The family took the kids to Africa to see a project some 13 years ago, and went back again just recently.
Antony said seeing the ingenuity of the farmers they visited was inspiring. They were working small plots of land in harsh conditions but were incredibly productive, with a few cattle, some cropping, honey from hives in the trees. "You went there to steal their ideas," I joked, after Antony reported he had some new thoughts on farming. Their kids certainly understand more about the world, about the haves and have-nots, and about people who will grab an opportunity in life and make something of it.
The federal budget came down this week, and it was heartening to see not only the Rudd government staying firm on a commitment to maintain foreign aid, but also that AusAID programs were focussed more strongly on relieving poverty by supporting the Millennium Development Goals, whose aim is to halve eight measures of poverty between 2000 and 2015.Funding for maternal and child health in particular - which is lagging many of the other indicators - is vital. The year between pregnancy and a baby's first months of life is the most critical period for infant mortality and a mother's well-being. It was good to see this area getting a higher priority.
The budget was much discussed around Hobart. A lot of it was about whose fault it was that a larger share of the federal pie didn't end up in the Apple Isle. At a dinner organised by the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce there was a lot of post-budget consternation about Australia's rising debt levels.
It is certainly a tough time for business. Many are trying to do the right thing, keeping staff on despite shrinking margins and poor sales.
But the conversation also turned into a wider discussion about intergenerational equity - about what whether we leave this place having made things better, or worse.
We, the baby boomer generation, have been loud enough and weighty enough to look after ourselves pretty well. Most of us got free education, we have worked through some of the most prosperous times, have far greater wealth than our parents generally enjoyed, and - although we will have to wait a little longer to retire - are likely to be able to lean on the public purse for our pensions for years to come.
But the future has unsavoury features looming. One is the mess that has been left of most developed economies through poor understanding - by banks and regulators - of the risks they were taking. And so the taxpayer has had to bail out the so called ‘Masters of the Universe', the clever investment bankers of Wall Street and the City of London. These ‘wunderkind' were our generation. Boomers who drove, maybe caused, the bust.
And then there is climate change. What a burden to leave for our children if we don't bring moral leadership and deal with it.
So while the debt emerging from this budget is a big debt, and must be paid, we need to wrap it in the context of the opportunities we have been given, and the legacy we leave our children.
