For quite some time I've felt that Orange has been slowly grinding to a standstill in some very important areas. I'm sure there are others who agree with me, but whether you do or don't, please consider the consequences for Orange if I'm right?

I'm a professional businessman with a pretty good track record, not outstanding, but on balance, pretty good. I think it's fair to say I now know what it takes to start up and build a successful business. Experience is a great teacher isn't it?

I mention this because over my 58 working years, I've learnt a thing or two about what it takes to establish a successful business. With my keen interest in advertising and marketing, I've seen and helped people do some remarkable things in their businesses, I've also come across a lot of people who should never be in business in the first place. Starting a business requires a special type of person, making that business into a success requires someone even more special, someone who is willing to be a risk taker, someone who's prepared to fail occasionally but resilient enough to pick themselves up and go again. To be successful in business, it's definitely not for the weak or faint hearted.

It's for this reason that I consider Orange just like a business, so when judging how we’re performing in business terms, anyone who understands business would say that in the areas that really matter, Orange is doing poorly.

My concern over this has been simmering away beneath the surface for some time, hoping that the situation would change, hoping those responsible would eventually see the error of their ways and then start to get us back on the right track. Sadly, this hasn't happened, if anything, things have gotten worse and the Covid-19 crisis has only compounded the situation. A lot of the activity currently happening looks and sounds impressive, but it's still not addressing those issues needed to set Orange up well for the future. Many of the current initiatives by our local Council are similar to those the Federal Government is doing, sure they address certain issues, but on balance, appear to be nothing more than thought bubbles that in practice or under analysis, have not been well thought out or thought through. The expression Band-aid solutions comes to mind.

I and others have tried on numerous occasions to engage the various stakeholders, including Council, to come together and nut this all out. We have failed time after time, only to watch the same people doing the same old things over and over again. Many of the people tasked with making important decisions like this, would never succeed in business, yet they have the responsibility for running the biggest business we have - our City.

It's now time for me to try something else.

I started our new free local newspaper publication Newswatch to take up this challenge. One of the aims of Newswatch is to highlight any or all of those issues or decisions that like-minded people like me believe are holding Orange back, and there are numerous. I will do this over and over again, until I start to see steps taken where people with the necessary skills and experience are being listened to. I place myself among them.

That’s all I want to say for now other than, if this subject interests you, and I hope it does, grab this Saturday's issue of Newswatch and read my Special Report called No Guts, No Glory!