Arriving as a potential whingeing Pom 10 years ago , my expectations were set against a backdrop of irreverent, satirical, even offensive Australiana, comprising Barry Humphries, Richard Neville of OZ fame, Germaine Greer and Ciive James. I was reassured in the first week at a Melbourne hotel by the sight of mining prospectors, grown men, with flapping hats, sandy boots and an enviable propensity to consume alcohol

Regrettably, my experience has been all downhill from there, with Australia now possibly the most regulated and nanny state  in the globe, and the era of  Barry MacKenzie no more than a distant memory

In an increasingly complex world,  we’re all equal but different , be it gender, race, religion, nationality or or all the Heinz 57  factors that make it vibrant and interesting.

The opportunity to fulfil our potential and exercise our unfettered civil liberties translates into a society that is meritocratic, caring but candid. Seeking to identify what such a world looks like and how are we going to get there,a prevailing view champions multiculturalism and diversity, with adopted tools including a focus on positive discrimination- quotas,  targets, programmes and structures, supported by legislative enactment , funding initiatives and oversight bodies.

As we’re all different,  positive discrimination, on a standalone basis, via pre set targets and quotas, has a chequered  track record , with the failed experience of the bussing initiatives in the US in the last century one of several examples. In the absence of effective induction, mentoring and social initiatives,  prescribing a meritocratic imprint, targets and quotas  can represent a negative brand,  create institutional ” ghettos”, foster resentment, downsize contribution and potential and act as a band aid rather than a cure for the hard yards that need to be taken – in an area such as employment, embracing career path planning, transparent recruitment and promotion practices, working from home policies and training and education initiatives.

As one instance of many, within a very short time of arriving, the incoming AICD CEO promulgated targeted female representation for Australian Boards in 2018. A commitment to support and accelerate meritocracy in the boardroom, via strengthening diversity, with practices such as career path planning, is to be applauded; however, embedding a committed target, which impairs meritocrscy as an outcome, is to be challenged – a Board mandate is like any other:  as an equal opportunity employer, are we hiring, mentoring and promoting the best people, not how do we make up the numbers.

Within a libertarian democracy such as Australia, where civil rights and responsibilities are taken for granted eg – freedom of expression, worship, assembly, media, rule of law, right to vote, independent judiciary,. these legacy values need to be inculcated within a multicultural , diverse society ;  however, that exercise and its benefits to society have been ensnared, to date,  in irrational , ill informed engagement and discourse and political point scoring.

A consensus agenda for society requires balancing civility, consent and acceptance, as key constituents, with tolerance of irreverence, offensiveness and satire, while establishing the boundaries that propagate it

FOE is not seeking to turn back the clock; it will be independent and call unjustified constraints on civil liberties, recognising that plain speaking gets it off societys’ chest, provokes honest, informed debate, enfranchises and liberates participants and provides direction for societys’ evolution

We need to  reintroduce fun, satire and parody into the Australian lexicon of social discourse and opinion

Or as the omnipresent , erudite Stephen Fry put it

‘I am offended by that.’ Well, so f——- what.”