Qualifications for Leadership

The Federal Education Minister, Dr. Brendan Nelson, lambasts members of University councils, stating that "it is an accident of circumstance if they know anything about leading, let alone managing people and budgets." (The Age, 14/6)

Right. How has the Minister's medical degree prepared him for his present role, leading and managing a sector worth billions? Perhaps his stint as head of the Tasmanian doctors' union gave him the necessary managerial skills.

What about Peter Costello? Is a union-busting barrister really the qualified to manage a trillion dollar economy? (The Libs tried an actual economist in Prof. John Hewson, and look where that got them.)

Come to think of it, an awful lot of Tory politicians have a background in the law or small business - neither involves managing in-the-large. Maybe Dr. Nelson's view that only corporate financiers can provide real leadership is his back-handed declaration of support for Malcolm Turnbull as PM!