01-02 Melbourne 1980

Can you imagine sitting on the knees of the Ministry of Industry from Manitoba for half an hour and then the two of us reversing positions. One of two buses had broken down as delegates to the 7th International Symposium on Small Business held in Melbourne in 1980 were off to see the Fairy Penguins on Phillip Island, about 140 km. south of the city.
I had never met this Minister, but we became the best of friends. Lots of effective lobbying on behalf of small business.
There were about 30 delegates from Canada at the Symposium. The huge Canadian contingent were mostly government people preparing for the Symposium being held the following year in Canada.
What was publicly called the “Parade of the Fairy Penguins”, the pygmies of the penguin family, was a daily event that attracted thousands of tourists. The adults seemed about ten inches tall and had been out feeding, and the parade back to their nests brought out their little ones squealing for their supper. It was a sight to see.
These international forums were educational. So many of the problems small scale firms face are universal in nature and are about things like competing with governments and large corporations for resources. Dealing with the complexities of the modern state and that sort of thing. So interesting seeing how different societies try to encourage small business and new venture formation.
One of the most interesting features of this Symposium was a debate on the merits of developing a free trade agreement between New Zealand and Australia. It was a valuable lesson for me in preparing small business for a similar trading arrangement between Canada and the United States a few years later.
And early in my business career, I could sense the evolution of the global economy by studying the quality of the delegations from nations around the world. Expanding trade and investment was on everyone’s agenda.
The relationship between Australia and New Zealand is very like the Canada-US relationship back home. Lots of mutual investments and inter-marriage. What was special was the extreme rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne. Two great monster cities.
We loved them both and spent a week in Sydney before heading to Melbourne, and of course we saw the Sydney Opera House and experienced restaurants they called BYOs, which meant you could bring your own booze. Sydney is famous for its beaches, and I never saw so many people with deep tans.
But I certainly fell in love with Melbourne, which today is ranked the most liveable city in the World. Talk about things to do and see: museums, art galleries, parks, bars and sports arenas. The people love soccer or what they call football, cricket and horse racing.
And all Aussies love beer. Fosters signs were everywhere.
Unfortunately, there was one unpleasant incident at the Symposium, and it happened at the formal dinner during a speech by the Minister of Industry. There should have been Japanese, French and Spanish translation facilities, but when the Minister gave his talk none were in place.
So, the large Italian delegation that spoke only Italian and French were seriously mad. They stood up and threw buns at the Minister. He stopped his talk and walked out of the hall. We never asked Italy to host a Symposium.