Moooo .... ! Don't Worry, Be Happy

I was hoping to write about real estate today, but there is not really that much to say that you don’t already know. In short, the market is pretty flat nationally with Western Australia and Queensland faring worst.

However, there is a glimmer that things may be turning around: my phone actually rang once last week and it has rung three times so far this week and it is still only Thursday.

Much more interesting is the government’s amazing solution to our live cow exports… our cows can now relax in the knowledge that they will be asleep when their throats are cut.

According to world standards, stunning is not mandatory, even in Australia, and despite everything else, not much is going to change in Indonesia.

All our cattle exported to Indonesia will now have to be tracked electronically from the paddock to the plate, as it were, and Australian producers will be responsible for the cost of such tracking and auditing.

The government has generously offered around $30 million to the cattle industry as assistance (read compensation) but in the context of a $300 million industry it should keep them in bread and milk for a week or so.

Kevin, (…. I’m from Queensland…) obviously took my advice and flew up to Jakarta and sweet talked the Indonesians, but the damage done diplomatically and economically is a very sad reflection of the incompetence of some or our government ministers.

Regardless of what one may think of live exports there are intelligent and appropriate ways of doing things and in my humble view the government failed miserably on both counts.

Now do we just wait for the next fiasco? ….

Rest assured we won’t have long to wait! Carbon Tax comes to mind…. stay tuned for my thoughts on that hot issue!

Meine Deutshe Familie

As I have already written I travelled to Germany at the end of May to attend the 65^th Wedding Anniversary of my Polish Aunty Elizabeth and Uncle Gerhard.

Aunty and Uncle were lucky enough to escape from communist Poland, together with their son Klaus, in 1965. They settled in (West) Berlin and have been in the same apartment ever since. Uncle is now 90 and Aunty is 87, and, as you’d expect their respective bodies are showing definite signs of wear and tear.

Hilde, Klaus, Uncle, Aunty & Me

The actual day of celebration was June 2, and there was a service at the local church in the morning followed by a late lunch in the afternoon. It was a memorable occasion in itself, but more so for me as I was able to reconnect with first cousin Klaus and his wife Hilde, as well as Klaus’ children Patrick, Mandy and Scarlett and their spouses and their children, my third cousins.

I also got to meet, for the first time my late father’s second cousin, Graszina who is Polish but has lived in Denmark for the past twenty years or so with her husband Robert and daughter Sandra.

As I looked around the gathering and stumbled my way through conversations in very basic German and English, I felt that here was my own flesh and blood. There was that real and unique sense of family.

It was the same feeling I’d had at a breakfast we’d attended just before I left at my brother Paul and his wife Regina's house in Perth.  Present were my sister Elaine, brother Philip as well as nieces Maria and Emily and nephew Phil, (Paul’s children) and their spouses and children. I’d also caught up with Kendal and Carly, Philip’s daughters over that weekend.

And I haven’t even mentioned my own children and stepchildren, Chantelle and Melissa, Melanie and Chris and brothers and nieces who could not be there.

The thing is, this thing we call family is more extensive than we think and it’s a great feeling to be part of an extensive and expanding family.

Imagine if there were no one to connect with, even if it is only once a year (or five years in the case of the German side).

It is indeed a fortunate life.

Kill the Fatted Calf

While I was away in Germany I belatedly read a report that the Federal Government had banned live cattle exports to Indonesia. This is a typical policy on the run, poll driven, populist response to a TV program, in this case 4 Corners on the ABC.

As a result, thousands of people are at risk of being thrown out of work, many more Indonesians are being deprived of staple food, and once again our Federal Government is looking like a bunch of incompetent amateurs.

This is not to condone cruelty to any living creature, no intelligent, compassionate person would, but things need to put into perspective. For a start I find it hard to believe the powers that be did not know cruel practices were being carried out in some Indonesian abattoirs.

Why did it take a TV program to alert them to something everyone in the meat industry already knew about? So, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say they were ignorant of the situation in Indonesia.

And anyway, what happened to diplomacy!?

Surely someone in high authority (What about “…Kevin, I’m from Queensland and I’m here to help”) could have allowed the Indonesians to at least save some face and embarrassment by holding talks in private to discuss the situation to the mutual benefit of all parties.

This government is like (pardon the pun) a bull in a China shop when it comes to diplomacy. Our, at the time, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set the scene when he referred to the Chinese as “rat f….rs” at the climate change conference in Copenhagen last year.

No wonder Asian countries have seen the West as barbarians for so long.

By the way, when are we going to shut down the live sheep trade, after all we have to be consistent, even incompetently consistent. And, last but not least, has anyone visited a chicken factory (sorry, farm) lately? You’ll never eat KFC again if you do.

I hope all those people complaining and demonstrating about cruelty to animals are actually walking the talk and are or becoming vegetarians.

If there were no meat eaters there would be no market for meat, live or otherwise.

And yes, just in case you are wondering, I am a vegetarian.

No, Prime Minister!

I saw Prime Minister Julia Gillard being interviewed on TV the other evening and, for the first time I thought she looked stressed and under pressure. I could also hear some nervousness in her voice.
The following evening I saw an interview on ABC 7.30 with the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

What a contrast!

Mr Key looked and sounded calm, relaxed, confident and, unusual for a politician, somewhat humble.

New Zealand is hardly a major player on the world economic stage, but they have actually implemented an emissions trading scheme, which seems to be working for them.

Whether you agree with climate change and its causes, the Kiwis have actually done it while our politicians play politics trying to score cheap political points against each other.

And, what's more, New Zealand has operated with a minority government for at least the past ten years.

I've been a keen observer of politics for the past 40 years and I have never seen such a rabble on both sides of politics that we now have in Australia.

Talk about "dumbing down".

Where are the great leaders, statesmen with conviction and vision!? They are nowhere to be seen.

Australia stands at the precipice of the greatest mining boom in its history and it seems our political "leaders"
have no idea on how to come up with and communicate policies which will set the nation as a whole up for decades to come.

What an opportunity going to waste!

That having been said there are foreboding omens on the economic horizon due to the deteriorating financial situations in the U.S., Europe, Japan and the U.K. And don't forget China!

Some economists are forecasting a slowdown in China over the next few years due to rising inflation and debt levels caused by a property boom (sound familiar?). Unless we position ourselves to absorb any financial shocks from overseas, I fear Australia may finally experience an economic downturn, notwithstanding the mining boom.

Sad to say I don't have a great deal of faith in our political leaders until they stop playing to the media and actual grow up and start governing.

What do you think?

Never say "never".

I attended a blogging course yesterday through UWA extension service. It was presented in excellent fashion by Amanda Kendal, it was a lot of fun and, I have to say, somewhat exciting. So much so that, still recovering from jetlag, I woke up several times last night with my mind blogging away.
I also did something I said I would never do and that is sign up for facebook.
I've got no idea what I am doing yet, but like everything else, the more you do it the better you get.
Anyway, all these people have been turning up on my page and I'm not quite sure which button to press yet, so I hope I don't offend anyone if I get it wrong.
I must say I have instantly warmed to the idea of blogging and look forward to lots of inspiration to get me going.
We do a blog for the business at berniekroczek.com.au or should I say Gai does. I just write the content, but now I have my own personal blog and I look forward to it with great anticipation.
Anyway I can highly recommend the course at UWA Extension Sevice and I am now looking forward to the advanced course in August.

Cheers
Bernie

Home Sweet Home

Greetings all and welcome to this first post of Bernie's Blog.
Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be relating my recent trip to Berlin, but today I would like to begin at the end.
I arrived home last Thursday from my trip to Germany having been delayed by the Chilean volcanic ash cloud.
I was watching BBC World in the days leading up to my departure for news about airport closures etc, saying to myself " it couldn't possibly happen to Perth".
Well, guess what?
When we arrived in Singapore Qantas told us QF 78 had been cancelled and we were being put up in The Trades Hotel.
After a 12 hour flight from Amsterdam it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, but I've learnt over the years to just go with the flow so I accepted my fate with some degree of semi eager anticipation.
The Trades as it turned out was at least 4 star, maybe even 5 star so I felt rather important booking in, even though Qantas was actually paying for it, and all credit to them for looking after us so well and efficiently.
The bad news was that the flight had been rescheduled for 5am the next day and we were to leave the hotel by shuttle bus at 3am, after a 2.30 wake up call.
The wake up call wasn't required as I woke up at 1.30 as bright as a button, the body clock being somewhat confused after 2 weeks in Europe.
As I was waiting to check out of the hotel, at ten to three, a group of young Aussie men were just arriving home from a night on the town, in varying staes of inebriation.
One of them asked me when we were flying. I said the plane was due to leave at 5am that morning and the shuttle was departing in 10 minutes.
You should have seen his face. He and his mates thought we were flying at five in the afternoon and it was pure luck that they had decided to come home.
So, to coin a popular cliche and cut a long story short, the flight to Perth was vey pleasant, good food, pleasant company and SOOOOO good to hear Aussie accents again after two weeks conversing in a mix of German/English.
Gai and the two youngest grandchildren, Ellie and Katie were at the airport to meet me and it was so nice to be on familiar turf.
Trip was fantastic and as I always feel on retuning from overseas, "there really is no place like home".
Tune in next week for the start of the story.