Welcome to Town Talk in 2024.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
For some days prior to Christmas, I was thinking about the new year. What was I hoping for? The end of the heartbreaking wars — to begin with — and then, perhaps, taking some control over AI and getting rid of the threats, in other words.
And then there was Christmas, which started quite well until half the patio roof blew off, and the lights went out. However, as a determined Christmas team, we moved to a candlelit indoors.
When the family is here, I have a habit of moving around to each group to listen in or participate in the conversations. Along the way, I heard an unfamiliar word: accelerationism. Pardon? What was that?
Apparently, it is not new terminology and is shared by left and right thinkers.
However, although it has been considered a political strategy, in recent times, it is being discussed as a method of dealing with artificial intelligence. Instead of slowing things down, they say, we should accelerate — with yet more innovation and technical progress at all costs. This is known as ‘effective accelerationism’. Perhaps you and I would say, ‘Bring it on’.
Now, at this point, I’m still trying to get my head around a political strategy that is shared by both left and right. Everything I’ve ever learned about politics tells me that these guys are poles apart. But it is the part about dealing with AI that genuinely interests me. The idea that the situation on our planet will get worse before it gets better is frightening to most of us. But the thought of deliberately bringing it on is even scarier.
At least, it is to this ‘practitioner of positive thought’.
To get my head straight and to avoid thinking about a future I don’t understand, I took a step back and decided to remind you of some of Town Talk’s stories over the past year.
Until we meet again next week, I hope your new year begins well and continues even better.
May it be easy, my friends
Email: Towntalk@sheppnews.com.au
Letter: Town Talk. Shepparton News. P.O. Box 204. Shepparton 3631
Phone: Send a text to 0418 962 507. (Note: text only. I will call you back if you wish.)
Tim Tanks — February
Tim Vibert turned his passion for Centurion tanks into his life’s work. The Federal Government had some for sale, but it was an ‘all or nothing’ proposition. Tim purchased all 105 tanks. There were 30 quick sales to the people who had hoped to buy one from the government. Tim then became the official supplier of parts for the UK; this was during the first Gulf War.
He also travelled the world, chasing sales and purchasing spare parts. This included the sale of 12 tanks to a Hollywood film studio and the hire of Tim and three mates to transport the tanks and remain in El Paso for maintenance during the filming of Courage Under Fire.
If you haven’t seen this movie, it’s worth a watch — as Denzel Washington always is. And you will understand why the United States Army refused to supply tanks for the production. It doesn’t show it in the greatest light.
Greater Shepparton Secondary College — February
In that month, I also had a chat with Greater Shepparton Secondary College executive principal Barbara O’Brien.
Barbara said their first year in the new building (2022) was easier than they had anticipated. Many of her students had had little face-to-face schooling for two years, and the school had experienced some opposition before opening. Barbara felt the structure of the school had helped overcome some of the anticipated problems — offering large school opportunities with small school caring.
Jeanette Powell — April
Catching up with Jeanette again after 35 years was a highlight for me. During our long chat, I clearly remember her recounting a particular moment in her life. She had just become a minister in the Victorian Government and was heading to her new office. She was climbing the steps of parliament, wearing her ‘no nonsense’ suit and carrying her briefcase.
She suddenly paused, remembering her past. She was a ‘10-pound Pom’ from Liverpool; she left school at 16. And yet, here she was — trusted by her constituents to represent them — in the land of opportunity. She thought, “My dad was right; this truly is a wonderful country”.
Jeanette is still working for her community. She is president of both GV Hospice Care and Shepparton Villages, and an honorary member and Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club of Shepparton. Jeanette is active in the Parliamentary Former Members Association, Soroptimist International of Shepparton, Shepparton Men’s Shed, and the Australian Local Government Women’s Association.
Pat Gibson (Smith) — May
It took 12 months and some persuasion from a friend for Pat to agree to a chat. But once we started talking and she realised I was trustworthy, we got along just fine. Our fathers were good friends, and it resulted in her having photos of the two of them working together on some project or another. We had a shared history in that we were both born and bred here, and knew many of the same people.
Pat Smith is a truly remarkable woman. The first female in Victoria to hold the top position in local government, Pat was town clerk from 1976 to 1981. She told me she never expected to have the position because “I’m a woman”.
Suzanna Sheed — July
My conversations with Suzanna, both before and after the Town Talk article was written, were far-ranging, always exciting and often funny. We laughed a lot.
I asked her why she had decided to run for parliament. In 2014, she thought that this area needed a boost and stood for election as an independent on the following issues: education, train services, GV hospital redevelopment and the Shepparton Art Museum (which was being discussed but had yet to happen).
There is no doubt about Suzanna’s success. In dollar terms, Suzanna brought a total of $1,604,500,000 to Greater Shepparton. That’s an almost unbeatable average of $200,562,500 per year.
Pack Horse Relay — September
This relay was a part of our centenary celebrations, and when I became aware of it, I thought it was outstanding marketing for our town. Councillors suggested the idea —John Pick and Vince Vibert.
This newspaper printed commemorative envelopes — which carried an advertisement — and could be used for overseas or local mail. They were sold locally for sixpence. Five troopers from the 20th Victorian Light Horse Regiment (Shepparton) took more than 3000 letters to Melbourne.
Town Talk