Helicopter View

I sometimes see things and think to myself, “I just don’t get it!” With the start of another Aussie Rules season, the reporting of AFL scores is currently at the top of my “I just don’t get it” list. Only in AFL is…

I have just scored a hat-trick! I managed to get three green lights on my way to work today! Have you noticed how the term ‘hat-trick’ has been significantly devalued to simply mean the number three? The term was first coined way back in …

I haven’t needed to change a tyre on my car for over 20 years. In that same time, I have had a flat battery that needed a jump-start, I have locked myself out of my car and I have run out of fuel. Yet, I still drive a modern car that has a spar…

As regular readers of this column would know, I am a big cricket fan. One of the lifetime presents I have given each of my children at birth has been an application for membership to the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). With a 12-13 year waiting list to …

I love performing the role of Mayor of this City. It is a wonderful City with great people and I have the chance (I believe) to make a positive difference in our community. I am sure if you spoke to any of the other 151 Mayors across NSW, you would h…

I recently saw an advertisement from an insurance company. It was advertising a “Visiting Friends and Relatives” insurance package for travel insurance. This travel sector only started to be taken seriously in the mid-nineties but there a…

Although in Australia you could argue that you are legally an ‘adult’ at the age of 18, we still place a huge amount of importance on the 21st birthday celebration. It is a significant ‘coming of age’ event and often celebrate…

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” This is a quote from Rosalynn Carter, presumably talking about her husband, Jimmy Carter who was US…

I was listening to the radio during the week and I heard Walgett Principal, Richard Rule, being interviewed in relation to the recent fire at the IGA Supermarket in Walgett. There were two specific items he mentioned that grabbed my attention. Firstl…

Councils across this State – whether by choice, demand or necessity – are involved in a huge range of business activities. I know of Councils that have started hairdressing businesses as they heard feedback along the lines that said while…

Excuse me for focusing on cycling with this article, but today I will be riding back into Dubbo with nine others after having travelled 1125km throughout the region. One of the interesting things about cycling – and much more so in competitive …

It was with great intrigue that I read an article during the week that revealed that the former Mayor of Sutherland Shire, Clr Kent Johns, had decided not to stand for re-election to Mayor this week. Fairfax Media ‘revealed’ that develope…

Hands up all of those people who want their goods and services cheaper? It is an easy question to answer, and one that the majority of people will easily answer in the affirmative. Now keep up your hand if you are happy to have your quality of produc…

I walked out of the office and went to step in my car a couple of months ago. I noticed the rear driver tyre was a little flat. I thought I should drop into the service station and put some air into it. The pressure was certainly below what I would e…

Eisteddfod season is in full swing across the region. My wife clocks up the kilometres as she travels to various venues across the region for dance and music and speech. I occasionally manage to attend one of the eisteddfods and see my children and t…

I love so many facets of our Aussie culture that it is hard to pick just one – but the ability to roll up our sleeves and just get a job done is right near the top of my list. You see this in so many areas and our innovative approaches to probl…

One of the constant questions that Councils across the land are asked is for money to contribute to some event or cause that will be for the greater good. I constantly see businesses ask for free land or free development applications or a reduction i…

I like to tackle the really big issues here, so today I thought I would have a crack at world peace! Give me the reins of the world for a day and I have a proposal to tackle world peace. There are approximately 195 countries in the world and, althoug…

Sustainability. It is a big word. Fourteen letters and six syllables and all sorts of connotations and, I think it would be fair to say, no complete understanding in what it actually means. There is a lot of talk about sustainability in local governm…