Gentlefolk,
This post describes some of our activities during the month of July 2022.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during July 2022.
Book; Movies.
Some news items which caught my eye in July 2022.
Statistics from 2021 Australian Census.
International Trade.
A tale of two sportsmen: Nick Kyrgios (tennis) and Cameron Smith (golf).
First, some photos of our activities during July 2022.
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| Friends came to watch the Wallabies v England games: Andrew Moorhead, Paul Nicoll and Noel Cock. We were excited when the Wallabies won the first Test 30-28, but then we lost the Second Test 17-25, and the Third Test 17-21. We still need a lot of improvement before next year's World Cup, that's for sure. At the same time Ireland was in New Zealand, and ended up beating the All Blacks at home! Amazing. |
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| There was a "Xmas in July" fair. |
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| Andrew, Caroline, Eddie and Jay came to Canberra for the annual Kanga Cup Youth Soccer tournament which is held in Canberra in July every year. The Kanga Cup started in Sydney in 1991, but it has been held in Canberra since 1993. The last 2 years were cancelled because of Covid. Pre-Covid over 300 teams competed, with some coming from overseas (S. Korea, Japan, The Philippines, Singapore, etc). Teams start at Under 9s and go up to Under 18s. |
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| This year 244 teams participated, about half from Canberra and the others from all over Australia. |
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| Eddie plays for Easts Football Club in Sydney which basically covers the Eastern Suburbs. It is a big club and they had several teams here. |
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| Eddie and Jay with one of the mascots. |
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| Eddie's Easts Under 8 team. |
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| Eddie got the Parent's Best Player Award. Proud moment! |
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| Eddie's team played against Under 9s and that one-year difference was telling. They were beaten 4 games, but won their 5th game so they ended on a high. There were 6 venues around Canberra - Eddie's team played at Hawker Football Centre. The first two days were bitterly cold (the kids didn't seem to feel the cold, but the parents sure did); then the wind eased and it wasn't too bad. The tournament was a very good bonding exercise for the players. |
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| One night we took the kids to "Skating in the City" which they enjoyed. |
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| Marshmellows after skating - fun and yummy. |
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| One night we ate at Eastlakes Football Club, and won a meat tray! |
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| Andrew booked the kids in for skiing lessons at Corin Forest, about an hour's drive from Canberra. Here is Jay getting fitted out. |
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| Corin Forest is about 1,000 m above sea level, and they make artificial snow. limited facilities, but in a 2 hour session kids can get the basic idea of skiing or snow-boarding. It was a lovely, clear, sunny winter's day. Reminded me of when we used to drive up to the snowfields to go skiing, about 50 years ago! |
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| Photo on our balcony when they were getting ready to drive back to Sydney. It was an enjoyable week and memorable for the kids. |
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| Our good friend Brian Venables passed away. Brian and Joy (dec) were main-stays of the Canberra Old Time Dance Club, which we joined when we came to Canberra in 1996. Apart from being lovely peole, they were wonderful dance teachers. Their daughter Diane moved to Canberra 5 years ago to care for Brian when Joy died. Diane is also a talented dance teacher and is taking over her parent's former role. RIP Brian, a true gentleman. |
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| Leo Joseph plays "blues piano" at Smith's Alternative Cafe and we enjoy his performances. Here he is doing a duet with Matt, another accomplished pianist. |
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| Michael and Peter Kramer stayed with us a couple of nights. Michael is active in the Austraila Indonesia Association (Sydney Branch) and was promoting AIA publications. |
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| One night we had dinner at the Harmonie German Club and showed Michael and Peter the piece of the infamous "Berlin Wall" which has pride-of-place in front of the Club. |
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| The National Portrait Gallery displayed 84 portraits borrowed from London's National Portrait Gallery (the world's first and still largest Portrait Gallery, founded in 1856). All the paintings were special but my favorites were: Henry James (author, 1843-1916) by John Singer Sargent; Arthur Wellesley (aka Duke of Wellington 1769-1832) unfinished painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence; and Thomas Howard 14th Earl of Arundel (1585-1646) by Sir Peter Paul Rubens. It was a wonderful exhibition. I am truly in awe of such talented portrait painters! |
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| I attended this book launch at the ANU on 20 July 2022. The book contains 22 essays by 33 authors. |
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| I attended the book launch at the ANU. Three of the contributing authors were on a panel: Carolyn Holbrook, Joan Beaumont, and Frank Bongiorno. Do we actually learn from history? According to the panelists there is no easy answer. In fact, most seemed to think that often wrong versions of history become accepted - leaders will interpret history according to their own requirements / beliefs. I guess President Trump is the classic recent example; he believed that many generally-accepted truisms were in fact "fake news". So what is the real truth? Who decides, and when? |
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| We attended "The Chief Minister's Annual Seniors Concert" at the Albert Hall. Lovely venue and good music. Coffee afterwards with Sue and Frank at Bookplate Cafe. |
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| On Sunday 24 July I played golf with the Southern Cross Club Golfers Group at Gungahlin Lakes Golf Course. Partnered Laurie (Jock) Coulter and Bruce White. It was a beautiful winter's day: about 15C, sunshine and no wind. We played in T-shirts. It was "Irish format" where our second shots were from the best drive. Good fun. I scored 30 points, which was not great but OK. The Course was in great shape; it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. |
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| On 29 July we attended a book launch at the ANU; Alex Sloan interviewed the author Dr Norman Swan. The only other time I've seen so many people at a book launch was for Kevin Rudd. |
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| Dr Swan's latest book. He became very well known over the last 2.5 years as the ABC's main commentator on the Covid pandemic. He is an expert communicator and was able to explain the pandemic as it took hold. His new book provides advice on the latest medical information on what's good and what's bad for us. |
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| Many people bought Dr Swan's book, which he signed. We bought copies for Jennifer and Andrew. |
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| Price of fuel at Costco on 29 July. It's the first time in several months that petrol and diesel are under $2/litre. |
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| I'm a big fan of Professor Hugh White and his sensible and pragmatic commentary/analysis of strategic issues facing Australia. He is very knowledgeable about modern China. Prof White's basic premise is that Australia should not blindly follow the USA - we need to be much more conscious of our own national interests (which may not coincide with America's). |
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| We saw "Elvis", a movie about Elvis Presley. The movie was made in Australia. An impressive production, with wonderful acting by Austin Butler as a young Elvis and Tom Hanks as his legendary manager Colonel Tom Parker (an amazing performance). |
News items which caught my eye during July 2022.
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Global
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Heatwave in parts of Europe
(England, Portugal, Spain, France); many wildfires (also in California). UN Human Rights Council estimated
307K civilian deaths in Syrian civil war during decade 2011-2021. Number of pubs in England and
Wales fell by 7K in last ten years, to 40K. Germany had a monthly trade
deficit in May, first since 1991. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
resigned, but will continue as Caretaker PM until the Conservative Party
elects a new leader; last two candidates: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Former PM of Japan, Shinzo Abe, killed
by assassin. The Euro and US$ on parity (Euro
has fallen 12% in 2022). Faroe Islands set a limit of 500
dolphin kills in annual whale hunt. President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya
Rajapaksa fled in a military plane; resigned. President Biden visited Israel and
Saudi Arabia. Latest inflation rates: USA 9.1%;
Turkey 54%; Sri Lanka 55%; Brazil 10%; Argentina 15%; Russia 14%; Greece 12%;
Italy 7%; Euro Zone 8.6%. European Central Bank raised
interest rates 0.5% to zero; first increase in 11 years. WHO declared Monkeypox a “global
health emergency”, as cases rise to over 16,000 in 3 months in 70 countries. Kyrgios lost Wimbledon Men’s Final
to Djokovic. Rybakina beat Jabour to win the Women’s Final. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) won the 2022 Tour de France which had 21 stages over 3,328 km. Pope Francis visited Canada and
apologized for role of Catholic institutions in historical abuse of
indigenous children. The 22nd Commonwealth
Games held in Birmingham, UK from 28 July
– 8 August. 5,000 athletes from 72 countries will compete in 19 sports. I wonder how relevant the Commonwealth is these days??? EU (except Hungary) agreed to
reduce use of Russian gas by 15%. Gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was cut
to about 20% of capacity (Russia blames maintenance, but others believe it is
strategy). Wholesale gas price rose to Euro 204 per MW hour. Growing concern
about gas for heating in coming winter. Poland announced large purchase of
military equipment from South Korea: 980 K2 tanks, 648 K9 howitzers, 48 FA50
fighter jets (replacing equipment provided to Ukraine)..
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Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Russia and Ukraine signed
agreement (brokered by EU and Turkey) to allow grain exports from Ukrainian
ports. President Zelensky continued his
impressive PR work, attracting support around the world. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had discussion with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
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USA
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House of Reps Select Committee
continued hearings related to the January 6 2021 Capitol riot/insurrection. US Supreme Court limited power of
federal EPA power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; Ketanji Brown Jackson
sworn in a first black woman on the Supreme Court. Jerry Hall (66) filed for divorce
from Rupert Murdoch (91). Mass shooting near Chicago on 5
July, 6 dead many injured (308th mass shooting this year). Twitter will take Elon Musk to
court over his decision not to proceed with takeover of Twitter (Twitter
shares have fallen in recent months, with global downturn of share markets). USA inflation rate 9.1% in 12
months to June 2022; Federal Reserve increased interest rates by another 0.75%
(to 2.25%). Preliminary estimates of US GDP growth were -1.6% in Q1 and -0.9% in Q2. Two quarters of negative growth usually means an economy is in recession, but the US has a different definition. Commentators are pointing to slowing housing and business investment but unemployment remains low at 3.6%. Apple, Amazon and Hershey reported increased revenue in Q2 2022, but Meta (Facebook & Instagram) declined. President Biden (79) tested
positive for Covid; good recovery; but on 31 July he was reported to have tested positive again ("rebound infection").
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Australia |
More major flooding in coastal
parts of Queensland and NSW. Total cumulative Covid deaths passed 10,000 (today 11,660). PM Albanese attended NATO meeting
and then visited Kyiv Ukraine. Reserve Bank raised interest rates
0.5% to 1.35%. Annual inflation rate in 12 months to June 6.1%. Australia’s
unemployment rate fell from 3.9% to 3.5%. The Australian (Penny Wong) and
Chinese (Wang Yi) Foreign Ministers met on the sidelines of the G20 Meeting
in Bali. The Federal Govt dropped the case
against lawyer Bernard Collaery. PM Albanese and FM Wong attended
the Pacific Island Forum in Fiji. Life expectancy of Indigenous in
Northern Territory rose in last 20 years, men from 57 to 66 years, women from
65 to 70 years. Big mining company Rio Tinto paid
A$1 billion in back taxes to Australian Taxation Office. Rio Tinto used ‘transfer
pricing’ to lower earnings in Australia; BHP, Google, Apple, Microsoft also
under investigation for similar strategies. New Parliament met on 26 July
following the election in May. It is the 47th Parliament since Federation in 1901. Milton Dick was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Anthony Albanese is the leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party and Prime Minister; Peter Dutton is leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposition. There are 16 members of minor parties and independents - a major change from the last parliament. Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK,
took up her post as US Ambassador to Australia (has been vacant 18 months). After 37 years (started 1985), final
episode of Neighbours screened on 28 July. Controversy: Manly Rugby League club (the Sea Eagles) produced a "Pride" jersey featuring the rainbow, but 7 players (all of Pacific Islander background) refused to wear it for religious/cultural reasons. Over 50% of top Rugby League players are of Pacific Island background - they are often devout Christians. Covid still a problem in Australia: as at 31 July the number of new cases were around 40K per day; in hospital 5,448 (of which 161 were in Intensive Care); total deaths of persons with 11,660 (an estimated 88% of persons with Covid died from Covid).
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China |
Another large Chinese property
developer, Shanghai based Shimao Group, defaulted. Property prices in China
down 40% this year. Mass testing in Shanghai as cases
of Covid increase; also in Wuhan. China upset at proposed visit to
Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of HoR). On 29 July Presidents Xi and Biden had a long phone conversation.
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Australia by numbers: the 2021 Australian Census
The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts a national
census every 5 years. The latest census was conducted on 10 August 2021, and
first results were released in June 2022.
Figures have been rounded. Totals may not reach 100%.
Key points of National Snapshot:
Australia's population doubled in the last 50 years; 29% were born overseas.
3.2% self-identified as Indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander).
44% said they were Christians, 12% follow other religions, 39% said they had no religious affiliation.
2021 Census: National Snapshot
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2021
Census
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Population |
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Total
national: Males 49%,
Females 51%. State
populations: NSW 8m; Vic 6.5; Qld 5.2; SA 1.8m; WA 2.7m; Tas 0.56m; ACT
0.46m; NT 0.23m. 67% live in Capital
cities of which the largest are Sydney 5.2m; Melbourne 4.9m; Brisbane 2.5m. |
25.4 million (1971 figure
was 12.5m). |
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Self-Identified
as Indigenous, total: An increase
of 25% over 2017 census. Two-thirds of
indigenous live in NSW and Qld. 40% live in
urban areas (cf 71% of total pop), 45% live in regional areas (cf 26%), 15%
live in remote areas (cf 2%). 77,000 speak
one of 167 native languages at home. |
812,728 (3.2% of national pop total). |
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29% were born
overseas (1st generation); 22% had one or both parents born
overseas (2nd generation). Countries of
birth: England 1m; India 0.7m; China 0.6m; NZ 0.6m; Philippines 0.3m; Vietnam
0.3m; South Africa 0.2m; Malaysia 0.2m; Italy 0.2m; Germany 0.1m. |
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Population by
generations: Interwar (75+
years) 8%; Baby Boomers (55-74) 22%; Gen X (45-54) 19%; Millennials (25-39)
22%; Gen Z (10-24) 18%; Alpha (0-9) 12%. |
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Religion |
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Affiliated
with a Christian church: (Catholic
20%, Anglican 10%). Other
religions: Hindu 3%; Islam 3%; Buddhist 2%. 7.5% of
population said they attend church at least weekly. No religious
affiliation: |
Christianity 44% (1971 figure
was 84%) Total of Other 12% No religion 39% (1971 figure
was 10%) |
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Language |
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Only speak
English at home: Other
languages at home: Mandarin 685K; Arabic 367K; Vietnamese 321K; Cantonese
295K. |
72% |
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Families |
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There are
5.6m couples of which 53% have children living with them; 16% (1.1m) are
one-parent families. There have
been 25,000 same sex marriages. |
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Housing |
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70% live in
separate houses, 13% live in townhouses, and 16% live in apartments. 31% of
Households rent; 31% of homes are fully owned; 35% are buying with mortgages. |
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Defence
personnel |
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84,865 are
currently serving in the Australian defence Force (79% male, 21% female). |
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The changing face of Canberra as revealed in the 2021 Census
The 18th national census was held on 10 August 2021; the ABS released first results in June 2022.
These are figures for the Australian Capital Territory
(ACT), of which Canberra is the main population centre. Figures are providedfor 1971 and 2021 (50
years apart) to show changes.
Figures have been rounded. Totals may not total 100%.
Source: https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-act-2021
accessed 17 July 2022.
2021 Census: ACT snapshot
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1971
Census
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2021
Census |
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Total
population of ACT |
137,000 |
454,000 |
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Median age |
23 years |
35 years |
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Persons who
identify as indigenous |
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9,000 (2% of pop) |
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Percentage
born overseas (Top
countries of birth in 2021: Australia 68%, India 4%, England 3%, China 3%). |
25% |
29% |
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Only English
spoken at home (Other
languages: Mandarin 3%, Nepali 1%, Vietnamese 1%, Punjabi 1%). |
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71% |
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Affiliated
with Christian churches (Other
religions: Hinduism 5%, Islam 3%, Buddhist 3%). |
84% |
38% |
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No religious
affiliation |
10% |
44% |
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Median weekly
income |
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Individual
$1,203 Family $2,870 |
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Average
number of people in Household |
3.6 |
2.5 |
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Composition
of Households Of family HH, 53% have children, 14% are one-parent. |
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70% family HH; 26% lone HH; 4% group HH. |
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Occupied private
dwellings |
38,000 |
175,000 63% houses; 18% townhouses; 19% apartments. |
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Dwellings
ownership |
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27% fully own; 40% mortgage; 31% rent. |
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
My 30 year career as an Australian Trade Commissioner gave me an interest in matters related to international trade. I subscribe to Bloomberg's excellent daily newsletter "Supply Lines - tracking Covid-19's impact on trade" (former title 'Trade Matters').
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| Peter Carey's 70th birthday. Our favourite brother-in-law. Welcome to free public transport travel, Pete! |
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| Etu and Waza with "Max" in Rarotonga. |
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