The PR Blog

I spent most of my working life in the Aussie bush. It is a way of life most Australians would struggle to understand.

Picture this. You’re on a cattle station the size of a small European country. The nearest hospital is many hundreds of kilometres away, the roads are red dust tracks, and someone in the family has taken a bad turn. No phone, no ambulance, no chance of a doctor riding up on horseback.

Then -  a sound overhead. A single-engine plane rattles in from the horizon, wheels kicking up dust as it lands in a paddock. Out climbs a doctor, medical bag in hand. For us blokes out bush, that wasn’t just a plane. That was hope.

That’s the story of the early Royal Flying Doctor Service -  or as most people know it, simply “the Flying Doctor.”

Ratty News Exclusive
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent (aisle seat, back row) Reporting from the Ratty Flyers Fling 

In Longreach, the Flyers Ball is elegance under the stars -  gowns, pearls, champagne flutes tinkling in perfect rhythm, and speeches that last longer than the sunburn on a tourist’s nose. It is a celebration of generosity, of polish, of refinement.

In Dusty Gulch, we do not often attempt civilisation, but when we do, it is in a manner uniquely our own: sequins glued to bicycle helmets, lamington holsters duct-taped to battered Akubras, and one particularly dedicated fellow who strapped a sausage roll to his forehead to “improve aerodynamics.”

Back in 2002, an anonymous person sent an email from a disposable email address to a website. The email was headed The Secret Covenant.

It has, for over 20 years, been seen as a promise. But I believe it was a warning. 

If "The Secret Covenant" were interpreted as a warning rather than a promise, the meaning would shift significantly, and its tone would transform from sinister collusion to a cautionary tale. This interpretation would frame the document as a call for vigilance against the potential dangers of power, corruption, and manipulation in society.

It could serve as a critique of existing systems, urging people to be aware of the ways through which they might be controlled or misled. Instead of portraying a secret group plotting in the shadows, the document might be trying to highlight how societal manipulation already exists.

The "Covenant" would not be a manifesto of intent, but rather a metaphorical or symbolic description of the current state of the world. It could be warning us about how easily people can be misled, manipulated, or exploited by those in power through media, education, and economic systems. The warning could be against becoming passive consumers of information, blindly trusting authorities, or succumbing to propaganda. In this view, the "Covenant" is urging individuals to develop critical thinking skills, stay informed, and be cautious of any single narrative that seeks to dominate public opinion.

“We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.”  G. K. Chesterton

Leonard Read’s delightful story, “I, Pencil,” has become a classic, and deservedly so.

I know of no other piece of literature that so succinctly, persuasively, and effectively illustrates the meaning of both Adam Smith’s invisible hand—the possibility of cooperation without coercion—and Friedrich Hayek’s emphasis on the importance of dispersed knowledge and the role of the price system in communicating information that “will make the individuals do the desirable things without anyone having to tell them what to do.” - 

Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate, 1976

Albert Facey’s A Fortunate Life is more than a memoir.

It is the voice of a man who endured almost unimaginable hardship and yet found gratitude where others might have only found despair.

His story is woven into the broader tapestry of Australia’s history....from the harsh bushlands of Western Australia to the blood-soaked cliffs of Gallipoli, through the Depression and the building of a family and a nation.

Facey’s life is not just his own - it is a story we can all see reflected in our national character: the courage, resilience, and quiet determination that built modern Australia.