Our country has so much to share and teach. You may not even realise it but Australia is a world leader in peace. This is an achievement we should share with the world – who knows, the cultural values we live by of peace, tolerance and acceptance might just become our next great export industry.
We believe the UN is the worlds greatest hope for peace & prosperity moving into the 21st Century. Of recent times the UN has seemed toothless and it’s ability to do good and effect positive change and this needs to change! Australia should work with all its power and influence to strengthen the UN. We should set the aim to have an Australian Secretary General within a decade.
Our country has so much to share and teach. You may not even realise it but Australia is a world leader in peace. This is an achievement we should share with the world – who knows, the cultural values we live by of peace, tolerance and acceptance might just become our next great export industry.
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Australian Democracy has always lacked one essential element; a peoples square.
“A stage for national events and a preeminent national civic space for public gatherings because it is here that the constitutional rights of speech and peaceful assembly find their fullest expression.” We have the perfect place. It’s the area defined by greater Circular Quay in Sydney stretching from Museum of Contemporary Art and First Fleet Park on the Western Side to ‘the toaster” at the east and spreading out across Alfred Street in line with Customs House. The area which could well be named “Circular Square.” Obviously some remodelling will need to take place. We propose a more direct system for citizens to initiate referendums on matters of national importance. We call it Enterprising Democracy. The system will facilitate discussion on a much broader range of topics (beyond jobs and the economy). It will enable citizens to more actively participate in the function of government by providing a much more open forum to discuss current issues as well as being a tool to bring about referendums on matters of national and long-term importance.
Australia is selling it’s most precious resource, it’s farming land, willy-nilly to anyone who wants to buy it. It’s akin to selling the goose that laid the golden egg. It’s madness and it needs to stop!
We propose new legislation to prevent any government (Federal,
State or Local) selling off any public asset (utility, land or otherwise), without firstly seeking a specific mandate from the relevant people to do-so. There are a few important things that need to be said about small business in Australia. The first one is the name itself. I hate being called a small businessman. It's inaccurate and offensive. There is nothing small about the ambition I have for my business or the level of professionalism we extend to our customers. No businessperson starts his or her business through small thinking. Anyone who starts or runs a business in this country today knows how hard it is to make that business successful. The term "small" has been imposed on us by bureaucracy and I for one don't accept it. I prefer to think of myself as an Independent Business. What do you think? Comment below and enter the pole. Another one is whether we continue to have an independent business sector in this country at all or whether we farm the entire skill-set out to other countries where the labour is cheaper. As I see it, labour in other countries is getting more expensive by the day and within a few short decades, when you take into consideration increases in fuel and other costs, having an item make in China will be on par with having it made locally. The only thing is, we will have forgotten how to make it because our local industry died at the hands of globalisation. Local independent businesses are the fabric of our community. Without them we'll all end up working for multinational corporations owned by overseas interests. Politics has become the business of focusing short term problems. It's become largely reactionary and seems driven by the polls of the day.
Vision for Australia’s prime focus is the long term future of our country. It’s proactive and driven by grandchildren. Agriculture was once this country’s greatest industry. Today, the big bucks are in mining and consequently, it’s the miners who dictate the terms to Canberra. The major problem with this is the government is making short term, profit driven decisions at the expense of the long term future of Australian agriculture. A typical coal-seam gas well has a lifespan of one generation (5-15 years) years but it leaves behind degraded soil and a contaminated water table which may not recover in 20 generations. Every Australian needs to ask “Is the risk of mining of coal-seam gas and oil really worth the cost of damaging the soil and contaminating the water table?” Politicians are making short term decisions at the expense of the long term future of Australia. Prioritising gas over water and oil before soil must stop. Join the conversation here or come over to Facebook and share your thoughts.
As Australia grows and changes our priority must be to lead, not follow. One area we’ve proven ourselves to be the best in the business is Agriculture. We’ve led the world in wool production, cropping and beef cattle and we need a national recommitment to this sector order to regain our position as an Agricultural Super-Power. There are however some alarming trends taking place in Australian Agriculture which, if not reversed, will cruel Agriculture in this country for good.
The fact is this; There is a massive opportunity to provide high quality, clean green produce to the world and no country is better positioned than us to capitalise in what is essentially a limitless growth market. Our farmers are the best in the world. We can do this and we can make a fortune for our farmers and our country in the process. Australian agriculture needs to be given new respect and greater recognition and we need to make it a national priority to once again make Agriculture foundational to the future success of our country. I vote we make Agriculture a National Priority and a pillar of our Vision for Australia. I’m not saying our government is scared to make big decisions in this area, I think it’s more a case of that they simply don’t know what to do. The simple fact of the matter is this: Australia (and the world) NEED a primary new source of energy and it needs to come online within our lifetime. The continued use of fossil fuels will irrevocably ruin our planet before it runs out. More action needs to be taken to find an alternative. The state of play is that a new source of clean, green, limitless and largely free energy is possible and closer than you might believe. Barry Thompson, winner of the 2014 X Prize for Forbidden Energy; “Physics tells us that alternative energy production is possible and it will totally change the game.” Several sources are tantalisingly close, cold fusion and super-conductor technology are just two examples which offer us the chance to break away from fossil fuels altogether and into a new realm of energy production better suited to the 21st century.
Australia has a right, and an obligation, to lead the world in this area. We’re highly educated, industrious and, one of highest energy consuming nations per capita on the planet. The opportunity is to make this/these break-throughs here, patent the processes and licence them to the world. Unfortunately, this incredibly urgent topic isn’t even on the national agenda. Politicians spend more time talking about what a pack of imbeciles their opposition is than they do planning how this transition will work. The Government will not fix this problem. They simply are not orientated or incentivised to do-so. Look at solar energy in this country. As the hottest country on earth with the highest rate of continuous sunshine in the world we should already have a vibrant solar industry and be the undisputed world leader in this field. Instead we have and overly expensive, underperforming cottage industry. The reason is lack of incentive, lack of vision and a complete lack of leadership in making this a national priority. New Energy for Australia is coming and we need to plan for the most massive transition since the industrial revolution. The Mackerel Sky Project is one path you can take now to play a proactive role and not sit around waiting for someone in Canberra to do something. Wake up Australia! As a nation we’re drifting with no clear vision of where our country will be in 50 years and what we want it to look like. We’re making bad decisions based on short term gains (e.g. mining prime farm land for a short-term cash while risking the long-term viability of that land for future food production). The problem is largely that we’re far to reliant on government to solve our problems and create opportunities. At best, governments are reactionary. They are by nature, administrators, not innovators. In order to make this change the first thing Australia needs to do is adopt a new national identify. We need to lose the lingering sense of entitlement that being the lucky country once gave us and instead reinvent our selves as the Can Do Country. A Can Do Culture cuts red tape, ignores bureaucracy, makes decisions, takes risks, drives change, and gets things done! To solve the great challenges this country faces we must take a new approach, one which is much more pro-active and long term oriented. Vision for Australia's mission is to advance bold visions and facilitate big decisions. Our timeline is oriented to immediate action leading to results that are current 50 years from now. What follows are conversations and provocations to that affect.
One person who really makes complex things easy to understand is Dr Karl. Take a few minutes and watch this video of Dr Karl talking about Australia and high speed trains. One thing he said which really stood out to me was that some train routes in North and South Sydney are slower now than they were in the 1930's. Let me repeat that: Some trains in Sydney are slower now than they were 80 years ago. This is what happens when we don't invest in our infrastructure. It's very easy to argue against building a high-speed train network between Sydney & Melbourne based on big distances and low populations between these centres but I believe the positives out weigh the negatives. Consider this; 10,000,000 people travel between Melbourne/Canberra/Sydney each year! That is more than enough to sustain a high speed train network. Consider also the benefits that the long neglected regional centres would gain and things start to stack-up. Imagine living in Albury/Wadonga and taking a 40 minute train ride to work in either Melbourne or Sydney. NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release Date: 30 July 2014 VISION FOR AUSTRALIA “The Can-Do Country” Australia is facing a crisis. This issue is the absence of a shared vision for what our country will look like 50 years from now. Without a clear vision our efforts lack focus, bold decisions are put off and we’re greatly weakened on the world stage. Choose any number of examples,
The first thing I propose is the roll-out of nothing less than a New National Identity. As of 1st August 2014; “I move that Australia become known as The Can-Do Country”. Have your say here: facebook.com/visionforaustralia The Can Do Country stands for getting-in and getting the job done, no matter what. We need to come together and Take a Stand on crucial topics not receiving adequate national attention. Current stands include, The Future Population of Australia, Tax Tagging, Development of a High Speed Train Network (the HyperTran), New Energy and The Reconciliation Declaration. Australians are invited to Take a Stand on issues they feel are of national importance. The fact is, Australia needs a new plan. It needs to be bigger, better and bolder. It needs to inspire and empower us, and our children, to create the greatest-ever Vision for Australia. Contact: Andy McLeod, VisionforAustralia.com.au contact@visionforaustralia.org.au facebook.com/visionforaustralia #visionaust - ENDS - Let’s talk more about this. Have you ever heard of the idea of Ready-Fire-Aim (instead of Ready Aim Fire)? What they’re really saying is just get the job started and not wait until everything is perfect. You just need to start. Australia has become mired in bureaucracy and red-tape. To much energy given to talking about big issues without actually getting in and getting them sorted out. Politics is a talkfest where issues are endlessly debated but rarely actioned. As a nation we can’t rely on others to solve our problems or create the next great opportunity. We need to take that responsibility for getting things done ourselves. Can-do-ness needs to become as culturally engrained as mateship. We need to be known as the nation who sets great goals and then gets started on achieving them. Can Do starts with you and me. It starts with can do companies, families, clubs and community groups. Ask yourself, what can I do today, right now, that will make Australia a better place to live? What can I do to improve my company, myself? What can I do to surprise my kids, my friends my boss, my customers? Think of something and then do it! Do it now is the by-line can-do ness. No procrastination, no excuses just getting in and getting started. Australia has some great challenges ahead. The world is becoming evermore competitive and for us to stay at the top we need to be striving to be the best. The best at what? How about engineering, medicine and curing so-called incurable diseases, social justice, entrepreneurship, swimming, football, statesmanship. In fact, whatever we decide! We need to become the nation known for aspiring to great visions then making them happen. We need a plan for the future, a bold vision which inspires us, and our children, and we need it now. The first step is for us to adopt a new national identity as the Can Do country. We need to shake off the red tape and leave behind the excuses. We need nothing less than to reinvent ourselves as the Can Do County and armed with this attitude we need to throw ourselves into creating the greatest-ever Vision for Australia Australia, the Can Do Country. What’s holding us back? If you question the need for such a plan, think of where Saudi Arabia was 50 years ago. Fifty years ago, Saudi Arabia realised they had a problem. Well before it happened, Saudi leaders realised that their oil was eventually going to run out and they needed to re-think their future and create a new vision for their nation. Look at Saudi Arabia now – Dubai is the most stunning example you could wish to see of what a nation can do when it unites behind a vision and puts its national energy toward building itself into something great. Saudi Arabia is no longer synonymous with oil, today it’s famous for infrastructure and tourism is its greatest industry. This didn’t happen by accident, it happened by forethought, planning and a united vision. Australia has the opportunity to follow in these footsteps. Just like Saudi oil, the wealth we've been digging up for generations is running out. Now we have the choice. If we don’t make decisions today fifty years from now there’ll be no choice just a legacy of unsolvable problems. NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release Date: 22 August 2013 www.visionforaustralia.com.au VISION FOR AUSTRALIA “The Can-Do Country” As Federal Election banter focuses on whether or not candidates can be sexy and buses breaking down it’s fair to ask, "Where’s the conversation about what Australia will look like in 2050"?
Vision For Australia.com.au is a discussion paper, an open letter to the Australian people reminding them they have the right to expect Visionary Leadership from their political leaders. Vision for Australia promotes the view that we can no longer rely on being the lucky country, that we must take greater responsibility for getting things done and reinvent ourselves as the CAN DO Country. Australians are invited to read and engage on subjects including: THE AUSTRALIA PLAN – a document written in stone, i.e. unable to be chopped and changed by successive governments, which gives us a nation building vision 50 Years into the future. THE VISION FOR AUSTRALIA PARTY – An invitation to register interest in an apolitical, issues based movement which focuses on issues which will effect Australia 50 years out. THE AUSTRALIAN POPULATION - A discussion about the population of Australia in 2050 and beyond. TAX-TAGGING - A new way to track how and where our taxes are spent in order to minimise waste and increase accountability. AN INDIGENOUS NATION - The path to reconciliation must come from the ground up, not the government down. WHAT IS A GOOD EDUCATION - Questions about what a well educated student looks like in modern Australia and what having an education system rated in the top five in the world actually means. Andy McLeod is an independent businessman who runs a business in western Sydney. He was compelled to write Vision for Australia from a level of frustration by how the current political system operates and its lack of a clear long term vision for this nation. ~ ENDS ~ w: www.visionforaustralia.com.au e: contact@visionforaustralia.org.au Welcome to this first blog post for Vision for Australia. This site is has been set up to promote discussion about the long-term future of Australia. The site promotes new ideas and alternate viewpoints about how Australia can become the CanDo Country. This is a key platform of Vision for Australia in that Australia needs to make decisions for the long term and then get those decisions done. The fact is, Australians can no longer accept the bureaucracy that is holding this country back. We're fed up with political infighting and lack of leadership. What we want is leadership that sets in place bold ambitious projects that we can get behind and believe in. Projects that look ahead 50 years or more and give the Australian people a direction and a sense of certainty that the decisions we make today will be in the best interests of our children and grand children.
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Moderator...Just so you know, this blog is a SUMMARY ONLY of the ideas we stand for. Vision for Australia (currently) has limited resources to research and write about the many topics it believes are important to the future of Australia. If you believe a particular subject is of importance to the future of Australia and you’d be interested in making a contribution, we’d welcome hearing from you. We welcome your comments here on our blog and our Facebook Page. You can email us directly here. Blogs by Month
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