In recent discussions regarding the generous philanthropic pledging of $65 million by Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest at my place of employment, I am left feeling somewhat disjointed.

A guy is giving away his riches, well half of it anyway with a $65 mill outlay just recently and is roundly criticised – how is this so? That isn’t half of it, in the last two years – the Forrest family has donated close to $200 million. Normally the complaint of greed resonates around the office, yet a successful entrepreneur willing to donate substantial amounts is held in contempt.

The proposed PhD research scholarships seek to become an Australian version of the Oxford Rhodes Scholarship attracting leading international researchers to Western Australia. The recent wealth of Western Australia is based on iron ore and will remain so for the next few decades; the ability to attract research, investment and high calibre individuals to develop new industries post mining boom could drive the state economy of the future.

In Australia, the phenomenon known as the tall poppy syndrome is unfortunately alive and well practiced – resentment against those for being successful; they must be criticised and attacked for their achievements as they surely must have gained knowledge, wealth, status or position by devious and unjust means. In other words, if haven’t I succeeded, they must be a crook – it can’t possibly be me or my lack of endeavour.
Common conceptions or misconceptions of the Forrest family donation:

1. It is just a tax dodge.
2. He gained wealth by unjust means anyway.
3. Rich people are no better than poor people.
4. He stole land and wealth from indigenous Australians.
5. Twiggy used his position to unseat Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd over the mining super tax.

Inspired by Bill and Belinda Gates, Warren Buffett and the Rockefeller Foundation, hopefully the ultra rich in Australia can be motivated to increase charitable donations by people like Nicola and Andrew Forrest. The American elite have a greater penchant for charitable donations and philanthropy by their ultra rich, hopefully this attitude can catch on in Australia by individuals and corporations.

In response to such claims:

1. $65 million is a big hole in any set of accounts, it is a big sum to spend just to get a tax refund – better to maybe just spend the $65 million. There is of course a tax deduction involved but that is a secondary consideration.
2. Twiggy was a former stockbroker who became the CEO of Anaconda Nickel after studying economics and politics at the University of Western Australia – hence the association with UWA. There are some pretty angry people who held Anaconda Nickel shares, no doubt about that. Andrew was a 1980s era stockbroker in the greed is good and anything goes era.
3. No arguments here, there are plenty of rich people who are just horrible to deal with, my experience is self-made people tend to be approachable whilst inheritance tends to breed arrogance. However people with limited means can serve the community through volunteering, yet the people accusing Twiggy of impropriety should maybe start with looking at themselves first and start serving the community by joining volunteer bush fire brigades, old people’s homes, homeless shelters, silver chain, meals on wheels and other worthwhile associations – you don’t need to be rich to volunteer.
4. This is interesting, Fortescue Metals Group is accused of offering low, the Yindjibarndi people are split in their support for the FMG offer. One could also argue to ensure everybody is happy, paying well above the market rates is the only way. Likewise, one group is negotiating, another group is holding out for more money – sounds like most corporate negotiations.
5. Twiggy and Kev are on the record stating they are friends, they certainly have differing views on specific issues though, did Twiggy cause Keven to be dumped as Prime Minister? Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib were responsible for Rudd’s downfall, Julia even came out stating her decision to knife Kevin was based on his political paralysis denying opinion polls were the trigger. Twiggy doesn’t vote on the Labor caucus, that was all Julia and co.

Am I a fan of Andrew Twiggy Forrest? He has been linked to some questionable business ethics over the years, used lobbyists such as Julian Grill and Brian Burke, likewise, dealings with Kevin Rudd are destined to end in tears (Rudd was also linked to the disgraced former premier). He has certainly polarised a number of people, what you can’t argue with is the fact that Forrest has joined the ranks of Gates, Buffett, Branson and other high profile billionaires to improve the world and our society.

I love diving shipwrecks, however, such wrecks usually come at a grave cost to human life. Whether you supported Britain or Argentina, the scale of losses is staggering for a 74 day conflict. Once the premier naval force of the world, the Royal Navy suffered some serious losses to shipping and reputation during the short conflict that will likely never be erased.

The HMS Sheffield was operating forward of the main fleet with two other type 42 frigates providing missile defense of the carrier taskforce when struck amidships by a single exocet missile fired close to sea level by an Argentinian fighter aircraft. It is amazing a single missile has the capability to sink a warship, the naval engagements of World War II normally consisted of rival ships pounding each other with naval artillery or attack from the skies with 500 lb bombs destroying the superstructure and piercing deck armour.

By the time I hit the water, the wreck has been resting on the bottom for a considerable time frame with most evidence of human misery washed away, watching footage of the missile strike on the HMS Sheffield and the aftermath reminds me of the perils of armed conflict and why we need to avoid it at all costs. Losses for the British naval forces include two destroyers, two frigates, one LSL landing ship, one LCU amphibious craft and a container ship. Argentinian naval losses include one cruiser (WWII vintage), one submarine, four cargo vessels, two patrol boats and a spy trawler.

Its 30 years since the John Bertrand skippered Australia II defeated Dennis Connor’s Liberty at Newport Rhode Island; after 132 years of dominance, the Americas Cup had been wrestled from the protective clutches of the New York Yacht Club. It was an epic series; legends were forged with folk law created in front of our eyes, the longest winning streak in international sport had been broken with an upset come from behind win. Was this the best series in the history of the America’s Cup?

With the Royal Perth Yacht Club defending the cup in 1987, interest in the America’s Cup was at an all time high with thirteen syndicates and twenty five yachts vying for the right to challenge Iain Murray’s Kookaburra III. Dennis Connor, now representing the San Diego Yacht Club was ultimately successful winning the cup 4-0, then to be contested in San Diego. Having just attended the opening day ceremony at the Royal Perth Yacht Club, Australia II team owner Alan Bond reflected on his team’s 1983 triumph and what it takes to mount a successful challenge through the Louis Vuitton Cup to win the right to challenge the defender.   

A key aspect of 12 metre racing was the establishment of fair competition between boats, although not 12 metres in length, the formula allowed experimentation and a certain amount of equalisation between boats without being a fixed class in nature.

Alan Bond spoke of his 1983 campaign where he paid his team members $12.70 per day, the current crop of sailors according to Alan are paid $300k per year with tacticians and skippers in the millions. The new style yachts are fast, really fast but seem to lack the degree of style the former class of yacht had. The new boats are targeting spectators in San Francisco bay recruiting professional crews, selling television rights and sailing yachts that are pleasing to spectators. But does this series lack a certain charisma? It is no longer country against country – Team Oracle had only one American sailor aboard, the rest are highly paid international crew.   

I recall as a boy climbing in the saw pits with the old style saw embedded in the log. Not much has changed with the exception of the fence (and keep out sign), plenty of overgrowth and the pits filling in somewhat.

The Brockman saw pits are located just off the main road just out of Pemberton on route to Northcliffe in the south west karri forests of Western Australia.

It isn\’t worth the trip out of town to only see the saw pits, driving between Pemberton and Northcliffe makes the short trip down the gravel road worthwhile though. Although November, it was raining constantly throughout the day after a big low pressure system blew in across the south of the state, made a huge contrast from two days before and I actually liked the rain.

I recently sought to distinguish the difference between human trafficking and people smuggling; initially finding myself on the Australian Federal Police (AFP) website. I noted the AFP describe human trafficking as a form of slavery listing servitude, forced labour, debt bondage or organ harvesting as exploitative practices undertaken by criminal elements. People smuggling on the other hand involved illegal movement of people across borders in an organised manner by cartels for financial reward.

That is, on an individual basis, the people smuggling cartel engages in a consenting contractual arrangement terminating upon arrival at the destination. By such a definition, human traffickers use coercive means to force people to illegally enter a country, further exploitation of the individual usually occurs once they arrive at their destination whereas as opposed to people smuggling, the act of transportation and facilitation are the primary source of profits for the criminal network.

The core objectives include greater cooperation between regional law enforcement agencies, intelligence sharing, detection of illegal movements, identifying illegal migrants return of smuggled persons and national legislation including criminalisation of human trafficking and people smuggling.

The simple fact is; this deplorable business is run by both national and international cartels seeking profits from trading in human misery, these criminal organisations must be targeted by law enforcement agencies smashing their business models and disrupting their activities to such a manner that they can no longer ply their reprehensible trade. This is not human trafficking with voluntary subscribers providing both the income and demand to keep the smugglers in business, increase the penalties as a deterrent and the business model collapses.

Sitting on the ferry from travelling from the port of Batangas to San Jose; I was excited about my upcoming week. Pandan Island is a secluded private island just off Occidental Mindoro, a sustainable eco-resort on the door-step of the famous Apo reef, the famous Philippines dive site.

San Jose is the principal port in the Occidental Mindoro province, the least expensive method to get to San Jose is by ferry from Bantagas. The bus trip from Manila to Bantagas by Victory Liner was orderly and well priced. The ferry trip was relaxed and uneventful; this is a bit of a luxury in the Philippines and I thought it was all going well.

But first, an arduous bus trip from San Jose to Sablayan awaited me; when I first crammed into the bus I was under the misconception that this bus would just ferry us from the port to the bus station.

The bus was so crowded that I was unable to get a seat as it was standing room only and this was pretty much the trip in the cramped conditions for the next five or so hours. We had bags of grain, animals and all types of cargo on board the open windowed bus that was travelling on mostly unsealed roads.

The trip across from the mainland to the island is a real clunker heading down the crowded river over the open water landing on the beach. The boat from the mainland could never be accused of being overpowered; just a single cylinder Robin engine chugging along merrily.

The eco-resort consists of small bungalows, a restaurant and beach bar and of course a dive centre. No generator exists on the island; instead all electricity needed to run the lights is produced by a 12 volt solar system installed in each individual cottage. That means there is no air conditioning, no television and the lights aren’t all that bright either – the rooms do have some flow through ventilation but it still gets pretty warm in the cottages.

The local dives around the island can conducted from a catamaran style boat; on one dive they dropped us at the site and we swam back to shore. As we swam closer to shore, on the sea grass we spotted turtle after turtle.

There are plenty of great dive locations; between dives we returned to the island for a relaxing break and a meal before an afternoon dive. A late return from a long trip to Apo Reef; a great day, my only regret is I didn’t get the opportunity to have some more dives at Apo.

Cruising around the island; plenty of clear blue water, the reefs are pretty good and untouched. Pandan is a small private island, there are only 16 cottages on the island so it is never going to get crowded. The clear blue waters surrounding Pandan Island; there are numerous dive sites when you aren’t diving Apo Reef.

Using the logic of former Climate Commission Tim Flannery; who infamously stated Adelaide would run out of water by 2009, Perth would become the world’s first 21st century ghost metropolis (2004) and bush fires are caused by emissions pollution – current data shows the emergency is over. That would also mean any bush fires pre-global warming are an abnormality but unfortunately bush fires have been an ever present danger since before European settlement.

What would Flannery make of NASA’s recent announcement of record growth in Antarctic sea ice The 2013 Antarctic sea ice growth is the highest since measurements began in 1979; does this mean global warming has been halted? The term global warming is currently obsolete – climate change is now the preferred term as global warming has appeared to slow or maybe even slightly decline (unlikely) but scientists are at a loss to adequately explain this phenomenon.

The sea ice growth is a mystery, scientists suspect possible changes in air currents could explain the growth or possible cooler ocean currents carrying cooler surface water to the southern continent.

The Black Saturday bush fires caused 173 deaths in Victoria in February 2009, Flannery made his unfortunate statement – “My country is still in shock at the loss of so many lives. But inevitably we will look for lessons from this natural tragedy. The first, I fear, is that we must anticipate more such terrible blazes, for the world\’s addiction to burning fossil fuels goes on unabated. And there is now no doubt that emissions pollution is laying the preconditions necessary for more such blazes.”

The Climate Commission was recently decommissioned by the Abbott government; Professor Flannery has relaunched the commission as the Climate Council, now a community funded organisation. Flannery feels the organisation can run on a tighter budget; the $5.4 million spent over the past five years would then seem excessive since no actual research is undertaken.

Am I a climate denier? I don’t think so, I am however skeptical of political appointees made by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. From Julia\’s choice of Peter Slipper as speaker of the house, Sharran Burrow – the former President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions appointed to Fair Work Australia, Nova Peris Kneebone and Tim Flannery.

Unfortunately, all of these people have been involved in scandals, impropriety or incompetence. Flannery was hired to scare us into submission to support the carbon tax; now the carbon tax is to be repealed – there is no need for a political spin organisation, the funds can now be diverted to actual research.

An unusual attraction down in Albany is dog rock, it is a large granite rock in the shape of a dog’s head. While I would never consider driving all the way down from Perth especially to see dog rock, when showing my international friends around Albany, driving around the town we come across dog rock on route to somewhere else making it worth stopping and having a quick look.

These days, most of my trips down to Albany involve scuba diving, from Perth, a four and a half hour drive from Perth on a Friday night usually arriving before midnight sets up Saturday and Sunday dives with the 430 km drive home Sunday evening. Have to admit, it is a strange rock outcrop.

During my many visits to the Philippines for diving trips, I am lucky to work in education enjoying the advantages of numerous holidays the system allows. During my eight year teaching career in the college system, I have been lucky to make up to 3 diving trips to the Philippines a year, that’s just over 6 weeks a year.

All trips start in Manila before heading out to the islands for some of the best scuba diving in South East Asia. My hotel of choice is located to the Greenbelt area of Makati although I stay in other parts of Manila too.

I am able to hang out at the numerous choices of bars and restaurants over the weekend before mid-week diving begins. All trips end here too so I have a day or two at the end of my holiday to relax before jumping on the plane and heading home.

A favourite bar of mine is Barcino, allowing the choice of indoor or outdoor seating, this is a favourite haunt for late afternoon and early evening to purchase a bottle of red wine and watch people strolling through the entertainment district. Throughout the afternoon, a meal of tapas may be brought out to accompany the selection of wine as evening falls on Manila and  the entertainment moves into overdrive. There is plenty to like about the Greenbelt entertainment precinct, the atmosphere is electric, the food good, the choices of establishments better and safety is paramount in the area, you have no concerns of being bashed or robbed here – I really like hanging out here.

Heading across to Rottnest Island from Perth city is a pleasant journey, the ferry departs the Barrack Street jetty directly in front of the city. Cruising down the river towards Fremantle, the opportunity to view the city from the river after passing under the Narrows Bridge and motoring past waterfront properties of Perth’s entrepreneurial set.

The trip is both relaxed and filled with excitement. The ferry stops at Fremantle to pick up passengers before leaving the heads of Frementle Harbour for the 17 km journey to the Thompson Bay landing jetty.

Rotto to the locals is the great holiday island of Perth\’s residents, despite many changes of government, Rotto still has a relaxed feel created by the lack of development on the island. There are no exclusive 5 star resorts, just beach shack type family accommodation that retains a holiday feel.

For Perth residents unable to afford a holiday house, the Rotto accommodation remains the family summer holiday of choice.

Usually my trips to the island incorporate dives to the northern or southern reefs, the eastern reefs around Thomsom Bay are normally too shallow for serious dives. The limestone caves, grottos, swim-throughs and caverns on the northern, western and southern regions ensure excellent diving.

The quokka is a native marsupial to the island, apparently they were once reasonably common on the mainland, however, the introduction of predators decimated their numbers and they are now only found on Rotto. Initially mistaken for a large rat by 17th century Dutch explorers, the Quokka is a marsupial from the same family as kangaroos and wallabies. The island now named Rottnest, is derived from Williem de Vlamingh’s 1696 visit naming the island Rotte Nest (rattennest) meaning rats nest.

Rottnest Island is vehicle free, with the exception of a bus that runs around the island taking holidaymakers to the remote beaches and a small number of service vehicles. The preferred mode of transport is bicycle with most holidaymakers loading their bikes on the ferry for the weekend or week long holiday.