Economic Goals Out - Quality of Life Goals In
Setting economic goals is like producing quality product - necessary but no longer our most important focus. It was 5 years ago. Not now. Not ever again.
Societal and environmental goals are now far more important to a huge and growing number of Australians across all walks of life.
The Australian Science & Technology Council national futures study, much to their surprise, found this out.
The EPAC National Strategies Conference last year firmly stated that Australians want a future with a higher quality of life while maintaining a high standard of living.
We in WA are very clear that quality of life issues are becoming much more important that dollar-driven decisions.
Dollars are no longer the most important consideration - the impact on our enjoyment of life is. And our children's enjoyment. And maybe even our grandchildren's enjoyment.
Why do so many politicians continue to believe that people will vote by their hip pocket ? Where are they getting their info from ? Are they not listening to what people are saying ?
Take the Northbridge trench. In fact, take the trench anywhere but Northbridge! The powers that be had determined that the cost of any other option was not acceptable to the people of WA. Wrong!
Because of the hue and cry from lots of ordinary citizens about the likely devastation to the feel of the neighbourhood, the trench iidea had to be buried, had to become a tunnel.
Bold Park and the realignment of Stevenson Avenue/West Coast Highway is another example where the authorities responsible for recommending about roads and bush reserves did not recognise that people around the State were prepared to fight to save the bushland environment. Fight they did, several times, and win they did, too.
The often heated debate over Council House surprises many pollies and planners who still believe that heritage confrontations are caused by only a lunatic fringe of dusty historians and fusty maiden aunts with nothing else to occupy their lives.
Wrong. My Polish neighbour cares about Australiana. Some school kids I know care. My butcher cares. I care and I do not even like 60s architecture. But, dammit, it's a first class piece of our past and worth preserving for our future.
We know the tunnel will cost heaps more. We know saving more of Bold Park bushland means decreased revenue in the public coffers. We know keeping Council House is more costly than getting rid of it.
But here is the message for all leading decision makers, whether in government or business. We, the people of Western Australia, are prepared to pay for the preservation of our desirable environment !
So listen up, pollies. Forget economic rationalism with expansion for growth's sake. Forget making the almighty dollar the basis for government policy. Forget creating only short-term empty employment and business schemes with the aim of catching short term votes.
You are insulting the voters. We have evolved way beyond the hip-pocket voting syndrome. We have evolved beyond the us-and-them thinking that kept most of us inactive (though whingeing) throughout Australia's history.
We have a much broader range of social and environmental issues we care about. We are learning how to speak out. We are proving to ourselves and our communities that if we care enough to speak out, we will have an impact.
Quality products and services are now an accepted minimum requirement for business success.
Quality decision making and management now must reflect the advancement of the quality of life rather than the quantity of dollars.
You can count votes on it.
Business News 10 Nov 1995
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