Firing back will only backfire
One of Australia’s most respected and insightful Buddhist leaders, Abbot Ajan Brahm, once said that the problem with seeking revenge is that you become a ‘victim of your own war’, in that you can often suffer as much ‘damage’ as the person to whom you are directing your revenge. It was good advice and something we all, at sometime, have been guilty of intentionally forgetting. It is also advice that is ironic given that Ajan Brahm is highly admired and respected in Indonesia, where he holds many seminars and retreats, at a time when …
Indonesia a victim of its own war on Australia's live-cattle export trade
WA’s respected and insightful Buddhist leader, Abbott Ajan Brahm once said that the problem with seeking revenge is that you become a ‘victim of your own war’, in that you can often suffer as much ‘damage’ as the person to whom you are directing your revenge. It was good advice and something we all, at sometime, have been guilty of intentionally forgetting. It is also ironical advice given that Ajan Brahm is highly admired and respected in Indonesia, where he holds many seminars and retreats, at a time when Indonesia’s agricultural o…
Agricultural partnerships offers a new way forward in 'The Asian Century'
As Australian cattle farmers continue to suffer from the fallout following the inept handling of the live cattle ban last year, the huge opportunity for both Australia and Indonesia to develop a major agriculture partnership goes untapped. Despite Indonesia’s goal of becoming self-sufficient in cattle and meat supplies, the reality that most cattle producers in Australia - and Indonesia - know is that it doesn’t make sense for Indonesia to ‘go it alone’. In fact the existing supply-chain arrangement between Australia and Indonesia is ‘m…
The gardener and the muffin
My wife, Katherine, is an exceptionally kind and caring person. That's why when Geoff, our elderly gardener who attends to our plants twice a year, comes to visit us, Katherine wants to be nice to him. "Nice", means giving Geoff his coffee and a muffin. Geoff comes very early so I get-up to get Geoff organised and am asked by Katherine to give Geoff his coffee and m ... uffin; home made muffin that is!! Half an hour later I am in my study at the computer, Geoff is working in the garden, and a voice is heard from the to…
Australia-Indonesia relationship must be more than just about asylum seekers
Whilst sharing a coffee with a senior official in Indonesia recently, he made the following comment about the asylum seeker issue: “Indonesia is as underwhelmed about the asylum seeker crisis as Australia is overwhelmed by it.” It was an interesting observation as generally Australia does spend a lot of time worrying and focusing on ‘Indonesian issues’ that are either political irritants or Bali-holiday based. The most obvious issues include asylum seekers, Aussie drug smugglers and Schapelle Corby. The trouble with these iss…
Bali ten years on: How safe is it now?
One thousand West Australians fly to Bali every day, yet as we prepare to commemorate the 2002 Bali bombing, a question remains.. Bali ten years on: How safe is it now? On the 12 th October Australia will stop to remember an event that shook our country to its core, and devastated the lives of many Australian and Indonesia families. The Bali bombing took the lives of 202 people including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians. It also injured a further 240. For an island known as a ‘gentle paradise’ and our favourite playground,…
Rhonda and Ketut..the real facts!
Ketut and Rhonda...Here is the REAL story...... Being privy to all the 'inside' goings on in Bali for many years, I have, until now, kept quite about the circulating rumors and gossip surrounding Ketut and Rhonda. Quite frankly, its been getting out of hand, so I may as well make it official: ... Ketut and Rhonda have been engaged in a torrid affair for over six months. And yes, Ketut really does think Rhonda looks 'hot'. I decided to come out and confirm this following my recent visit to Bali ten days ago, wher…
Australia's regional issues not always a priority for Indonesia
Whilst sharing a coffee with a senior official in Indonesia last week, he made the following comment about the asylum seeker issue: “Indonesia is as underwhelmed about the asylum seeker ‘crisis’ as Australia is overwhelmed by it.” It was an interesting comment as generally Australia does spend a lot of time worrying and focusing on ‘Indonesian issues’ that are only relevant to us. The most obvious issues include asylum seekers, drug smugglers, Aussie bogans in Bali, and cheap holidays. The trouble with these issues is that they ar…
Marshmallow kids not so nice off the footy field
My young nephew is in trouble for what he apparently didn't do on the footy field. It seems Tom (not his real name) is the most 'perfect' player in the team. But Tom got in the way of a heavy bump from an opposition player in last week's match resulting in a broken arm. Not nice, but that's footy. Mum was devastated. Her son was not deserving of this. His 'entitlement' is to win at all times, and never to end-up being hurt and sidelined. So whose fault is it. Someone must take responsibility; apart from her Tom …
Why Emily Seebohm needs to meet Wajira
As we watched the tears flow from the eyes of swimmer Emily Seebohm last week as the 'tragic' reality of only winning a silver medal at the Olympics flooded over her, we couldn't help but think about another 'champion' we saw recently: Wajira. Wajira runs a Day Care Centre in the slums of Galle, in Sri Lanka. Everyday Wajira makes do with the scarce resources she has available to her to make the lives of street kids - some as young as three - just a little more bearable. When we were there in Galle and helping o…
Heart Foundation gives us a fat chance of chosing healthy foods
“Down, down, prices are down”. If you haven’t heard this ditty by now you probably live on Mars. Most of us find it rather annoying, yet it is such a catchy tune – thanks to Status Quo from the seventies era - it’s hard to get it out of your mind! And whilst Coles are reaping the rewards from their campaign to bring prices down, down , there is another reality facing both the retailers and consumers alike: Our obesity levels are, “Up, up and staying up”. Ironically, as we celebrate our young athletes at the Olympics, the reality fo…
You don't need a shark to be mauled in Perth
To all our international visitors to Western Australia........ If you are worried about the possibility of being mauled by a shark whilst in WA, don't worry. The chances are still very rare. But, if you are the sort of tourist who is into a 'jolly good mauling', we can guarantee you the time of your life....on the land! The 'mauling' can start when you get off the plan e and want to exchange money at the monopoly FOREX booth in the customs hall where you will pay an additional 12% for Aussie dollars compared to …
The Hypocracy of The Heart Foundation
It made me sick. On the front page of today's " The West Australian " Newspaper was a graphic picture of what happens when we become overweight. With 60% of all Australians overweight this is an important campaign and message. But here we have the CEO of The Heart Foundation , Maurice Swanson, lecturing us about not being fat, yet his OWN foundation put their hand out and take hundreds of thousands of dollars from large junk food manufactures in order to get the Heart Foundation's 'Tick' of approval on their pro…
Political statesmanship and good judgment sinks in 'people smugglers' debacle
The absence of political statesmanship and sound judgment was again highlighted last week with the announcement by the federal Attorney-General concerning under-age ‘people smugglers’. One of the three children is Yasmin Ali, a (now) 16 year old boy who has been held In Western Australia's Albany maximum security prison and Perth's Hakea Prison for over two years. Yasmin was 13 years of age when first arrested for so-called 'people smuggling' in 2009. At the time Yasmin's only crime was to accept a job as a de…
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