We humans can be very stupid at not heeding warnings. And I am one of them. The warning sign was quite clear – a slow, small but relentless water leak on the yacht.
I went online to see what other sailors of similar (14-metre) yachts had done in the same circumstances. Some had replaced whole water hoses from tanks to sinks and showers (struggling through the hull cavity and behind holds and cupboards) and still the leak persisted. Some said they gave up and lived with the leak, A litre every few hours would not matter. Turn off the water pump after using a tap so it would only seep and not squirt and all will be well.
And so it was, until Murphy’s law came in to force. At anchor 25km off shore on the outer reef. Excellent dinner. Few wines. Anchor holding well. Turn off water pump.
Next morning we found that 200 litres of water had leaked from the water tank and was slopping about at the bottom of yacht. The bilge pump had given up the ghost.
Only one thing for it – motor to the nearest port, Cairns. Bailing 200 litres of not especially clean water with a mug and a bucket plus the cost a new bilge pump was punishment for not heeding the warning.
As we were on the reef it reminded me of a more serious warning that is all but being ignored.
A few months ago we had sailed north of Port Douglas to several outer reefs and dived and snorkelled. We could have cried at the extent of coral bleaching. Was this the end of the Great Barrier Reef?
There was some media hype at the time, but as Paul Keating so famously said: “The dogs bark and caravan moves on”
So we have not heard much more about global warming and the damage to Australia’s greatest treasure.
Anyway, this time we were further south on Scott Reef (about 10km by 15km). It is a green zone in the GBR Marine Park (no fishing, no taking anything but photos). No one, no vessel, nothing from horizon to horizon. We snorkelled and dived. Very little evidence of coral bleaching. An utter gem.
But far from telling us that all is well, it reinforced the warning by saying, in effect, that this untouched gem is what you are stupidly continuing to endanger.
Now let’s turn to other prescient recent warnings which Australia is so pitifully all but ignoring. Most of them are related.
Former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry has warned that Budget repair since the global financial crisis has been scant. He knows what needs to be done. It is not just a government spending problem, but a revenue one as well.
Under present policies we are heading for fiscal doom and large interest payments with nothing to show for it.
With more revenue, the Government could take advantage of low interest rates and borrow money for constructive infrastructure that would pay for itself in greater efficiencies, jobs and economic growth.
Now that’s a plan for jobs and growth that might work, unlike the Turnbull company-tax-cut approach, which in other countries has not worked in the past.
This goes hand in hand with a warning from Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe, pictured.
He says that there is now nowhere go with monetary policy. In short, there is no room for further interest rate cuts to stimulate economic growth. It will not work. We have seen that in other countries. And zero or negative interest rates are a recipe for economic instability.
Lowe suggests that a better way to stimulate the economy would be for governments to borrow money for infrastructure projects.
That is good borrowing because it is an investment with returns – like borrowing to buy a house. Borrowing to meet day-to-day spending, on the other hand, is like running up credit-card debt.
Speaking of infrastructure, we have another warning that is being ignored by most of our politicians.
The chair of the Australian Competition of Consumer Commission, Rod Sims, has warned against further privatisations. Previously a fan of them, he says recent experience shows that they almost invariably result in higher prices and poorer service for consumers.
Yet more are in the pipeline. The most recent proposals are horrific. NSW and South Australia are proposing to sell their land titles offices. In 1886, South Australia originated the Torrens system which is now used in many countries. Under it, the state guarantees title and pays compensation in cases of fraud.
Under a privatised system, people buying real estate would have to take out title insurance and most likely the banks would insist on it before giving a mortgage.
It would add perhaps $1000 cost to every conveyance.
Surely, there are some things that only governments can do well and cannot be matched by the private sector. What next, sell the defence forces?
We have had any number of warnings about Australia’s excessive population growth and the need to replace coal with renewables.
And back to the maritime theme, this week, Jon Stanford, former head of the Industries Division in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, warned that the new submarines (costing at least $56 billion) will be a costly mistake.
Both major parties have turned a deaf ear. They are only interested in South Australian votes, which are coming at a huge cost.
At sea, of course, especially on a relatively small yacht, you become more aware of fragility and vulnerability and the need for resilience and self-reliance. At sea you have to make or at least top up your own water and power. You cannot assume that everything will keep working or you can just phone a tradesperson to come and fix it.
Australia has to start heeding the warnings before things break down and the world provides a fix that we will not like, or we lose precious things that no-one can replace.
CRISPIN HULL
This article first appeared in The Canberra Times and other Fairfax Media on 8 October 2016.