Protecting Manufacturing From "Creative Destruction"

The missing ingredient in Martin Feil's analysis of outsourcing (The Age, 30/5/2006) is workers - all workers, that is. At the risk of being dismissed as a "globalist", I don't see the imperative to be concerned about low-skilled workers in a first-world country at the expense of low-skilled workers in much dire straits in the developing world. The unstated assumptions of protectionists - selfishness, nostalgia, populism, nationalism and mercantilism - are neither persuasive nor attractive to me and many other "globalists".

Constantly changing economic circumstances - including "creative destruction" of comparatively weak enterprises - are inevitable and desirable. While our governments should do more to minimise the fallout through investing in skills, retaining a "sheltered-factory" mindset for workers unsuited to jobs in the service economy is not the answer to our balance-of-trade problems.

Rather than subsidising the local manufacture of shoes and the like, we should be ensuring that political liberalisation and freedom goes hand-in-hand with economic growth in our offshore partners. The whole world benefits from a prosperous and free global community, including workers in advanced economies.

State Must Limit Damage From Religious Education

Despite her protestations, Education Services Minister Jacinta Allan cannot shirk her responsibilities for education outcomes in this state (The Age, 29/5/2006). Religious educators should not be allowed to impose their values on students without regard to the impacts on the community as a whole. For example, if some children are to receive instruction in school that homosexuality is impure, wrong, sinful and godless, we will see an inevitable rise in youth suicide, homophobia and gay-bashings. Similar teaching practices will see a rise in misogyny and sexism, sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancies. All have a fallout much wider than the school community in which they are taught.

It is not acceptable for the Minister to duck these issues and leave it to future governments to pick up the pieces. Religious schools need clear direction that they must operate within the common value systems of the wider community.

Struggle to the Summit

You don't get to the top of Mt Everest by stopping to help other climbers. Even those found dying under a rock (The Age, 24/5/06). No, it's "eyes on the prize" for Mark Inglis and his party of 40 climbers - and death for Briton David Sharp for making a mistake.

I'm sure the Macquarie Bank would welcome Mr Inglis to their senior executive team, where his "devil take the hindmost" management philosophy will be embraced with gusto.

Mobile Phone Radiation A Boon

With a degree in communications engineering and a mobile phone tower less than 10m from my backdoor, I'm not at all worried about the current fuss. In fact, I'm grateful for the year-round tan and lower heating bills. The only downside is storing the microwave popcorn in a lead-lined box.

Schools To Duke It Out

As an outsider to Melbourne's curious private school system, I must confess to a giddy rush of Schadenfreude ("shameful joy") upon hearing of the looming stoush between Scotch College and St Kevin's College over CityLink's expansion (The Age, 18/5/05). Two of Melbourne's most prestigious schools, sectarian differences, powerful Old Boys, a zero-sum game, history repeating ... this has it all.

My only hope is that the matter is not resolved amicably over a glass of port in a walnut-lined backroom on Collins St. Fortunately, reported comments suggest the prospect of the two principals duking it out behind the boat sheds in the time-honoured fashion - with their respective Parents' Committees standing in a circle clapping them on - is tantalisingly close. Game on!

Banana Appeal

They're not paying $3 per banana in the Phillipines. The Government ban is propping up a few hundred voters in Queensland at the expense of the developing world - and our breakfasts! Let the free market work.

Sperm Donors and Identity

Yesterday's editorial supports stopping anonymous sperm donation on the grounds that people have a right to know their genetic legacy and that secrets can destroy families (The Age, 15/5/06). This is despite acknowledging that the new policy has seen a drop-off in the number of men willing to donate sperm - inspiring a recent Comedy Festival show (from Matt Black) about sperm scarcity and encouraging the audience to donate sperm (The Age, 25/4/06)!

The implications for an evaporation of the state's sperm donor pool are obvious - and undesirable. When seen in light of research that suggests anywhere from 3% to 30% of children are unknowingly (to them) fathered by an unexpected male (The Age, 29/6/05), surely the principled stance against anonymous donation becomes untenable? Or does The Age support universal, mandatory genetic testing of lineage at 18 on the same grounds as for children of sperm donors? No, the state needs to butt out and leave families to work these things through as they see fit, as they have for millennia.

Medical Marketing Works

Ruth Brown, of Waverly, believes her GP's extensive training has inoculated him against marketing tactics like a free "plastic pen or a notepad" (The Age, 10/5/05). The reality is that global pharmaceutical companies employ very clever and highly-motivated psychologists to help market their products, spending far more on marketing than R&D. Furthermore, Big Pharma's return to investors is historically amongst the highest of any industry, so they are very effective at their work.

The logical consequence of Ms Brown's view is that these shrewd people are repeatedly throwing away billions of dollars for no good reason. In light of this, perhaps we should accept the alternative view - that doctors (like everyone) underestimate the impact of marketing. Therefore, steps to curtail the intrusion are warranted.