ssssonicyouth
30-04-09, 02:12 AM
Let's make our state a winner once again
Peter Holmes a Court
April 30, 2009
I spent 16 years living overseas, but in 1999 my wife and I chose to move from New York to Sydney. We didn't do it on a whim. We thought long and hard, and chose Sydney for its beauty, relative convenience, low pollution, business opportunities, weather, and, of course, its football. I am here because I want to be, because I believe in NSW.
But no organisation, no state, or nation - or even a football club - is protected from periods of stagnation, regardless of how storied its history, how advantageous its natural position, or how industrious its people. We have all seen this state slide in relative performance in recent years. Whatever the reasons, they are not as important as formulating a plan to return to the winner's dais.
I have some small experience of what it is like to undertake a process like this, with a rugby league club known to arouse the strongest of passions in the most unlikely of people. Like NSW, the South Sydney Rabbitohs had been No. 1, but their premierships were a distant memory. Like NSW, we had fallen behind the competition and needed to make changes across the board.
Sometimes we bit off more than we could chew - and we famously hit a few road bumps - but the great majority of the changes worked, and have stuck.
We can recognise the progress: from effectively bankrupt wooden-spooners three years ago, to having a competitive team roster, the proper infrastructure and a growing membership. The team is by no means first, but it is clearly heading in the right direction.
At the time of the crucial club vote in 2006, we had roughly 4000 members. Today we have more than 14,000, 10,000 more people who are willing to contribute to reclaiming first. We need to gain that kind of commitment from the people of NSW.
If this state does not become fiercely competitive, we will continue to watch the state fall behind the others. People in Melbourne often joke about disliking Sydney for one reason or other. I am reluctant to tell them people in Sydney don't actually spend much time thinking about Melbourne, but don't think for a moment the seemingly good-natured ribbing doesn't belie a seething undercurrent of competition at a corporate and government level. As for Brisbane, it is just outright open warfare.
It is not enough for NSW to simply be in the game, when those around you spend their time working out how to get your business, how to stage your sporting events and how to steal your jobs.
To turn this state around will require hard work, good ideas, scientific and financial rigour, and egos to be pushed aside. But none of the best plans will work if the population is not excited by them. Without popular support, there will not be enough political will.
Like the work done by the team at the Rabbitohs, reclaiming first for NSW will require us to do the boring stuff. It will take many years to complete the transformation and let our state match its performance with its great history and natural advantages, and give the people of NSW what they deserve.
Now is the time to do it. We can reclaim our natural position as the premier state, and as someone who has chosen to live here, I am ready to contribute and encourage you to as well. But I am just one of 7 million members who has a stake. If we are going to return to being the best, we have to do it together.
This is an edited extract of Peter Holmes a Court's address at yesterday's launch of the NSW Business Chamber's "NSW: Reclaiming 1st" campaign. Its first symposium, on infrastructure, will be held on May 20.
Peter Holmes a Court
April 30, 2009
I spent 16 years living overseas, but in 1999 my wife and I chose to move from New York to Sydney. We didn't do it on a whim. We thought long and hard, and chose Sydney for its beauty, relative convenience, low pollution, business opportunities, weather, and, of course, its football. I am here because I want to be, because I believe in NSW.
But no organisation, no state, or nation - or even a football club - is protected from periods of stagnation, regardless of how storied its history, how advantageous its natural position, or how industrious its people. We have all seen this state slide in relative performance in recent years. Whatever the reasons, they are not as important as formulating a plan to return to the winner's dais.
I have some small experience of what it is like to undertake a process like this, with a rugby league club known to arouse the strongest of passions in the most unlikely of people. Like NSW, the South Sydney Rabbitohs had been No. 1, but their premierships were a distant memory. Like NSW, we had fallen behind the competition and needed to make changes across the board.
Sometimes we bit off more than we could chew - and we famously hit a few road bumps - but the great majority of the changes worked, and have stuck.
We can recognise the progress: from effectively bankrupt wooden-spooners three years ago, to having a competitive team roster, the proper infrastructure and a growing membership. The team is by no means first, but it is clearly heading in the right direction.
At the time of the crucial club vote in 2006, we had roughly 4000 members. Today we have more than 14,000, 10,000 more people who are willing to contribute to reclaiming first. We need to gain that kind of commitment from the people of NSW.
If this state does not become fiercely competitive, we will continue to watch the state fall behind the others. People in Melbourne often joke about disliking Sydney for one reason or other. I am reluctant to tell them people in Sydney don't actually spend much time thinking about Melbourne, but don't think for a moment the seemingly good-natured ribbing doesn't belie a seething undercurrent of competition at a corporate and government level. As for Brisbane, it is just outright open warfare.
It is not enough for NSW to simply be in the game, when those around you spend their time working out how to get your business, how to stage your sporting events and how to steal your jobs.
To turn this state around will require hard work, good ideas, scientific and financial rigour, and egos to be pushed aside. But none of the best plans will work if the population is not excited by them. Without popular support, there will not be enough political will.
Like the work done by the team at the Rabbitohs, reclaiming first for NSW will require us to do the boring stuff. It will take many years to complete the transformation and let our state match its performance with its great history and natural advantages, and give the people of NSW what they deserve.
Now is the time to do it. We can reclaim our natural position as the premier state, and as someone who has chosen to live here, I am ready to contribute and encourage you to as well. But I am just one of 7 million members who has a stake. If we are going to return to being the best, we have to do it together.
This is an edited extract of Peter Holmes a Court's address at yesterday's launch of the NSW Business Chamber's "NSW: Reclaiming 1st" campaign. Its first symposium, on infrastructure, will be held on May 20.