viable state to one of eye watering debt owed to ‘someone’ who will expect interest and security.  That someone will own some $50 billion’s worth of Victoria.

Apart from secret deals with a regime which has, does and is proving on a daily basis to ignore the world in which it sits [HK, Taiwan, S^th China Sea, global trade rules, Australia, USA, et alia] possibly putting our sovereignty at risk and, spending billions of our money on a power trip whilst ignoring funding from the Federal government on independently identified essential infrastructure [East West link] and funding the destruction of heritage properties [Sandringham golf course] and proving a lack of rational thought by banning activities during our exposure to the global pandemic such as fishing, golf and archery which are all, by their very nature, social distanced.  All as a “look at me I’m doing something to stop this pandemic all by myself”.  

A laughing stock from Canberra and even from the other states who have not followed his bizarre behaviour.   He is on his own in the real world and out of control but out of control threatening our sovereignty, our financial security and our future.  He even claims to have closed the borders despite the Prime Minister doing just that.  Perhaps it didn’t occur to him that he CAN’T close ‘national’  borders or claim credit.

We need a return to slightly right centrist and intelligent government.  A government which supports labour initiatives albeit with a dose of reality and professional management. 

Where is the liberal party currently?  Where are the voices of dissent?  I can’t remember anyone with enough presence and basic gumption since Kennett.  Stop this Premier before he destroys Victoria. 

Last thought, how about spending say a billion on solving Victoria’s homeless ‘crisis’ instead of funding level crossing ‘maintenance’ projects.  Priorities are wrong.

DEEMING CLAUSES AND UNCONSCIONABLE CONDUCT - A LAY PERSONS OPINION

Submission and argument that Financial Services Providers reliance on deeming clauses within their terms and conditions is misfounded … [many sources and paraphrased quotes]

 ‘Deemed’ – to adjudge a point of view as fact [my df].

 “Can an action or intention to action be deemed as unconscionable if that act or intention is against good conscience but as yet has no victim”.  The corollary is that there is no unconscionable intent until someone is affected? [Has the tree fallen if no one sees it fall?].

Take for example a contract and in the fine print there is a clause which stipulates that one party has the right to terminate the contract if they ‘deem’ any issue they wish a breach of that contract and the contract becomes null and void without loss of benefit to the author of the contract.   An obvious nonsense.

Now let’s assume, in the normal run of events, that a company is in a strong position with services in demand or people needing those services.  People sign off the contract including the ‘deeming clause’ because they have little choice.  Say a tenancy lease or a credit card contract.  At what point and under what circumstances does the enforcement of the deeming clause become unconscionable and do we even need an enforcement to recognise this term as unconscionable and to be read down?

I believe that it is enough to make such clauses unconscionable even if there is no victim just because it may confuse, coerce and mislead people and it has the intent of doing just that and advantaging the author unconscionably at the expense of others.

Take most credit contracts.   They will all have a similar deeming clause somewhere in their terms and conditions which allows an FSP to summarily terminate an agreement and demand instant repayment of a loan.  Yet there are provisions within the Code of Banking Practice, the Australian Consumer Law and the ASIC act which specifically preclude an FSP from actioning their deeming clause without due process.

So, on one hand we have the FSP with their deeming clauses and alleged cancellation rights and we have the law on the other stopping or at least modifying the same alleged rights.  As the FSP is well aware of the law and well aware of the way their deeming clause is inappropriate then isn’t the inclusion of such a clause by definition, unconscionable and unlawful because the intent of the clause is to take unconscionable advantage - even if it’s never acted on!

Therefore the precursor to any litigation is whether or not the deeming clause is unfair because the intent of the FSP is unconscionable.  I would say that any clause which purports to allow one party to just deem a contract null and void to someone’s disadvantage must be read down as it would be unconscionable to leave it there.

Now, an FSP acts on the deeming clause and we have a victim.  Mr Victim had a credit contract and was using his ‘card’ for everyday things and accumulating frequent flyer points and paying his monthly commitments.  He was late a couple of times but fixed the arrears and all was well.  Then someone from the FSP decided to change policy and deemed the victim’s card cancelled and the victim had to repay the entire debit within a few days because that’s what the deeming clause said.

This put the victim instantly in a state of special financial disadvantage for at least two very important reasons.  Firstly, he had to find the money elsewhere to pay the loan [if he could] and secondly he had relied on the line of credit and had no other money to live on or pay bills.  In effect he had relied on the FSP acting conscionably and in compliance with all parts of the law. Mr Victim complained but the FSP just pointed to the deeming clause as justification for the cancellation.  The FSP was well aware of the law but chose to mislead and coerce the victim into believing they had the right.  Now, not only is the deeming clause unconscionable but the FSP has acted on that clause in the full knowledge of its effect on the victim.  The act is also unconscionable and caused Mr Victim to lurch into a state of special financial disadvantage.

Perhaps Mr Victim has an actionable case against the FSP on at least two grounds.  Firstly, the FSP included such a clause with obvious unconscionable intent and secondly, it acted on it possibly outside the provisions of law.  I would say that pecuniary penalties apply for both inclusion and act and the victim needs to be compensated.

Further …Unconscionable conduct - irreconcilable with what is right or reasonable and show no regard for conscience. [pecuniary penalty circa $1.1m]

Recent decisions (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Lux Distributors Pty Ltd [2013] FCAFC 90) made it clear that for conduct to be seen as unconscionable the determining factor was the respondent’s conduct and not the applicant’s response. It is the ‘conduct’ which is at issue and not the applicant else it could be said that the applicant is being tried for the conduct of the respondent.  A nonsense. 

Whilst it is noted that it is not sufficient for unfair, unjust, wrong or unreasonable conduct by itself to be deemed unconscionable it is quite sufficient when that conduct involves deliberate wrongdoing.

The newly amended prohibition on unconscionable conduct now makes it clear that the statutory prohibition against unconscionable conduct is not limited by the common law concept of unconscionable conduct.  The amendments also make clear that inherent systems or patterns of such conduct are prohibited, whether or not an individual is disadvantaged by the alleged behaviour. The focus, therefore, is on conduct which may offend good conscience, whether or not a "victim" is involved.  Importantly, there is now no distinction between consumer and business transactions in the factors the court may have regard to for the purpose of determining whether conduct is unconscionable.

A clause in a contract can also be declared unconscionable, even if there was no unconscionable conduct in the way the contract was signed. For example the Victorian Supreme Court has held that a clause in the fine print of a contract that created an onerous obligation was unconscionable.

Therefore, given the weight of discussion, why do FSP’s continue to include transparent ‘deeming’ clauses when that very inclusion seems to labeL  them as unconscionable?

BANK - BIG 4

This is a story about the culture within a big 4 bank having an all pervasive internal ethos of – ‘right’. 

Thousands of employees believed they were right in everything they did because their chief executive told them so and defended their actions even though they often bent the law.  Indeed, this bank believed it was above the law because it was big and controlled money and they knew that money was everyone’s lifeblood.  It was superior and knew it was superior because everyone was always nice to them.

'You need our money' preached the bank and people queued up to borrow their dream.  After all, this was its job, to enable dreams.  Or so it said.

Their real job was to buy and sell money at a profit - perfectly commendable and natural for any big public company.  Indeed, most of us sell our time for a profit as do all the employees of the big public company / bank.

Unfortunately, some of the employees of the bank were sick the day ethics were handed out and they did things to advance their own career at the expense of reason and often ignored lawful requirements.  After all, it wasn’t their money or dreams and they knew they were right because their senior managers supported them and even encouraged them to act in bad faith.  Why be a nice guy when you can make lots of money by selling the dream then ripping the dream away – for a profit?

One day, one of the more ethically challenged employees decided, without cross checking, that a client had failed to pay a mortgage payment of circa $2,400 on his home months before.  If the employee had checked he would have realised that it was the bank that had made the blunder but fact checking was not in his mindset so he knee jerked into pious action in the absolute knowledge he could do nothing wrong - because he was a part of the bank and was always – right.

He rang the client with the opening statement, ‘We are going to sell your home in 30 days’.  Needless to say the client was somewhat taken aback, confused and indeed scared because the bank had aggressively threatened his dream without cause or reason or even humanity.

Still, this client had a life’s ethos in that it wasn’t the problem that was important it was how you dealt with it.  He knew he was outgunned by the bank that was constantly increasing its feverous attack and sought support from the Ombudsman.  This stopped the drivel and the insane fervour by the bank because the Ombudsman sported a protective umbrella shielding the client whilst they investigated as an independent authority.

That independent authority found the bank was wrong on all counts and awarded damages, compensation et alia to the much relieved client.  However, the issue now was that the client had lost a lot of money, time and opportunities as a direct result of actions by the bank but the Ombudsman was powerless to award anywhere near the quantum of loss.

The client was confused.  Would he accept the determination and accept losses whilst the bank rolled onto their next victim or would or even could he take it further.

At this point he discovered that the employee who had acted illegally threatening to sell his home had been promoted within the bank.   They were content within themselves that they were right and above the law as they had just promoted the dissident with not one syllable of apology to the client for their unlawful acts causing a great deal of stress and loss.

The client was determined to address the issue and pointed out to the bank they were found to have acted unlawfully by the Ombudsman and should compensate him for sustained losses.

The bank always seeing themselves as – right – refused.

So the client took them to VCAT where a higher level of jurisdiction could right some of the wrongs.

Now, the bank was incensed that a lowly client had the temerity to take them on even though they knew the client was the innocent and the somewhat aggrieved party.  After all, they were always right and strutted and pontificated that fact at every chance.  'How dare he!'

As a power play and not so subtle threat to the lone unrepresented client they engaged multiple lawyers, barristers and employees to defend their position in court.  Cost was irrelevant because it was shareholders money and they knew they were always right.

However, this client had done some homework and blocked every legal ‘trick’ the bank threw at him.  The client was not driven by career or personal gain but by mitigating personal loss.  Big difference and somewhat focus inducing.  At that time the bank was respected as a leader with enormous market power which did intimidate the client somewhat and that reality eventually forced a compromise.  How long could he hold out against dozens of lawyers and million dollar bank employees who were always right?   

After 5 years he settled because of a huge power imbalance and the self promoted invulnerability of the bank

That settlement saw the bank lose quite a few thousand dollars to the client but with a full cost to the bank of over a million dollars.  All for a alleged debt of $2,400.  But that’s alright because it’s only shareholders money. 

The client had mitigated some small part of his losses and the bank pontificated on as the all powerful trying to gag any public response by the client.  But now, enter the Royal Commission where Christian Porter – Attorney General said, “The royal commission has noted is that its standing powers enable it, in effect, to override the existence of any non-disclosure agreements.“  The same logically applies to settlements especially where and when there is a huge imbalance of market power forcing outcomes.

The big public company / bank now had nowhere to hide and its culture was for the first time on show for all to see, and it was found wanting.  It turned out that the bank was not superior, not right and that the chief executive had failed to act in good faith by presiding over a ‘toxic’ culture enabling many and various unlawful acts by various ethically challenged employees.  Indeed, in our client’s case the chief executive knew and sanctioned the events leading to a million dollar plus loss of shareholders money.

That revelation cost the jobs of the Chair and chief executive but still left our client in a loss situation.  A loss situation caused by and through a toxic culture supporting unlawful dysfunction.  Note that fault lies with the office as well as the incumbent executive. You can’t just change the executive and expect that all is now well.  The bank must take responsibility as an entity.

So, now our client has a determination by the Royal Commission which says the bank is indeed responsible for their ‘toxic culture’ causing dysfunction and client losses.  The bank is no longer invulnerable with pontificating executives self elevated above the law and past settlements can be revisited especially where bullying or coercion through size dominance was a factor in the signing.

Our client is now able to pursue losses caused by the bank and will.

The bank must decide if it will do the right thing and take responsibility for its actions or just continue on with an air of invincibility throwing and wasting even more shareholders funds at can’t win legal bills.

The story continues.