Why bother with a retrial when it is unlikely to add further value to Higgin’s book deal. The Director of Public Prosecutions had to eventually abandon the retrial, but it was clear that Shane Drumgold SC did not want to abandon the prosecution despite not yielding the result they wanted. There were concerns for Higgins’ wellbeing, this is the reason offered, I tend to think there is more to this.

Negotiated by Lisa Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons, the book was worth a $325k advance, that is a pretty decent down payment. I would expect it unlikely that Pirate Pete is negotiating a book advance for Bruce Lehrmann in the interest of balanced reporting, his version of events would make interesting reading.

What we do know through trial testimony is that Higgins was drafting book chapters before she reported the matter to police. Since there was no guilt recorded against Lehrmann, Higgins will be highly restricted in what she can put in her book, she will definitely be reviewed by the editor.

Wilkinson was well paid on The Project and along with FitzSimons were heavily involved with Higgins. So should Lehrmann seek restitution, both Lisa and Peter can afford a significant settlement. Wilkinson delayed the trial for three months after her speech at the Logie Awards and that may make the producers of The Project liable. They advertise The Project as news done differently, they might want to revamp their format and offer balanced reporting of the facts.

So now we learned that the Higgins team settled with the government for around $3 million, it was an undisclosed sum, but their initial demand was for that amount. Not a bad financial outcome for a trial that went nowhere. Sure, there will be lawyer’s fees to be deducted from that settlement, it is still a lot of money.

Now we need to find out if the Lehrmann team will go after some, or all of the Higgins settlement. Since there was no trial outcome, he had no opportunity to clear his name, what we do know is that the jury was unable to reach a decision, so this indicates that members of the jury did not believe the Higgins testimony.

When I read comments sections on social media, I am intrigued how people post opinions as fact in an attempt to persuade people’s thinking. Surely they are no so stupid to believe their own lies, or maybe they are starting to convince themselves of their own stupidity. These weak minded attempts to manipulate people’s opinions really only feed their own cognitive biases. They are firstly looking for people to agree with them and then people to argue with who disagree with them.

I have to admit, I do like baiting these simpletons and laughing when they get all worked up. We all have a difference of opinion in so many issues, it is highly improbable that we will agree on all issues. So stop forcing your beliefs on others and getting aggressive when we disagree with your pointless views. You can’t influence us with your silly opinions, so just stop trying. Generally, the intellectuals are not commenting on social media so this sphere is left to the deadheads – who would have thought?

The ethics of whistleblowing involves a number of moral values, one is loyalty, the other is equity principles. The individual has to balance the principles of loyalty to their employer or organisation whilst ensuring their personal values are not compromised.

Whilst loyalty is an admirable quality, one’s responsibility to act in an ethical manner in order to ensure organisational integrity. It takes a strong character to call out wrongdoing, it is a career killer at best and could get you blacklisted at worse. Then you actually have to make your way into work, you may have ethics, but you have to deal with the workplace gossip and associated pressure. 

The moral dilemma of conducting oneself in a morally justifiable manner doesn’t pay the mortgage, the bills or put food on the table. Ultimately one has to consider their personal situation, that is important, but also important is taking an ethical stance when they know it will only bring personal hardship.

So, is whistleblowing an ethical practice? Absolutely it is, the onus is not on the individual who uncovers wrongdoing, the responsibility is of the management to create a culture where misappropriation and wrongdoing is discouraged to such a degree that no reasonable person would even consider engaging in unconscionable conduct.

We are entering a new era, the threats to Australia’s sovereignty are real. We once planned for a ten year build-up period, I believe we are now in this ten year lead-in time frame. Ok, so the defence of the Australian mainland is real, we need a genuine deterrence, the air force is the primary defensive mechanism protecting Australia.

Yes, Australia is a trading nation so the defence of our sea lanes is imperative. The air force is required to provide air support of naval assets. The F-35 will be the primary defensive weapon to support the defence of Australia. Yes, this is deterrence, an invading force will need to determine if it is worth the losses to invade the Australian mainland, we need to ensure it isn’t.

The Japanese swept down through South East Asia in the 1940s, they were stopped in New Guinea, now the air force will prevent any incursion on Australian sovereignty. We saw the Japanese build up in the 1930s, their treatment of Korea and China should be a stark warning to us all. Now Japan is a leading member of our alliance. Prior to that, the Chinese were on our side. This is an ironic turn of events, the geopolitical forces that shape our region are concerning.

The forward operating bases are Australia’s first line of defence. The army is the largest force in terms of manpower, but really the weakest by terms of weaponry. We have limited artillery, armoured vehicles, main battle tanks and our missile defence is rudimentary. We have a limited army, if our shores were invaded, the army is the last line of defence. That capability is actually not all that capable, this is the defence of last resort.

So the air force, working in tandem with the navy is the main defensive structure protecting the Australian mainland. The air force will seek to destroy enemy shipping approaching Australia, the stealth and networking capabilities of the F-35 should first seek to destroy enemy shipping approaching Australian shores. Any attacking force would be airborne initially with naval support, that would include armour, artillery and mobile missile vehicles.

Australia has a vast interior, the potential to house long range missile defences far from the coast is vital to the Australian defensive structure. Sure, medium range missile defences need to be stationed closer to the coast, long range artillery to protect the major cities is not out of the question. This would be a major increase in capability, with the Himars system and the advantages of mobility are an improvement in defence capability. the proposed 500 km range is still very close to the Australian mainland.

The F-35 is the primary air defence aircraft, Australia has no strategic bombers, so fighter aircraft are the primary means of defence. The P-8 Poseidon is the primary maritime reconnaissance aircraft to identify naval assets The F/A-18F is the non-stealth aircraft, this fighter attack aircraft has been the main fighter aircraft in the air force for decades, supported by the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

Heuer was a leading watchmaker in the chronograph sphere, so I was so surprised when I learned about the Manhattan Chronosplit GMT, this is something I would not want on my wrist. When I look at this design, I am utterly bewildered, what were they thinking at Heuer? People really carry on about TAG Heuer and how they have performed as a business, they show plenty of online vitriol, the Manhattan Chronosplit GMT is unfortunately all Heuer.

People really go silly for a 1970s watch, but this time, I am not seeing it. I am really not seeing it. This was the era of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus, these iconic designs were aiming for a new industrial styling. What Heuer was trying to achieve here is some futuristic model with no notion of what the future would actually look like. It is like a 1950s Hollywood version of the future, it certainly wasn’t that.

This watch has three hands for hours, minutes and seconds with a round dial in a hexagon shaped dial that has a digital LCD in the upper section. The crown for the analog watch is located on the bottom of the case, this is actually interesting for me. Keeping in mind that the Manhattan Chronosplit GMT was released in 1977, the trends of that era were well defined, I see this design as pretty out there. I realise that this is right in the middle of the quartz influence, watchmaking was in a stage of huge upheaval and new products and designs were needed. So it is easy to look back and question their design ideas and to be critical of their designs – maybe I am wrong here.

We were down in Margaret River over the Christmas holiday period, we stopped in at the Evans and Tate cellar door after we had been at Woody Nook Winery and Fermoy Estate. Our next stop was Hay Shed Hill as we were in Wilyabrup, that is always a favourite of mine.

Peter Fogarty was a high level lawyer and businessman before getting into the wine business, he was also an avid sailor as well and could have easily have been Australian champion had he pursued that option. He was too caught up in his business ventures, I have lost money on ERG, that was one of his early ventures.

I really liked this malbec, I found it earthy and fresh. When I read the technical notes I found this malbec was matured in 500 litre French oak puncheons that were 12% new and the remainder used. I have not always been a fan of malbec, I have found it to be a little bland, when I say that, what I mean is it is a middle pallet and lacks the fore and aftertaste, I generally find it a little one dimensional, this isn’t the case here.

So we decided to crack the top out in the back garden on a Friday evening after work. I decided to share this malbec with my father and it is a little different from what we normally drink. This worked really well sitting out on the back lawn on a Friday afternoon, it was early spring and the haze of winter had lifted.

So what happens to the Solomon Islands if war breaks out with China? This poses an interesting dilemma, we have no issue with the people of the Solomon Islands, as a close neighbour they travel to Australia for work and holidays. We have history together, some decisive World War II battles were fought in the Solomon Islands, we see them as friends and equals.

This is all thrown out with the Chinese influences bankrolling Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, this is not good for the Solomon Islands in general and certainly not great for the people of the Solomon Islands. If a military conflict were to break out, any military assets in the Solomon Islands are a target. A naval facility is a direct threat to Australia and must be immediately neutralised.

So, a likely scenario is Chinese military assets in the Solomon Islands are immediately neutralised, that means precision bombed. Why I say precision bombed, the Chinese embassy, Chinese military interests need to be taken out without damage to Solomon Island infrastructure or private assets. We certainly do not want to see Solomon Islander loss of life, so such strikes need to be a precision bombing. We need to remember, the people of the Solomon Islands are our friends, so they cannot be injured or killed.

The Chinese government is building a telecommunications network in the Solomon Islands that far exceeds their population and proposed requirements. So, the question needs to be asked, what are they going to do with this excess capability? This is beginning to look like a spy station close to Australia with the intent to track Australian and allied communications, shipping and aircraft movements. These assets along with the Chinese man-made islands with their military bases need to be the first targets in the event of hostilities breaking out. These Chinese assets in the Solomon Islands will be targeted very early on in any hostilities, that is a given.

My first foray into specialty tea was walking into TWG Tea at Shangri La Plaza with the waiter recommending Eternal Summer red tea. This was a great choice, I was not expecting such a fantastic cold tea; light red in colour and flavoursome.

I was really blown away by the deep flavour blended with rose blossoms and berries, all of a sudden I have an interest in tea. I was [and remain a coffee drinker] but now I am able to enjoy a tea as well as coffee. That means I can drink less coffee during the day and evening – no need for decaf now. Eternal Summer red tea is a little difficult for me to get in Perth, but when I do get hold of this unique tea, I really enjoy the robust flavours and am always wanting more.

As an entry level watch, a Seiko or Tissot is a pretty solid choice. Based on my preferences, I know the Tissot range better than the Seiko range so I have some research to do to catch up. To be fair, Seiko makes a pretty decent timepiece movements.

Seiko has a terrible reputation for bracelets, this is where they need to lift their game. If I was to add a Seiko to my collection, it would definitely be on a NATO strap. I would be looking for a sports style watch. I am not keen on the Aston range, the Prospex range is interesting as I prefer dive watches, they have some decent models.

However, I have enough dive watches so the Pressage range is where I will search. The price range of the Presage line moves away from Tissot as a direct competitor and takes on Longines instead. The SPB161J1 is a pretty interesting model, the index markers are clean and utilitarian, I like the enamel dial and the case.

I don’t like the dials of the Presage Sharp Edged Series, the Asanoha or hemp leaf pattern is a traditional Japanese fabric style with five traditional colours and I am really not feeling the love. So I really only have one choice of Seiko Presage, so despite looking into Seiko, I still think the PRX Powermatic 80, the hand wound Petite Seconde or Visodate works for me.

Am I the only one who sees this? We have a workplace in complete disarray with a bunch of people running wild. So when they started taking matters into their own hands and trying to get people fired, did they really think they had that much power and influence? Apparently they did. There is also an action known as the rule of unintended consequences. Whenever you make a play, you need to think at least three steps ahead. You need to have defensive, or covering moves for each likely action, you cannot just make it up as you go. But, this is exactly what they are doing.

So you need to plan each move, if they respond with a) you covering move is [response a], if they respond with b) you covering move is [response c] or if they respond with c) your move may be [response b]. Then you need to map out your covering moves for each possible response. It can get very complicated, my preference is the Vroom-Jago decision tree to map my counter moves.

Naturally, none of this mob are that smart or organised, they make their big move, there is only one course of action and if that fails, their plan falls apart. I like to combine business strategy with yacht racing, this is a very strategic sport. I also utilise boxing tactics, planning and executing a fight plan is very satisfying. You are eye-to-eye with your opponent, you need to defend, attack and move, it is very fluid. You have a strategy, but it needs to sometimes change quickly based on their responses.

So, they made their big bold move, using boxing parlance you move into a full defensive shell to block their shot, this is then immediately followed up with lateral movement to change the target, a quick change to the Philly shell for deflection of their shots and this gives you the ability to counter punch. You are going to get hit, so you need to condition yourself to take some punishment, ribs, solar plexus and chest. A body shot will put you down, you need to be aware of that.

Duck, dodge, weave, bounce off the ropes, jab, jab and then cross. If the jabs land, it is time to open them up with some cross, hook and uppercut combinations. If you don’t open them up, back to jab/move, jab/move plan. You have to stay on plan, yes you need countering moves, this is why bowers have trainers, they need a different perspective, they need insight.

Similar to yacht racing, you work averages, you attack when you are behind, defend when you are in front. If you are leading a fleet, you cover a fleet, you look for opportunity and cover opponents. For fleet racing, you cannot cover the whole fleet, so you need to cover the boats that will likely challenge you, that is usually the best skippers

Ok, so where does this leave us, the sporting arena is fluid, you need to have an overall strategy to begin with. But that is where it gets interesting, Mike Tyson was once quoted as saying “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Ironically, this was before the Holyfield fight where Tyson was TKO in the 11th round. So you need the skills to execute a plan, you may need to change tactics if your plan isn’t working as there is no value in sticking to a plan that is not working. You need to defend, to counter and attack when required.