Founder’s Introduction

Welcome to Telopea!

It is with the delight akin to seeing a Telopea from afar that I share the vision located within this portal with the people of New South Wales.

My name is Miles Lane, and I am the founder of Telopea Group and the originator of this vision, plan, strategy and the technology that I hope will help us to regenerate and transition our economy to be more commercially sustainable and resilient in an increasingly challenging environment.

A Black Summer

From September 2019 to March 2020, Australians endured a "Black Summer", when catastrophic bushfires ravaged our drought-stricken land. The fires were fuelled by extremely hot and dry conditions, the latter a result of several years of low rainfall.

The number of fires, their intensity, the extent of the area burnt, the homes, businesses and infrastructure destroyed, the number of animals injured and killed, and the smoke - which suffocated cities such as Sydney - was unprecedented and captured attention worldwide.

In March 2020, I wrote on this website:

Australians live in an increasingly challenging environment.

Drought, dust storms, fires, floods, land degradation, changes in climate, increasing cost of living, low wage growth, global trade tensions and economic uncertainty are just some of the issues we all face.

Unfortunately, this statement now greatly understates our challenges.

A Pandemic: Covid-19

Without time to recover from the catastrophic Black Summer, Australians were thrust into a health pandemic that by mid-September 2020 had infected over 29,600,000 people worldwide, inundated medical and health care services globally and caused over 935,000 deaths.

Fortunately, an overwhelming health crisis was averted in Australia. The spread of the virus was slowed by lockdowns and the subsequent development and roll-out of vaccine programmes designed to build-up a herd immunity sufficient to enable the nations hospitals to manage the extraordinary health crisis.

This outcome was made possible by the swift and effective response of national and state leaders who were expertly advised by learned professors, doctors and medical researchers, health and care providers and numerous government departments. Most importantly of all they were supported by the outstanding efforts of brave essential front-line workers in the health care services, notably doctors, nurses and orderlies.

It ought not be forgotten however that over 25,700 Australians lost their life either directly from the virus or as a contributing factor alongside other ailments like cancer or heart disease.

Sailing into a Storm

Up until the pandemic, Australians had enjoyed an unprecedented 30-year period of uninterrupted economic growth. It was Australia’s La Belle Epoque.

However, prior to Covid19, the Australian economy was facing some significant headwinds. It was challenged by:

• High borrowings especially by homeowners,
• Stagnating national productivity,
• Weak commitment to education, training and research,
• Low growth in wages,
• An inefficient taxation system,
• Low agricultural production impacted by drought and questionable sustainability practices,
• High share market prices relative to earnings, and
• A very high and increasing dependence upon one nation for its exports and imports.

The 2020's: An Era of Uncertainty

The first year of the pandemic was a "Bleak Winter” for most Australians and whilst the sun is once again shining upon “the lucky country”, uncertainty has prevailed ever since.

The pandemic necessitated a massive increase in borrowing and corresponding debt by the federal and state governments to keep the economy functioning and maintain confidence. Excesses of liquidity however encouraged lax control of fiscal spending, excessive lending by banks and over-borrowing by individuals - many keen to acquire property from a constrained pool of stock at what started out as rarely seen “knocked-down prices”. FOMO, the return of the usual base instincts and market forces ensured the inevitable upswing in asset prices.

Release from lockdowns released pent up demand like a pressure-value; aggregate demand increased rapidly further driving up prices already impacted by chronic production and supply chain disruption. Once considered as its strength and virtue, Australia’s flexible open globally connected economy was nakedly exposed and revealed to the shock of many, to be highly vulnerable in this time of extraordinary crisis.

Despite this revelation and to stay true to our national identity the party soon resumed, guaranteeing the inevitable, an epic hangover; the federal reserve being too fearful to remove the spiked punchbowl in such turbulent and unchartered waters. Volatile prices soon entrenched themselves at elevated levels like a throbbing persistent headache; inflation reached 7.8% in December 2022 and proved stubbornly difficult to cure as regional wars in Europe and the Middle East and more trade and supply chain disruption ensued.

A Global Slowdown

Today in mid-2025, a global economic slowdown is happening with the world’s GDP growth likely to fall to fall from 3.3% to about 2%, the slowest pace since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. This is likely lower than the combined contraction, rebound and deceleration of growth in the global economy during the pandemic years 2020-2022 inclusive.

The slowdown is a result of an assault upon trade by the neo-mercantilist re-elected president of the United States, Donald Trump; guaranteed by the imposition of incomprehensible tariffs set at nonsensical levels that are characteristic of an exceedingly chaotic political leadership defined only by its unpredictability. The inevitable outcome; heightened geopolitical trade tensions, increased costs, reduced trade, more production and supply chain disruption, increased volatility, and a massive decline in consumer and investor confidence.

Businesses need stability and certainty to make investment decisions. The only certainty in the global economy today is uncertainty. The lack of political stability in the world’s largest economy is undermining confidence and inevitability that is undermining growth in the world’s economy.

A global depression in the next year or two is a reality should the disruption to trade, volatility, chaotic political leadership and isolationist policies continue to be vigorously pursued by President Trump. There is an urgent need for the leaders of our nation to respond quickly, effectively and with resolution given the uncertainty and unfolding global economic crisis.

Fortunately, Australians are both well-conditioned and positioned to meet these new challenges. However, to meet, overcome and prosper from this new crisis they need more than luck; they need something that has over the past three decades been in short supply.

They need vision.

Shared sufferings

Today, the founding and colonisation of New South Wales has become increasingly controversial especially in relation to the plight and suffering of the Aboriginal peoples who have inhabited this continent for tens of thousands of years.

Something that is often overlooked however, is that for many of the first settlers (many forced and related to circumstances beyond their control including revolutions and economic downturn), they also endured great suffering and depravation; before they set sail, during the perilous and long transit (the voyage of the First Fleet lasted 253 days!) and further hardship after landing in this vast, remote, challenging and often inhospitable land.

Despite these challenges and through this terrible suffering a great state and nation has been forged by the dispossessed and outcast people that together have faced great adversity. Shared sufferings, hardship and challenges that have come to define the resilience of the people that inhabit this arid, Great Southern Land, that’s remoteness and contrasts subtly yet intrinsically reflect its unique beauty.

It is “a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains” as Dorathea MacKellar so majestically penned.

Visible from Afar

Four months after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, I was in a very depressed and lowly state that severely impacted my mental and physical wellbeing. Near my lowest point, whilst lying on my bed in a state of utter despair, a vision of a Telopea nestled amongst a blue grey forest shone out from an etching that I had not seen for decades.

It is not a unique experience as intrinsically it is exactly why Robert Brown named the genus Telopea in 1810 from specimens he collected, for it reflects the same experience that he, along with many others, have been surprised and delighted by when they see these flowers when bushwalking in the Blue Mountains. Hence the flower’s generic name, Telopea, derives from the Greek ‘telopos’ meaning ‘seen from afar’ and “refers to the great distance from which the crimson flowers are discernible” as the Australian National Herbarium records.

Over the past two decades, many people - residents of New South Wales - have asked me what Telopea means; this question always surprises me given Telopea Speciosissima is the official floral emblem of New South Wales. The lack of awareness that Telopea is its botanical name probably reflects that the Aboriginal name for the species, the 'Waratah', was adopted by early settlers at Port Jackson. This is fittingly so given it was the First Peoples who for tens of thousands of years had sipped the “rich honeyed juice” from its 'speciosus' - beautiful - flowers.

From this one tiny image of a Telopea that revealed itself to me at my lowest ebb a great quest began; to search for a vision that appropriately reflected this epiphany.

A Great Quest

Filled with a new found zeal and a passion it was not long before I encountered discouragement, rejection, fear and failure - for great visions take time to mature. I too needed time to mature.

There were however some things that I remained fully convinced of at the time; technology would play a significant role and that the images that had so disturbed me during my travels in the shipping industry, suffering and environmental degradations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, must be for purpose. Finally, there was an important encouragement that a trusted person in my life assured me of as I set out on my search, “many others will come to help you”.

About a decade after my epiphany, I went bushwalking with a group of a people in north western Sydney. After following a track for several kilometres, we came to a rugged ravine. In single file we descend the heavily tree lined valley at the base of which was a small flowing creek at a point where several trees had made a narrow gap wide enough to enable walkers to start a perilous crossing of the waterway that appeared to get ever wider the closer that we came.

Ducking below the branches and thick bush that defended the waterway, ten or so people before me stepped one by one onto the mossy green stones that made a path across the water. Slowly they ventured forward very carefully watching every footstep lest they slip into the icy water, then like Israelites that had safely crossed the Jordan, they scurried 20 metres up the slope relieved not to have fallen in.

When it finally came time for me to duck under the branches and step onto the first slimy stone at the creeks edge, rather than look down at my feet - as the others did - I happened to look up. There, much to my surprise and delight, stood a magnificent Telopea – barely less than a metre from my head. Fancy that! Ten other people had crossed the creek and not one of them had seen this magnificent specimen of the state’s emblem.

Multi-purpose Multi-benefit solutions

Every person has a gift; some have more than one. One of my discoveries on this journey is that I have gift to see the big picture and often see things that others don’t – this is not a boast. The vision found at Telopea.org is unique; its associated multi-purpose multi-benefit solutions as presented in the MacKellar Series are innovative, economically viable and politically compelling.

Ultimately, Telopea is a vision that is offered to inspire, motivate, provide direction and purpose to the people of New South Wales. It is a vision that seeks to address some of our most pressing challenges - including climate change - and provide a path to achieve another century or more of sustainable economic growth for todays and future generations.

Before some sharp wit points out that Telopea rhymes with Utopia and hence attempts to denigrate the vision by associating it with the famous ABC TV series written by Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner, I think it is appropriate to point out that ironically that may be the best way to think of what the Telopea Group is about. Telopea’s mission, in layman’s terms, is to develop a sustainable state plan and strategy as to what ought to happen. Whilst Telopea Group may help to affect the vision, ultimately, it is up to the people and leaders of New South Wales to make it happen.

The Mackellar Series

The Mackellar Series, as introduced in the mission statement, is an integrated strategy to help New South Wales better respond to the impact that drought and flood has upon the state’s economy and adapt to climate change.

For those that take the time to read the MacKellar Series white papers, I hope you get a glimpse of the vision that I can see and that you will also find some very innovative solutions that can address the challenges that the people of New South Wales face. These challenges are many and very complex. It is for this reason, I ask that every person who becomes involved with the Telopea Group - from the Premier to the intern – take the time to read each of the white paper’s not overlooking or presuming that they know the subject area because of past learning, or as they have been briefed by their department or simply because they are too busy.

The MacKellar Series white papers are long (~35K words each) there are presently three completed published papers and a further 4 white papers drafted and near completion. Research on a further three or so papers is well underway. They have been presented as a series as they form part of a carefully crafted plan and strategy – at times some of the approaches might seem unusual, but rest assured every word, and paragraph has been thought through at great length. The white papers are designed to help the State Government of New South Wales move quickly, even with their messaging should they choose to implement Telopea Group’s solutions, plans and strategy.

They are produced as white papers to stimulate thought, debate and action. Given the complexity and extent of the subject matter, I do not contend that they are complete, faultless or beyond improvement. They are however thoroughly researched, attributed and detailed and hopefully an enjoyable read.

One of the problems of the modern social media 24-7 digital age that has facilitated the rise of the populist is that people and organisations are not taking the time to investigate the detail. Many of the so-called solutions offered by these populists are simply impractical, unworkable, uneconomic and in the worst-case designed to deceive for the sake of attaining money and/or power as an end goal to itself. To some extent I even struggle with the word sustainability. What exactly does it mean? Especially so given governments and corporates’ willingness to brandish it around to look to be doing good; given that the issues are so complex and challenging, their efforts are often sadly simply self-serving, meaningless and box-ticking akin and/or a version of “green washing”. Nevertheless, I am prepared to use the term in the MacKellar series as I believe that the solutions offered within the white papers are genuinely sustainable.

Regeneration

“Change will come, change is difficult, but change is inevitable.” The Covid-19 pandemic was an extraordinary period in our state, one that many would rather forget and have been quick to put behind them. Regardless, it was a time during which and since great change has been thrust upon the people and state. The importance of being resilient in the face of great trials and at the same time being prepared to be flexible and innovative are some of the great lessons that we can take away from that time of struggle. It is a characteristic that has been forged into the Australian identity; from the dispossessed and outcasts shared struggle to survive and as immortalised by the diggers who freely gave of themselves at Gallipoli, across the battlefields of Western Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, the Far East and of course nearer to home in South East Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Lest we forget.

I expect that Telopea Group’s plan and strategy will change over time and there must be a process to accommodate that without compromising the vision. The innovatively designed technology – part of our IP – found at Telopea.org has been designed and developed specifically to enable those changes to be tracked and recorded to become part of the process and solution. It is closely associated with the emphasis that our Charter places upon transparency and accountability.

Given the proposals and many solutions that are presented at Telopea.org and in the MacKellar Series white papers, there are many paths forward. These present many commercial opportunities that and if Telopea Group was a typical corporate would prove very attractive. At this point in time, whilst I have some ideas as to what the Telopea Group ought to do, for now I have an open mind and I am prepared to wait to see what happens, as such maximising value is – whilst very important - not my primary concern.

Having stated that, there is considerable intellectual property in both the MacKellar Series and our technology; also there is the desire to have a physical presence as reflected in the vision to fund and locate 100 researchers – or ought that be 1000 - at a renewed White Bay Power Station. I intend to be one of those researchers and as such I am willing to accept a stipend akin to that which a person undertaking a doctorate at a university might receive, at a level that is set by the Trustees who will oversee such matters in accordance with Telopea Group’s Charter.

Should this vision for New South be realised it will once again prove that great happenings can emerge from the embers of great suffering.

As the founder I welcome you and invite individuals and prospective strategic partners to join in this collaboration to renew and sustainably grow Australia’s premier state.

Yours faithfully

Miles Lane

Founder, Telopea Group

My word is my bond