Focus on what you have, not what you don’t have…

This was a message a visiting pastor pressed home to the assembled multitude, including myself, as I was trying to climb out of poverty fresh from losing our business, our house, our car, and 300 staff (including a lot of friends).

This was a government-induced poverty. Mind you, after 13 years of running our own business, I thought I knew all the traps, but who could have foreseen interest rates of 18 per cent, or in my case, an overdraft of 22 per cent by an obnoxious Labor Prime Minister insisting this was ‘the recession we had to have’. Great leadership, declaring defeat before the battle… What a goose!

Twelve months later I had assembled four of my old team. We had secured a small contract helping a Sydney-based shipping company prepare a tender for a significant Western Australian project.

This meant travelling from Queensland to Sydney or Perth each Monday morning and returning Friday afternoon. While I was concerned about only having one client, this small contract had me no longer giving orders, but following those of a deputy manager who mentally was working from home before that became fashionable.

On arrival in Sydney one Monday morning, the deputy manager gleefully announced he was now the manager and that the services of my company were no longer required.

Sitting on the plane on the way home trying to figure out the unpleasant task of laying off staff again, I remembered the pastor’s message: focus on what you have. But with a rented house, a borrowed car, and about enough funds to last three weeks … I had nothing.

But hang on, I had two million Qantas frequent flyer points! I had some good international customers who were friends, so I rang Qantas.

Normally, redeeming airline points is an exercise in futility, but I was extremely lucky in getting a hold of a pleasant young lady called Anita in the Hobart call centre. This lady was a ‘can-do, half-glass-full, super-optimistic person’. With her great input, I did a round the world trip staying at hotels every three days and sleeping on overnight flights the other two nights. Pacific nations, South America, Caribbean, Canada, UK, and Asia…

On day 17 in Japan, I received a phone call from the Western Australian project CEO.

‘You’re a hard man to track down!’ he chided, in these pre-mobile days. He asked me if I was still working for the Sydney Shipping Company.

I responded, ‘Not to put too fine a point on it, actually, I got the sack from them. Why are you asking?’

‘We would you like you and your team to head up the project for this phase. So, if I organise a business class ticket to Perth, can you come straight away?’

Of course I jumped at the opportunity, and when in Perth the CEO sent out a fax to all tendering companies stating that Stuart Ballantyne was heading up the project, so their submissions were to go to him.

This was too much for the dimwit at the Sydney shipping company office, who responded immediately to the Perth CEO stating, ‘I will only submit to the organ grinder, not the monkey!’

The Perth CEO sent a signal to the Sydney company Board of Directors informing them they were out of the tender process. Effective immediately. The dimwit manager was sacked the same day.

The points-only gallop around the world door knocking secured us some orders and the team were secure.

This ‘focus on what you have’ was a good lesson for me and helped me and my family come out of a financially difficult time.

So, Prime Minister Albanese, how about focusing on what we have?

We have a fabulous country that is in a financially difficult time and we just need you to focus on what we have.

We have an abundance of mineral wealth from coal which helped propel this nation’s prosperity from day one, right through to our much sought-after rare-earths including uranium and thorium which will secure our energy future. We are talking trillions of dollars here!

How about repealing the UN membership, red, green, and black tape that not only obstructs small companies accessing and obtaining permits for mining these minerals, but rules that also stops us using these minerals, especially for nuclear power?

What’s the deal banning mines because of isolated, rogue Indigenous opinions?

Surely this repealing initiative is a no-brainer!

We have an abundance of farms that also helped propel this nation’s prosperity, from sheep farms and fish farms to the massive agricultural industry farms.

All that bureaucratic tape not only obstructs farmers, it also forces them out of business.

What’s the deal banning gill net fishing because of misguided UN opinion?

What’s the deal banning live sheep exports, because of minority bleating?

Surely this repealing initiative is a no-brainer!

We have an abundance of coastline and used to have an abundance of small ports that helped establish the export of agricultural and mining products and the nation’s prosperity.

Now, thanks to an over-indulgence into national parks, marine parks, and conservation zones, our trading ports are only every 700 kms apart, where other maritime nations have the key items of prosperity and defence underpinned by having many ports much closer. UK is every 65 kms, Gujarat is every 53 kms.

How about repealing the EPA laws which demonise and obstruct dredging, and open the navigable waterways which in turn will reduce flooding events? For fools captive to the ABC/Left nonsense, flooding is not due to climate change. Most flooding of Australia is from stupidity of not doing what our forefathers did.

Check for yourself. Lismore, for example, used to be accessible by 70 metre cargo vessels 100 years because there was an ongoing maintenance dredging program. Now getting a tinnie there is difficult.

Surely this repealing initiative is a no-brainer! We are a rich nation imprisoned by our own outdated rules and misguided ideologies.

So Prime Minister, as a self-professed Christian, how about popping into a church listen to the 20-25 minute message of the pastor, priest, or minister?

They are consistently interesting, positive and uplifting messages that are good for yourself, your family, your company, your State, and your nation.