With ``the recession we had to have''* ending, the restructuring we had to have started in earnest. In Russell's workplace, act 1 started with a review conducted by external consultants. The fact that the consultants knew nothing about universities did not prevent them from handing in a 70 page document, cribbed from reviews they had conducted on large commercial companies, and charging a large fee. Then a committee of professors met during act 2 to decide the fate of the Department. Act 3 opened with a mass sacking of all the unit managers, and interviews of the remaining staff by more consultants who thought the world was populated only by salespeople and bank managers. With the university being so generous in giving money to consultants, roughly a third of the staff took golden handshakes to take up better paying jobs elsewhere in act 4. Russell's position, not appearing on any structure chart, was quietly overlooked throughout all of this.
Act 5 opened with a bank manager being appointed head of the newly formed Academic Computing Support Unit (ACSU). Deciding that the two earlier reports could effectively be recycled as lecture notes for students, he promptly restructured. Rus changed bosses 3 times in as many weeks. By this time, he had enough, and decided to become a boss himself! When two of the managers took packages, the ACSU leader took the opportunity to create a single software support group --- ``Distributed Systems Group'', and encouraged Rus to apply for the manager's position. Having acted in this position since the beginning of December, he was offered the job just before Christmas. Restructuring continues however, and much of Rus's job will be to forge the new team.
*well known utterance of the Australian Prime Minister
With Kim's workplace at the Department of Immigration, restructuring loomed large with management and unions deadlocked over the details. Kim's transfer (from DEET, Canberra) was extended time and again as negotiations dragged on. Kim decided after a number of years at her substantive level that it was time to set her sights on a more senior position. After several nights revamping job applications on our PC at home, followed by a number of interviews, she was offered the position of Assistant Director leading a group of advocates in Veteran's Affairs in Sydney. In the meantime, Kim's department in Canberra (DEET) finally got fed up with the Department of Immigration's lack of progress in restructuring, and demanded that Kim turn up for work in a fortnight's time. Kim had great pleasure telling them where to put the job. In the meantime, the Department of Immigration finally got its act together, and rang Kim in Melbourne (see Business Traveler) after she started her new job, to offer her a position as Assistant Director there too! Needless to say, they were too late, Kim had already decided that the job at Veteran's Affairs offered more possibilities, more challenge and a chance to better use her legal skills.
It was, however, a political minefield that she entered. The advocates at Veterans' Affairs had been taking turns acting in the position for more than a year, and did not like the idea of an interloper in their midst. Besides, a number of them had applied for and been interviewed for the job. And here was some outsider with little knowledge of the way they did things around there, coming into their territory. Kim, feeling only slightly guilty, decided to take the annual leave she hadn't taken over the past 18 months, and take off to Malaysia and Vietnam (see Time Out). The ``problem'' solved itself in one way in that when she returned on the 1st of February, the disgruntled had found themselves jobs elsewhere! Now she's virtually got a whole new section with more co-operation but not much experience. It should be a challenging year ahead.
To get to Clover Cottage, we traveled by train to Berwick where Henry
and Heath were waiting for us. As we alighted, the only ones to leave
the train Kim asked Rus whether he had all the bags he was supposed to
be carrying. Momentary confusion followed, and in the short interval
before realisation, the train pulled out with Kim's suitbag and all
(repeat all) her business clothes in it. The proposal of having to fly
direct to Canberra with only the casual clothes she was standing in
loomed large! Four sets of eyes watched the rear of the train go
further and further away! A phone call was made to the stationmaster 2
stations away at the end of the line, and a ``mad dash'' ensued at a
measured 60km/h with Heath at the wheel of her steady Volvo. Kim tried
to maintain outer calm and contemplated buying new clothes, but
discounted this when she realised that no shops would be open on the
Sunday. She contemplated the impression she would make when she met
with her Director in Canberra on Monday morning! She desperately tried
to quell the rising panic! Half an hour later, we arrived at the last
train station and Rus went in to determine whether the bag could be
retrieved. The minutes ticked away, and Rus did not return. Kim's
consternation grew until she could no longer restrain herself and
she was forced to venture in to ascertain the situation. As she did,
Russell emerged with the bag in hand! Relief! A quick inspection
revealed the contents intact. Russell then recounted how lucky we had
been. The station master had apprehended two youths exiting the
station with the suitbag in hand. When apprehended, they quickly
stated that they had found the bag on the train, and enquired whether
there was any reward! I doubt the bag would have been there had the
stationmaster not known to look for one! We turned around and drove
the half an hour back to Berwick and Clover Cottage. (It didn't seem
such a long half hour this time. Unfortunately, however, by
the time we arrived, Clover cottage had been plunged into darkness, so
our view of where Henry and Mitty had been married was somewhat
limited. Nevertheless, the gastronomic repast in the elegant setting
made up for it. Mind you, after the prolonged lunch at Hugo and Di's,
how we did justice to the numerous courses that followed, only our
stomachs will ever know! We had a delightful time at Henry and
Heath's farm (Kim's first visit), pored over family photos and decided
the visit was much too short. All too soon, Henry and Heath were
driving us back to Melbourne, where Kim caught a taxi to the airport
and a plane to Canberra to stay with friends Joe and Alison, and
Russell stayed on with Hugo and Di to complete the ``business'' part
of his trip the following day.
With the stress of a rapidly changing workplace, time for rest and
relaxation is essential. Our first break took us to Thredbo, in the
Snowy mountains, and to the swinging Jazz sounds of The Dukes of
New Orleans, Hornithology... A more serious break was
had in the middle of winter, with a week away at Byron Bay in Northern
New South Wales. We managed some snorkeling at the Julian Rocks
amongst turtles and curious fish. Our next weekend jaunt saw us in the
Blue mountains, one and a half hours drive from Sydney,
being Russell's first trip to such places as the 3 sisters and various
canyon walks. The mountains really are stunning, and clearly the equal
of the Budawang range near Canberra that Russell had spent some time
walking in. Kim enjoyed the walking too, and the Devonshire teas.
With Gwen returning to Sydney, and Greg et al. returning to Hong Kong,
Kim and Rus headed for Vietnam with first stop at Hanoi to visit
friends Jenny and Andrew and their two year old son Christopher. We
loved getting to know Hanoi by bicycle, although the seeming chaos of
bikes, cyclos and motorbikes caused more than a few heart-in-mouth
moments. Initially, we were somewhat surprised to find that Jenny and
Andrew were tired of Vietnamese food, and were dieting on pizzas, beef
rolls and cornflakes! Later we discovered why - Vietnamese food in
Vietnam is rather plain and boring (as well as making you ill
sometimes) - nothing like the Vietnamese food in Australia. The food
got marginally more interesting as we traveled south, but it was
never really what we would call wonderful. It would appear that most
Australian Vietnamese cuisine comes from the south and has been
improved remarkably.
Soon afterwards, Kim was chosen to head a delegation of three
to put the case to the Minister for Planning that Randwick was
overdeveloped and that there was a need for exemption from current
state planning laws and policies. The Minister was suitably impressed;
issued a press release and advised Randwick Council to get a housing
strategy up and running. It was a major coup - especially when Kim
delivered the message immediately following her meeting with the
Minister - to a packed auditorium of around 200 residents and
Council authorities. The Labor* Mayor of Randwick was not pleased. He
had been touting the line that if wasn't Randwick Council who were
the big baddies but that it was the Liberal State Minister who was
obstructing the course of events in Randwick. And here was Kim, in a
public address, telling him that the ball was fairly and squarely back
in his court! This wouldn't go down well with his friends, the developers. So
caught off guard was he, that the Mayor found himself on stage,
accusing Kim and her fellow delegates of performing ``a political
stunt''! Kim took to the microphone and demanded a right of
reply and informed the Mayor and the audience that it could hardly be a
political stunt when a meeting was planned the following day with the
State Opposition leader. The Mayor was at the point in time definitely
not a happy man!
Kim and Rus continue to maintain an active involvement with
CAA. Meeting monthly, our focus now has become the issue of fair
trade. During the course of the year we have been involved in a
``Fair Trade Fair'' (with Kim acting as Master of Ceremonies; and Rus
assisting with organisational matters); we have facilitated discussions
on fair trade with local CAA groups; and generally have become better
educated ourselves.