review of the speeches

I found the debates held last Thursday both interesting and engaging and I think that it certainly hit its targets to “entertain, inform and stimulate thought”. the speakers were excellent and really managed to engage me in two complex social subjects.  They responded well to questions from the floor and presented their points of view clearly allowing me to gain a deeper level of understanding of the issues involved.

The points both sides raised on public private partnerships (PPP) were interesting. I enjoyed the points on advertising on parking clocks, something that would generate revenue for the states, this is a great example of the innovative thinking the business sector can produce. This was the point. Not necessarily private companies running things for The States, but combining the efficiency of business and the democracy of the public sector. When Mr Frost talked about GPs and how the profit motive had been harnessed for good, it was interesting and thought provoking as to how we run things in Guernsey and what we could do to improve our system. Mr Parrotts’ counterpoint on how you could end up buying health on an Amazon style system was funny but underlined a serious point. One only has to look at the American health care system to see the dangers of out and out commercialisation, and while it is the best in the world if you don’t have insurance you can find it very hard to receive treatment. The other point he made was the privatisation of a public service does not always lead to a more efficient system. The profit motive is extremely powerful and when pointing in the right direction can be an excellent way to lift part of the burden on society however when improperly regulated especially with an important public good the results can be disastrous.

The points raised about corporate social responsibility (CSR) were also interesting. The three biggest points that I took away were that first there must be some gain for the companies take an active part in CSR on Guernsey, be this in the form of some type of award of certificate of recognition.  Second that there must be more to the activity than “just box ticking”. Actions speak louder than words and companies wishing to pursue a real CSR policy must do more than say they will do good things for the community in their sales brochure. Thirdly Jurat Jones’s point on the lack of communication between business and charities was in part a shock to me. Often charities need help advertising or writing a business plan, as these are areas were they have less experience.

These two issues will defiantly affect my generation whether or not programmes are successful. My generation will have to carry a large burden not least because of the impacts of global warming which will have a major effect on all of humanity during my lifetime. CSR policies enacted successfully now such as ‘think before you print’ and energy efficiency can not only save a company money but could go a small way to saving the planet. PPP could help to fund research with industry the expertise to urn green energy into a viable business and government providing tax breaks and subsides to push the profit motive in the right direction.