Friday 4th June 2010 PACE OF SHIPBUILDING ORDERS CONTINUES
In an earlier article on this page (Scroll down to 'Thurs 28th Jan 2010 'NEW SHIPBUILDING ORDES SHOW LIFT IN CONFIDENCE') I noted the return of confidence in the shipping sector as evidenced by the growth in new weekly shipbuilding orders world wide. The level of these orders was slowly improving from a period of no orders at all - worldwide - for month after month during the Global Financial Crisis.
It is interesting to observe that worldwide shipbuilding orders have continued to make progress since my last report. In fact in the most recent week - week 22 of 2010, orders reached a massive 32. This is interesting because it comes at the time when we have financial uncertainty arising from the financial disaster taking place in Greece. The interpretation I take from the strong shipbuilding figures is that the hard-heads in the shipping business see the long term future as sound. There will a continued growth in world trade and ships will be needed to facilitate this.
THE HON. ALAN GRIFFIN MP, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Minister for Defence Personnel MEDIA RELEASE
Monday, 12 April 2010 Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff begin journey home
Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel Alan Griffin, today attended the official handover and repatriation ceremony for two Australian Defence Members, Lieutenant Kenneth Hudson and Private Robert Moncrieff.
The families of Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff and Mr Griffin were joined by Special Operations Commander Major General Tim McOwan and former serving members of the Special Forces community at the ceremony at Halim, Indonesia.
Special Operations Commander Major General McOwan said the ceremony marked the beginning of Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff's final journey home.
"Today we bring home two SAS patrol members who rested in the soil of another land for 44 years.
"The return of these men to Australia closes a chapter in the Special Air Service (SAS) history.
"The SAS is a family and now two of our brothers are coming home. Their Regiment and patrol mates have never forgotten them and for 44 years they have been living with the pain of leaving their mates behind," Major General McOwan said.
Mr Griffin thanked the Indonesian Government for their assistance in recovering and returning the remains.
"We appreciate the Indonesian Government's cooperation and support in the search and recovery of both SAS soldiers and the efforts of the Indonesian military," Mr Griffin said.
Mr Griffin paid tribute to the people who searched for Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff including Army historians, a Defence forensic team and former and current members of the SAS.
"Without their work, Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff would still be buried in Kalimantan."
"These two soldiers, who paid the ultimate price while serving our nation, are being returned to their country, their family and they will finally be laid to rest with full military honours," Mr Griffin said.
Mr Griffin said a RAAF C-130 Hercules would transport the patrolmen to RAAF Base Pearce, where the remains would be received by family, friends, current and former serving members of the Special Air Service Regiment.
Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff were part of an SAS patrol and were conducting border security operations during the Indonesia Confrontation between the Federation of Malaysia and Indonesia. Both men were swept away during a river crossing in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on 21 March 1966.
Private funerals will be held for the returned patrolmen in Perth and Brisbane.
Media note: Photographs and biographies for Lieutenant Hudson and Private Moncrieff will be available at www.defence.gov.au
Tuesday 16 March 2010 Australia's Best Food Endorsement Pogram
Australian Certified Organic (ACO), subsidiary company of the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA), was today honoured by another premier national organisation.
Consumer watchdog Choice magazine awarded ACO the prestigious award for Australia’s Best Food Endorsement Program. Nominees for the award, one of six categories marking Choice's 50th birthday, were determined by Choice. Judging was carried out by a panel of experts against stringent criteria.
ACO was judged on transparency, consumer friendliness, freedom from conflict of interest, stakeholder engagement, equitable participation and label verification.
In making the award, ACA CEO Nick Stace said that the judging was very close and it came down to a very close decision between the two finalists.
Doug Haas, Chairman of the Board of BFA, said that the Choice award was an honour accorded to producers and operators who had made the commitment to the organic ethos.
“In its early days organic farming was regarded as a pushing the boundaries. Since then its obvious benefits for the health of the community, the environment and the economy have lifted it to a level where it is increasingly in demand. We know from research that six out of ten Australian households buy organic produce at least occasionally and that the ACO Bud logo has almost double the recognition of any other organic logo in the marketplace.
“That level of acceptance and demand, in overseas and domestic markets, is an accolade to the stringency, transparency and reliability of ACO certification and to those who have gone the extra miles to make it a reality. To receive this award from an organisation that also broke new ground and did the hard yards for the common good is appropriate - and heart-warming.”
The award will have pride of place in the foyer of the BFA/ACO office.
Thursday 28 January 2010
New shipbuilding orders show lift in confidence
World ship building orders have started recovering from the dead stop of the global financial crisis. The return to health of this heavy industry sector confirms that things are slowly getting back to normal in world trade. It is a indicator that the shipping companies – and their financiers – see better times not far over the horizon.
There is a lag between placing the order and taking delivery of the ship. This means that pacing an order now means that the ship are feeling confident about the prospects in the 12-18 months timeframe, and beyond.
Before the global financial crisis the confidence of ship owners to order new ships knew no bounds. Shipyards everywhere were packed with newly laid keels and the heady pace of construction as each yard worked feverishly to complete current contracts and make way for new orders. In Asia forward order books at all yards were full for at least two years in advance.
As an example of the former heady days, Fearnleys Weekly, a maritime news and events site, reported that the total orders in Week 26/2008 were a massive 48 ships worldwide. This included two ships of 105,000 dwt (deadweight tones) and five ships of around 80,000 dwt. The pattern continued at a heady pace with 22 orders in Week 27/2008 and 20 ordered in Week 40/2008. There was a true scramble to find available yards and place new contracts.
Then everything stopped.By way of contrast, in Week 45/2008 there was one order – a relatively large ship of 180,000 dwt. In Week 46/2008 there were no ship building orders world wide! Ship building activity for the world then remained at a standstill for more than 12 months with the exception of several miniscule orders for what were, in effect, river trade vessels.
World new order activity remained completely stalled until the very end of 2008 when, in Week 51/2009, there was a glimmer of hope with the placement of orders for three ships of 157,000 dwt.
Then, finally, in Week 52/2009 the log jam appeared to break with a massive worldwide order rush of 29 ships including ten 160,000 dwt ships, two 158,000 dwt ships and thirteen ships in the range of 76,000 dwt to 95,000 dwt.
This has been followed in the first four weeks of 2010 with a total of 25 orders including an order for two massive 318,000 dwt vessels. By comparison the orders for the first three weeks on 2009 were precisely zero.
What can be taken from this? The figures simply show that some very hard heads in the field of world trade are feeling the confidence to invest in assets with hefty price tags and which require years of full capacity utilization to make a return on investment. While it may still be a topsy-turvey order market over the coming months, the fundamentals of a return to confidence are evident in these statistics.
***** Wednesday 4th November 2009
(From Defence Media Release Wed 28 Oct 09)
Release of inquiry into unresolved recognition issues for the Battle of Long Tan The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support, the Hon Dr Mike Kelly AM MP, has announced that the Government has accepted the recommendations of the independent Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal Inquiry into Unresolved Recognition Issues for the Battle of Long Tan.
The Report recommended that:
1. Flight Lieutenant Cliff Dohle be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the contemporary equivalent award to the Distinguished Flying Cross, the original award for which he was properly recommended in 1966 by all levels of Australian command in Vietnam; 2. No other individual awards be made to participants in the Battle of Long Tan; and 3. Delta Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (RAR), be awarded the Unit Citation for Gallantry for its performance at the Battle of Long Tan in August 1966.
The Battle of Long Tan was fought on 18 August 1966 when Delta Company, 6 RAR came into contact with a much larger enemy force while patrolling outside the 1st Australian Task Force at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. Seventeen members of Delta Company were killed during the battle, and another 21 were wounded.
“The release of the findings fulfils a Rudd Labor Government election commitment. The Government has accepted the Tribunal’s findings, and I have directed Defence to implement the recommendations,” said Dr Kelly.
“I am delighted that the Tribunal has recommended the award of an Australian Unit Citation for Gallantry to the men of Delta Company 6 RAR. This ensures that all are recognised for what was in effect a magnificent team effort. It has only been in recent years that we have come to appreciate the full significance of the battle in the context of the conflict.”
“For the South Vietnamese Government at the time it meant that the PhuocTuyProvince was effectively neutralised as a concern. For the US it contributed to the overall effort in that it enabled resources to be focused elsewhere. For Australia it was significant because we now know that this was a planned and determined effort to annihilate the Australian Task Force before it had settled in.”
“The result of the action was not only that the enemy was prevented from achieving this objective but was never able to mount such an effort again in Phuoc Tuy Province for the remainder of the Australian presence.”
“I also commend the Tribunal for upholding the recommendation made in 1966 by RAAF command in Vietnam to award Flight Lieutenant Cliff Dohle the Distinguished Flying Cross,” said Dr Kelly.
“I would also like to thank the Tribunal for its work on this and the other matters it has dealt with or is continuing to deal with. I believe all members of the Tribunal have undertaken their work diligently, fairly and with an open mind. I continue to have complete confidence in the Tribunal.”
“The release of the Tribunal’s report and the acceptance of the recommendations clearly demonstrate the Government’s commitment to the independent review of long-standing Defence honours and awards issues.”
The Tribunal’s full report is available at www.defence-honours-tribunal.gov.au. Further information on Defence honours and awards is available at: www.defence.gov.au/medals/
Media contacts: Mark Sjolander (Dr Mike Kelly): 02 6277 4840 or 0407 102 220 Defence Media Liaison: 02 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664
THE HON. DR MIKE KELLY MP Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support
www.defence.gov.au
David Mason-Jones, Journalist,
(Australian Business Number: 84 316 149 806)
Postal: 223 Hambledon Hill Road, Singleton, NSW, 2330. AUSTRALIA.
