wallydownundy

In yesterday’s post, “The Cost of Floods” , I wrote about the provisions taken by insurers for claims from the floods in Australia. Currently a land mass the size of France and Germany combined are under water. Today’s papers announce Obama has offered help. It’s that bad.

Today Andrew Fraser, Phil Ayling and Damon Kitney at The Australian report on the drop in share value for the top three Australian insurers. A total of $830 million was wiped from the market capitalisation of the companies in one day’s trade. Investors are concerned their shares - like many Queensland properties - may be underwater.

Investors may turn to a new financial advisor to help them recover losses.

Insurance firms in Australia are under pressure to release estimates of pay-outs to victims of floods. Currently an area the size of France and Germany combined is under water. Several towns are cut-off with no road, rail or airport access. With floodwaters yet to peak in some areas, there’s mounting concern about the damage to infrastructure (bridges, roads, water treatment plants, schools).

Last Friday Suncorp issued a statement on the Australian Stock Exchange. They say provisions for catostrophic flood and reinsurance programs mean claims will be within expected guidelines. Until other insurers match Suncorp’s transparency their stocks are likely to trade at a discount.

Meanwhile federal funds continue to flow, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard introducing new sources for flood-damaged areas. Households will qualify for a $25k clean-up grant and low interest loans to alleviate the burden of post-flood resettlement.

For those sitting in emergency shelters and sleeping on relatives’ couches, the news is welcome but far from the relief they need.

Donate to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal now.  

On one side the Northeast American states continue to dig out from a record snowfall - didn’t see that coming, did you Mayor Bloomberg? On the Australian side of the world we are dealing with floodwater of epic proportions.

The Queensland town of Emerald today confirmed record flood levels capping 15.6 metres (that’s 51 feet or the height of a five story building). Along with Emerald numerous towns are inundated with evacuations underway. Hundreds of families are being relocated to safety on the same day the first victim if flooding was found - a 50 year old man fell into swollen waters and his body was recovered yesterday.

While the water may be confined to Queensland, the cost of the floods will be national. Destroyed crops, flooded mines, destroyed infrastructure all add up quickly. The cost to the national economy is expected to top AU$6 billion (at today’s exchange rate, that’s US$6.1 billion). In grocers the price of vegetables and fruits are expected to rise. Considering these are core parts of the national grocery basket, Australia can expect a spike in inflation - and a potential increase then in interest rates.

All of this is a cruel joke after the long term drought. Australia suffered one of the longest and most widespread droughts in living history, and this came to an end in the last two years. Farmers were cultivating crops that were due to lift them from long term debt. Now they’re relocated to emergency shelters and newscasts feature their homes under record floodwater.

Twenty years ago I heard a speech by Bill Gates here in Sydney. He said one day we’ll be so busy watching our telephones we won’t want to get up to answer the television. That happened, right? And then ten years ago I heard another prediction. Global warming would lead to billions of dollars of damages, eradication of food crops and mass dislocation. At the time I thought they meant Bangladesh, not Bundaberg.

So if you have any change left after Christmas, donate it today at any branch of Bank of Queensland, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ, NAB or Suncorp. Alternatively donate on-line to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal.

One of the easier adjustments to make when living in Australia is the lackadaisical approach to January. When I first moved here in 1990 the month was a total write-off. It’s right after the blessed holidays. School kids are all off. It’s summertime! There was a time you could ring an office and no one would pick up for 30 rings (it became a test after 10). It was the worst time to try and get client approval. And for clients, it was a miserable time to have a crisis. Journalists were bored and had time on their hands!

Flash forward 20 years and it’s still a quiet time of year - but not a total stand-still. The majority of Australian companies trade with their Northern Hemisphere brethren. It means they need to be at work and on time. Yes - the roads are still quieter and many restaurants are closed. But business continues.

Overall, it’s hard to blame anyone in Sydney for wanting to take it slow. After all, this beach is 10 km from my home…

In the film “Groundhog Day” poor Bill Murray can’t escape the one day he’s sent to small town Pennsylvania to report on whether an animal sees its shadow. The title of the film has entered the vernacular for anything that feels endlessly repetitive. Like Lindsay Lohan’s personal life or the Melbourne Storm.

Or the Australian federal election.

Australians awoke on Sunday to find little has changed. Both candidates were filling with the airwaves with their moral imperative to lead the nation. Both parties attacked the other stressing their failures. And instead of leadership we, as a nation, are stuck in neutral.

In the coming days one party will cajole, bribe or canoodle enough Independents to lay claim to the leadership. Yet with a near-even split our nation will lack solid government. The squandering of the Labor Party majority and the rise of Tony Abbott are subjects for other postings. For now, however, there’s a nation to govern. And the even split - while shockingly reminiscent of Bush-Gore - is less emotional and more mundane.

This Groundhog Day election is bound to continue for weeks to come. And in my strong opinion, won’t be resolved until another poll is called. I bet it’ll be just around Christmas time…

I met a former boss of mine for lunch yesterday. He’s originally Australian but lives in New York, and I reported to him when I was in Hong Kong (confused yet?). It was great to spend time and hear what’s happened in the ensuing 10 years since we worked together.

Over the years he’s had a plethora of titles - Vice President, Senior Vice President, Executive Vice President, CEO, Chairman of the Board. Clearly he’s been a success.

Yet as the business card holder was filled and refilled again and again by increasingly posh cards with weightier titles, the glamour of the card began to fade. When he approached retirement he quipped to his wife that he’s had every title known to man - spare one.

Today as a retiree he carries a card with the title, “Chief Tribal Warlord.” To those who had the good fortune to work for the man, he’s not that fierce (unless you missed your margin for a month!).

When I did run the business in Hong Kong one man had been with the business forever. In his latter years he wondered who no one had the title “Queen of the Nile” anymore. Can you guess what the brass plaque presented for his birthday read?

I also did an assignment for one of the smaller European nations. The Prince visited and as a thank you gave me platinum cufflinks that featured the royal seal. We had to address him as “His Most Serene Highness.” Yet he was much like any other businessman.

Corporations run amok with grandiose titles. What are the more extreme you’ve seen? And if you could have any title on your card, what would it be? Twitter away and use the hashtag #mytitle.

by guest author Victoria White

On Sunday night the Prime Minister Julia Gillard took on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, in the one and only live debate of the Australian Federal election campaign. Commentators called the debate a draw, and therefore a win for the opposition, whilst live audience tracking made it clear: the women preferred the smooth talking, neatly coiffured PM, whilst the men preferred the alpha strength of the opposition leader.

In the end Julia won on points, but it was Tony who’d narrowed the expectations gap and off they went to the marginal seats where the sniping continued around climate change, immigration figures and cost of living pressures.

 Then, late on Tuesday night Channel Nine broke the news of the first election scandal. It was revealed that as Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Gillard had argued against a rise in cash for age pensions and parental leave because ”old people never vote for us”. The responses from Labor HQ appeared disingenuous whilst Tony Abbott, who’d fought his own party for an increase in paid parental leave was able to tout himself as the only leader looking after families.Labor were quick to point the finger at the newly deposed ex-PM Kevin Rudd as the source of the leaks, but both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader were keeping quiet, preferring to continue a campaign of ‘issues and substance’.

The biggest issue of the week? Julia’s front cover issue of the classic, must-read mag, The Australian Women’s Weekly, of course.                

Australia is in full election mode. Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the poll for 21 August just last Saturday. Now the airwaves are full of bickering leaders and freshly-kissed babies. If we need more serious content, we can watch PM hopeful Tony Abbott judge talent competitions on Channel Nine. Apparently songstress Kylie Minogue got through, but dogs dancing in tutus got the gong.

This is the stuff of which nations are built.

To help us better understand the policies of each leader, one national debate has been called for this Sunday evening. Then we’ll hear the promises and policies of the Labor and Liberal leaders. Gillard’s promise to clamp down on population growth goes head-to-head with Tony Abbot’s call for billions of dollars of savings. Finally - substance!

Yet before we rush to embrace this vision of democracy in action, there’s been a fly in the soup. A real big, popular, crowd-pleasing fly in the soup.

Channel Ten is now home to one of the highest ranked shows in television history. “Master Chef” is a reality competition program where aspiring cooks compete for the ultimate prize - adoration from millions of strangers and gushing acceptance on broadcast television. (Amazingly in a USA survey, high school students were asked how they would fund their retirement - 50% said with the winnings of a reality TV show.)

But here’s the conundrum. “Master Chef” is on at 7:30 pm and that’s the time the debate was scheduled. What to do? National politics and the future of Australia, or the conclusion of a cook-off?

To satisfy the national appetite, the debate time has been changed. So now we can have our debate and eat it too.

In the last two thousand years so much has changed, and yet so little. Saturday I watched “Gladiator” again and am reminded of the Roman senator’s comments as Russell Crowe prepared for a nation-winning battle:

“I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they’ll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they’ll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it’s the sand of the coliseum. He’ll bring them death - and they will love him for it.” - The Gladiator

In two thousand years what’s changed? Perhaps now it isn’t “bring them death” but instead “bring them death by chocolate.”

I’ve been in Auckland for two days now and no one has stuck out their tongue, crossed their arms, bent their legs and started chanting. Why is it Australians immediately think of the Haka - the warrior dance performed before rugby games?

Instead I have been wonderfully impressed with the capabilities of the local public relations industry. Eleven\PR is co-located with our partners WHYBIN\TBWA\TEQUILA. They have a great track record representing leading brands - global and local. What most impressed me was their ability to develop unique events that gain their clients widespread coverage.

I hope to be back soon. I’ll let you know if anyone goes Haka on me!

In Australia we get to change Prime Ministers when we want. It’s a rejuvenating experience - much like dropping weight or buying a new outfit. Out with the old! In with the new!

And if a week is a long time in politics, eight days is surely longer.

Just that many days ago a leadership spill saw Prime Minister Kevin Rudd shuffled from the top job to the very last row in Parliament. His new seat - in restaurant terms - is jammed between the kitchen and the toilets.

The night before I was in Canberra and checked into my hotel late at night - just as Kevin came to the lectern to defiantly announce he was proud of his achievements and would defend his role. That very night Julia Gillard was caught in the hallway by the media flock. With ashen face she said she would be contesting the leadership in the morning. It was a terrible image - pale, unhappy, caught in the cross-hairs.

Now we have a new Prime Minister - and the central issue that brought down Kevin Rudd has been successfully resolved. The front page of The Australian shows Gillard striding with immense confidence.

From a media relations perspective, this is another example of how reporters, editors, layout artists and photo editors work to present a holistic story. There’s no confusing the message here - Julia is on top of in Australia!