The Conversation is where I share observations on Australian life, examples of mateship and a fair go, and questions I think are worth discussing. Different views are welcome. Play the ball, not the man.
The Other View
Only One Flag should publish serious opposing positions fairly and answer them respectfully. Issues such as the flag, Indigenous recognition, protest restrictions, nuclear economics, constitutional change, migration, government spending and sex-based sporting categories all have serious counterarguments.
Presenting the strongest opposing case is not weakness. It is a safeguard against becoming an echo chamber.
Democracy is not agreement. It is learning how to disagree while remaining fellow Australians.
A founder's message
I was born in Australia, with Irish and English ancestry, and I also hold Irish citizenship. I can value that heritage without uncertainty about where home is. Australia is the country that formed me and the shared national identity I have with Australians whose family stories are completely different from mine.
Over a long life I have watched Australia change enormously - mostly for the better. What concerns me is not difference itself, but the possibility that we increasingly define one another by ancestry, religion, identity or imported conflicts before we recognise one another as Australians.
Years ago, while working school-holiday factory jobs, I helped migrants with English. I still remember two expressions they particularly wanted to learn: 'G'day, mate' and 'How ya goin', mate?' They were simple conversation openers, but perhaps that was precisely their value. They allowed a newcomer to greet another Australian naturally and to be greeted in return - not according to ancestry, religion or birthplace, but simply as another person sharing the same workplace and country. They did not have to abandon where they came from. They were joining something.
No matter where you come from, which school you attended or your family circumstances, your beginnings need not define you or constrain your future. I have remained happy to share what I’ve learned with those who have sought my guidance.
Over a career spanning more than 40 years, I was appointed a director at 27 at one of Australia’s largest insurance broking firms and led its Sydney operations at 32. At 39, I joined five fellow directors to establish a separate business. At 48, I founded another business independently, built it over 13 years and subsequently sold it. My career also included roles as State Manager and CEO, service on private boards and as a non-executive director of a major government board, and later coaching CEOs and board directors.
I do not claim to have every answer. Only One Flag exists to ask difficult questions without hatred and to test proposed answers against a simple idea: what strengthens a free, cohesive, secure and prosperous Australia for all Australians?
Different histories. Equal citizenship. One Australia.
Join the conversation
Australianism should be tested, challenged and improved through civil argument. The questions matter more than political labels.
- What should citizenship mean in practice?
- How do we preserve cultural heritage while strengthening a common national identity?
- Where should the boundary lie between protest and intimidation?
- How should Australia recognise Indigenous history while maintaining equal citizenship?
- What population level can housing, roads and infrastructure realistically support?
- Should nuclear generation be legally permitted to compete?
- What level of government expenditure relative to GDP is sustainable and fair to taxpayers?
- What makes a constitutional change practically worthwhile?
- How do we protect a fair go for the next generation without creating inherited blame?
- What responsibilities do parents, schools, journalists, governments and citizens each carry?
Contact us
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