I had the pleasure to watch our wonderful athletes on the last two days of the Commonwealth Games and I only wished Anthony Albanese was here to learn from these great role models.
When I get back to Australia from my trip to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, I undoubtedly will tell those who ask how was the getaway, that it was one the times of my life! I not only had a great time, but I was schooled by a company that has had a commitment to telling the time since 1832.
That company is the Swiss-based Longines, who is the official timer of the Games and has had a history of bringing its precision time pieces to some of the greatest events and people of world and Australian history. It has timed the Melbourne Cup, Grand Prix drivers such our first formula one winner Jack Brabham, and provided the flight-assisting watches for the likes of Charles Lindburgh, who first crossed the Atlantic in a plane in 1927, and then they did the same for our Charles Kingsford Smith, who was the first to cross the Pacific in his Southern Cross aeroplane in 1928.
Longines has been timing some of the most inspirational high-achievers for nearly 200 years!
So, it wasn’t a surprise that on Saturday night, I was inspired by one of the best nights of my life. It wasn’t better than when I was married and the arrival of my children and grandchildren, when they were born, but socially speaking and rating other nights out, watching our 4X100 men’s running team take gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was an unforgettable experience.
Gold to that team headed up by Lachlan Kennedy, who is rated number 5 in the world, after running a time of 9.85 seconds, making him the fastest Aussie ever, brought out the air pumping, cheering and uplifted positivity about my fellow Australians. And it told me I was lucky to have been in Glasgow on August 2, 2026.
Of course, I should be in Melbourne, but former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews was not good at budgeting and so the home of a young Billy Connolly and the famous Glasgow Rangers football team, was given 150 million pounds out of the $589 billion it cost Victoria for jettisoning the Games, to do a mini-version of the four-year sports carnival between the countries of the old British Empire.
In case you forgot, the Victorian Premier dropped the event when the initial budget blew out from $2 billion to $7 billion, which raised enormous questions about:
- Who did the initial quote for the Games?
- Why did the costs blowout?
- Who did the budgeting for Dan? And,
- Why can’t the people involved in potentially putting on the Games in Victoria be as productive and high-achieving, as the young, inspirational Aussies that collected 65 gold and 158 medals with one day to go. Note England was only on 26 gold and Canada had 18, which shows this was an outperformance by our wonderful team.
As an economist and media commentator, it’s hard to ignore our country’s biggest economic challenge — our hopeless productivity — which gives us high inflation, rising interest rates and now a slowing economy, which will exacerbate the current falling house price situation that has been made worse thanks to the tax changes in the Budget.
Our recent history tells us that we cannot expect our governments, at any level, will make decisions that will boost productivity without enlightened leadership and policies that make it easy for both big and small businesses to coach their staff to go down the paths of self-improvement, which explains why our athletes performed extraordinarily well.
This chart shows how out productivity has fallen very steeply from around 2007 and that’s when Labor’s Kevin Rudd came to Canberra.
Unfortunately, productivity did not pick under the succession of unimpressive Coalition governments and has got worse sine 2022, under the Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers.
So, clearly, it’s time to look at why we aren’t raising productivity and I’m sure many employer/coaches would like to change the work from home trend, the stress leave trend, the inability to be frank with underperforming worker trend and so many obstacles for a boss to get the best out of workers trend.
Respect for workers has improved and should not be in any way reversed, but we must make changes to allow bosses to lead and coach their teams to better performances.
John F. Kennedy got it right when he said: “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
Longines has been measuring some of the great moments in history and like a great athlete has been striving to improve the technology of recording times such that, the head of the Swiss business that runs the timing of big events such as the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, told me on Saturday night before our athletes continued their gold rush, that the timing technology used nowadays has become so good there no longer are draws!
Someone in power in our country needs to set better goals for himself or herself to put into process a national commitment to helping workers in businesses set higher standards for themselves.
Our productivity is a problem that cannot be ignored any longer and it’s not unreasonable that we expect our Prime Minister to lead the charge for our economy to start heading toward gold medal productivity performances.
I know I’m being an optimist, but I was never a coach or a teacher who thought being pessimistic was a great strategy for success.
JFK also got it right when he said: “Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.”
It’s time for Australian exceptionalism that is entrenched in our sporting stars to become natural to our employees, which is a job that demands a leader steps up.
I was presented with a gold Longines watch for 30 years service at a large state owned corporation. Unfortunately, it was only correct once a month as the date was stuck on 28. Just goes to show even the Swiss masters sometimes get it wrong!
“ Someone in power in our country needs to set better goals for himself or herself to put into process a national commitment to helping workers in businesses set higher standards for themselves.”
Workers in businesses don’t compare themselves to “someone in power” for setting their standards in the workplace. They look at their managers and the rewards they receive for their efforts.
History over the past 50 years has shown that senior managers salaries have increased considerably faster than workers. Some 50 years ago the most senior executives in any industry would receive not more than 10 times the salary of the least paid in their industry. Now that ratio is far greater than 500 times.
The question you should ask is why senior executives that haven’t improved productivity in their industry are being so lavishly rewarded for FAILING in their duties?
Workers are exposed daily to poor performers executives that take home pays they can only dream about. So why should they, the workers, aim higher when the deal is NOT what you produce but what you can get away with with the least effort?
The lead has to come from senior executives to inspire those they employ to emulate their leadership and goals. If a firm makes enough money to pay its executives exorbitant salaries and bonuses then why these same executives oppose any increase for those employees that have DIRECTLY contributed to making the benefits executives enjoy?
People learn more from examples than from empty words.
Interestingly Glasgow spend around $A300 million on the games, of which Victoria contributed $200 million.
I learnt a lesson from some very wise people: “Giving advice when no advice has been requested is simply nagging!”
So in trying to guide my children, I have just stuck to the truism :- Whether you BELIEVE you can achieve something, or BELIEVE you can’t, you are right!
PETER …….. thanks for YOUR accurate take on the ECONOMICS of Australian industry.
“As an economist and media commentator, it’s hard to ignore our country’s biggest economic challenge — our hopeless productivity — which gives us high inflation, rising interest rates and now a slowing economy…..”
PERSONALLY ……I think that “our country’s biggest economic challenge” is this profligate
incompetent [ so called !! ] basically-useless present government !
DEFINITION of A GOVERNMENT : “The system and group of people with the power to run a country, state, or community. Its main jobs are making laws, keeping people safe, and providing public services.”….except……it’s MAIN DUTY is to RUN THE COUNTRY
successfully , efficiently and ECONOMICALLY ……….for the benefit of it’s citizens !
This LABOR/GREEN/TEAL CONGLOMERATE seems intent on RUNNING THE COUNTRY
INTO THE GROUND …….and to Hell with the citizens !
Productivity has been falling for a very long time , at about the same rate as LOYALTY to an employer and COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS by individuals !
The recent LABOR Changes to Industrial Relations Laws have simply coalesced these FALLING STANDARDS into a LEGAL EXCUSE to allow it and to PREVENT EMPLOYERS taking remedial or retaliative action to correct it ! [ e.g. The Pilbara STRIKES !! ]
GIVEN that this is not about to change in the workplace , the NEXT PROBLEM for the AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY TO SOLVE is how to GET RID OF THE CURRENT SOCIALIST GOVERNMENTS …..both STATE and FEDERAL…..especially FEDERAL !!!?
They have entrenched themselves into office by LARGESSE and by OBLIGATION !
LARGESSE in the form of the NDIS , increased numbers of and wages for “civil servants”
and the “promise” of MORE MONEY for pensioners and other , often self-identified ,
“deserving cases” , with little or no analysis of actual benefits , but enough to secure
their VOTES !
And OBLIGATION of those same “charity recipients” and IMMIGRANTS who show their gratitude by accepting the entry , entitlements and cash in return for their gratitude and THEIR VOTES as well !
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
ANYONE “PROMISING THE ELECTORATE” that they will CUT that funding and all that
immigration is perceived as “AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT” to their undeserved “lifestyle”
and is HARD-PRESSED to garner support to reverse this “cushy arrangement” !
So…..really…..the answer to the problem of the CURRENT SOCIALIST CONGLOMERATION
is in the hands of the RESPONSIBLE AUSTRALIAN ELECTORATE to get itself an elected
government which will actually be RESPONSIBLE , HONEST and WORKING for the benefits of it’s citizens ….and THAT might require a bit of sense and sacrifice in the short term to achieve an HONEST and RELIABLE GOVERNMENT that they can actually TRUST !
On ya Trevor 🤣