This disease has spread throughout the world. Last week Australia awoke to a huge jolt. Rugby League, the workingman’s adaptation of Rugby Union, is the major sport of two states in Australia; Queensland and New South Wales. In NSW the clubs were local and it was the dream of every schoolboy as a senior to wear the jersey of his neighborhood Rugby League club. The clubs were made wealthy because of the “pokies” (poker machines). It enabled them to offer subsidized restaurant quality food and entertainment. Above all, the semi-professional players in the top team treated the facilities in the same way as the supporters. It was just as big a focal point for social activity for them as it was for club members. Twenty years ago no sport in Australia enjoyed the club spirit like the Brisbane and Sydney “Leagues Clubs” as they were known.

Ten years or so ago everything changed. That nasty little ex-Australian dried prune-faced, wife dumping octogenarian, Rupert Murdoch saw an opportunity for his Satellite network to literally take over the governing body of the Australian Rugby League. The idea was to turn it a national sport in all seven states of Australia and N.Z. and make it into a global viewing sport. Newscorp has monopoly over the Asian, European, American and South Pacific Satellite networks.

Murdoch splashed out further $millions establishing the Melbourne Storm rugby league team. Two of the last three years it has won the Grand Final. Why? Murdoch, not satisfied with just the television rights also wanted to own the best team. How did he achieve that? By paying top players under the counter, thus breaking the rules of team salary caps he helped establish. All hell broke loose when an enemy in the camp leaked the news of the cheating, lying and virtual stealing going inside Murdoch’s team. Believe it or not, as punishment the governing body dethroned the Storm, took away the prize money they ever earned, and this year they will play for no points. If I were the Chairman I would have not only disbanded the club, but also got rid of everything that smelled of Murdoch including his stinking television rights.

Doesn’t Murdoch’s behavior smack of Wall Street? A set of rules for himself; and another for the little people, all those long established Sydney and Brisbane clubs. The sad thing is since Newscorp’s involvement and its big money, the patronage of the Leagues Clubs’ facilities has been in rapid decline and so has the attendance at the grounds. Mind you gaming is up! All over the world you can now bet on who will win and who will lose. Rugby League has indeed become big business and a pretty corrupt one at that. Rugby League is now no different from the NFL: a day doesn’t go by where a spoiled rotten thug of a footballer appears before court for rape, assault and battery or drunkenness. Bookmakers and Internet gambling houses are making fortunes thus making the only losers in it all, the working class families of New South Wales and Queensland who used to passionately follow their footy teams and regularly patronize their clubs’ facilities. Isn’t sad when sport becomes a big business?

Now I am a believer in saving the whales and I am concerned about the depletion of stock in the world’ fishing grounds, but when it comes to idiots telling me that cow farting is going to ruin the ozone layer it puts much into perspective for me. The world is going nuts listening to these university types who seemed to get paid to seek publicity instead of teaching students to become productive citizens. Battery driven cars pose more problems to the environment once their batteries reach the end of their life and need to be disposed of than a gasoline driven car with its emissions. Just like old computers, they will be exported to the rubbish dumps of China for “recycling”. There we will see children standing over Bunsen burners separating all the chemical elements that make up a lithium battery.

This carbon trading nonsense is just nonsense. I would love to claim the cowboys Wall Street were behind it, but it was the liberal left wing tree hugging loonies who convinced European and other socialist governments it was a great idea. I cannot think that by rewarding a company/country for converting from gasoline to ethanol is a good deal for the world. Converting grazing land into corn fields poses more environmental risk than sucking oil out of the ground. What’s more the cost of ethanol (unless it is government subsidized) is such most of the world could not afford top fill their cars with it!

When are we going to see common sense prevail in our desire to protect the world’s environment? I say we start by boycotting all crap that comes out of China. That would solve 50% of the problem virtually right away. If it means Wal-Mart goes out of business, then great. I couldn’t wish for a better casualty in the fight to reduce pollution.

It is sad we have an environment within American industry which almost matches that of Wall Street. Industrial leaders are all about the compensation package they receive and in order disguise that fact, it comes under the heading of stock holder value. Their remuneration is directly linked to the stock price and cutting costs. Not often, I look to my former homeland New Zealand as a beacon of commonsense and fair play, but I can recount a story of one of New Zealand’s most successful businessmen who also happens to be in the same industry as me.

Bruce Plested, founder of Mainfreight (now in the USA after taking over Target Logistics) one of Australasia’s largest transport companies began his career working for Brambles, a large Australian conglomerate. He rose to become Auckland branch manager of Brambles International. The forwarding industry in N.Z. in the seventies was continually being held to ransom by the labor unions. Bruce always settled the disputes ahead of his competition and when he was finally fired in 1978, it could be said his career in transportation should have been at an end. He had burned his bridges! Instead he partnered with former Bramble’s head storeman, Howard Smith and opened up on his own. Over the next twenty five years he swallowed up every one of his opposition to become one of the largest public companies in N.Z. Not only did he and Howard become multi-millionaires, but also many of his staff who came aboard during the eighties enjoyed huge financial reward when the company completed its IPO in 1996.

About four years ago in his annual report, as Chairman he restated his corporate objectives in order of priority; firstly staff would continue to benefit from the company ESOP, it would maintain the same levels of re-investment and above all Mainfreight would keep to its program of investing back into the local communities. His last consideration was to ensure after all this was accomplished, hopefully the company’s profits would continue to sustain a fair dividend yield for shareholders. The “Wall Street” of N.Z. and the media pilloried Bruce and told him these actions were destroying shareholder value and they would have no alternative but to place a sell recommendation on Mainfreight’s stock. Bruce’s response was the company’s prospectus upon going public in 1996 clearly stated these philosophies. Now the company’s revenue through exponential growth exceeded a $billion it was even more important not to lose those core ideals. He told those gathered at the AGM that if they did not agree, they were free to take the recommendation of their financial advisors and sell their stock.

My point in relating this story is Bruce Plested is a fearless leader. He proudly stands up for what he thinks is right. And he is right. Every major Australian or New Zealand competitor over the thirty years since he has built up his business has either folded or been swallowed up by Mainfreight. His belief in his people to always do the right thing for the company and for him to do the right thing by his people has created probably one of greatest success stories in N.Z. business. Funnily enough in spite of Bruce’s “unorthodox” attitude towards the financial world has worked to the benefit of all Mainfreight’s stockholders, as the company is still the darling of the N.Z. Stock Exchange.

America was once full of Bruce Plested’s, Lee Iococca being one of the better examples. Today, we need to see the return of leaders who will act in doing the right thing by America. It starts with bringing the plants back home and re-employing Americans. The Skilling’s, Embers, Kozlowskis, of this world who dominated the headlines because they were nothing but crooks are just the tip of the iceberg of the corporate world as I see it today. Most Fortune 500 CEO’s are self serving thieves who conduct business hiding behind a bunker. They cannot fail. If they get the boot, their golden parachute takes care of them for ten lifetimes; if they succeed, they earn more than they could spend in a hundred lifetimes. We need the return of true leaders to help rebuild industrial America. For starters maybe we should ask octogenarian Lee Iacocca to take over the reigns of General Motors! With former workmate Bob Lutz, (seventy seven and still Deputy Chairman of GM) the pair of them could restore Detroit back to being the industrial capital of the world!