Guest Speaker Report
by
Rotarian Ian Johnson
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Our guest speaker was John Booth who is the managing editor and proprietor of The Weekly Times. John was introduced by Keith Byrnes.The Weekly Times is based in Ryde and is circulated through a wide surrounding area. It was established in 1921 and is one of the few remaining independent community newspapers. It has withstood the seemingly endless acquisition of local newspapers by the Murdoch and Fairfax conglomerates and remains a fiercely independent voice on all issues impacting on the local community. It is a quality newspaper and has won a number of national awards.
John is justifiably proud of the fact that his paper is the first local paper to be available on the internet.
John informed us of his views on some current issues which were clearly not mainstream. He thinks that the climate debate is a load of rubbish. He also believes Australia should have been unaffected by the Global Financial Crisis and that the Reserve Bank should not have increased interest rates when it did.
John believes that we should all learn something new every day. In this regard we should be like a scout who puts a knot in his scarf until he has done a good deed for the day.
John congratulated Trevor Duxbury, our bulletin editor, on the quality of his publication. He presented Trevor with an International Fellowship badge.
John advised us that he has had considerable involvement in the scouts’ movement. John also advised us that he had been involved with sport in his younger days. John lamented the fact that about one hundred bowling clubs are closing down each year with these assets being sold off with the result that they are permanently lost to their local communities.
John spent some time talking about “climate change” and is clearly in the sceptic’s camp. He also believes that “carbon trading schemes” are a money grab by vested interests.
John advised us that sometimes in his editorials he takes a stand on issues that may lead to the loss of an advertiser. He believes that it is necessary to take a stand sometimes even if there will be negative financial repercussions for his business.
John is proud of the fact that John Howard wrote exclusively for his paper for ten years. During this time John knocked back requests from Murdoch to write for his papers.
John believes that local papers have a rosy future whereas national papers are under threat from television and the internet.
John also spoke to us about his role in bringing the concept of an ombudsman to Australia. Through his scouting connections he had seen the concept at work in Denmark. The concept was eventually introduced into the United Kingdom where the position was called a “parliamentary commissioner”. The concept was then introduced by New Zealand and eventually Australia. All such positions have now come to be called an “ombudsman”.
John was thanked by Roger Vince.