Minutes of the Meeting,

12 March 2014

University House: about lunchtime

Present: OAFs Falvey, Hickey, White & Wood

Agenda Items:

Naming the OAFs: the OAFs agreed to name themselves the OAFs

Membership: it was agreed that membership was open to all past staff of the ag faculty and its constituent parts and any others that they admit

Discussion points: the following subjects were considered: climate change and adaptation; carbon; milk and cheese technology, truffles and  myriad other matters.

Next meeting: 16 April 2014 at University House

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Minutes of the Meeting,

16 April 2014

University House: about lunchtime

Present: OAFs Falvey, White & Wood

Apology: Hickey

Agenda Items:

Discussion of the faculty merger/fracture – item proposed by Oaf White a couple of weeks ago. Summary: Melbourne in following Oxford and other prestige models may divest or theorize practical disciplines. The State needs an ag education presence, which NMIT and Marcus Oldham do well, but links to applied graduate work may suffer. Dust has yet to settle.

Membership: it was agreed to extend an invitation to Snow Barlow to join the Oaf table; he joined the table, and is consequently an Oaf whether he wants to be or not and will accordingly be advised of the date of the next Oaf lunch/meeting.

Other Discussion: climate change = adaptation and migration;

Next meeting: 14 May 2014, 1200 at University House 

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 Minutes of the Meeting,

14 May 2014

University House: about lunchtime 

Present: OAFs Falvey, White

Apologies: Barlow, Hickey, Wood

Agenda Items:

Minutes of previous meeting: correction in date of meeting to 16 April not 16 March.

Federal Budget: timely changes; losses for research; structural adjustment in higher education; UniMelb seems to have read signals well – perhaps even relates to faculty merger.

Faculty merger: dust settling; opportunities yet to be realized; individual egos healing.

Other: rural debt; Thai politics; carbon

Membership: Brian Davidson was elected a Temporary Visiting Oaf for part of the meeting to discuss C.

Future meetings: 18 June & 30 July, 1200 at University House

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Minutes of the Meeting,

18 June 2014

University House: about lunchtime

Present: OAF Falvey

Apologies: OAF sBarlow, Hickey, White, Wood

Agenda Items:

Minutes of previous meeting: not considered

Decisions made:

All decisions were UNANIMOUS

It was decided that decisions made at this meeting would remain confidential – hence no further details.

Next meeting: 30 July, 1200 at University House

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Minutes of the Meeting,

30 July 2014

University House: 1200-1330

 Present: OAFs Barlow, Falvey, Hickey & Wood

Apologies: OAF White

Agenda Items:

1. Minutes of previous meeting: previously agreed, with acclaim

2. Decisions made:
   1. Move to lunch
   2. 5 minute updates per OAF

3. Discussion:

Truffle Festival; Farm cabins and houses; Canadian lakes; families; European anniversary; Food science; Faculty of Vet & Ag Science – and other matters.

4. Next meeting: 27^th August, 1200 at University House

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Minutes of the Meeting, 5 Sept 2014 University House: 1200-1340+

Present: OAFs Falvey, White & Wood

Apologies: OAFs Barlow & Hickey

AGENDA ITEMS:

1. Minutes of previous meeting:

agreed by omission

2. Matters Arising from the Minutes:

Faculty changes: OAF White noted that the discussion point of two meetings ago had not proceeded to resolution, and proposed that a history of the faculty be compiled. The matter was deliberated and various suggestions made for further consideration  …  at a subsequent meeting.

3. Resolutions to the Meeting:

It was unanimously resolved that OAF Barlow be charged with the responsibility to formally and verbally convey the felicitations of the OAFs to Winsome on the award of her AO. ACTION: SNOW

It was unanimously resolved that OAF Hickey be charged with the responsibility to formally and verbally convey the felicitations of the OAFs to Elke on her birth. ACTION: MALCOLM

4. Updates from OAFs:

OAF White summarized travels, reading of great Australian orations, and an essay for The Spectator’s prize of $5,000 on the most significant event in modern Australian history. It was suggested that the arrival of whites to the continent might suit author White. It was moved that, if successful, OAF White would shout all OAFs a fine dinner – passed unanimously.  ACTION: WHITE

OAF Wood outlined his truffle activities on-farm and a forthcoming growers’ meeting, his reading around the multiplicity of native Australian truffles about which little is known, and interests in Middle-Eastern developments.

OAF Falvey introduced his deliberations around a writing of commonalities of histories across Southeast Asia, intended meetings in Montpellier, Addis Ababa and Doha, and his reading of ‘The German Genius’.

5. General Discussion:

Statistical fudging of meteorological records; Australian seasons à la aboriginal lore and Entwistle of ‘Sprinter’ (when the bush flowers – August and September), ‘Sprummer’ (changeable and often windy – October to November), Summer (December to March), Autumn (April – May) and Winter (June and July).

The meeting welcomed for a short discussion Vicki – general staff of FVAS responsible for among other matters the recent office relocations – about plans to redevelop the whole site of the old faculty in the next few years, and other interesting changes from which OAFs felt privileged to be immune.

6. Next meeting:

Date to be determined. Options: September 27,28,29, or into October.

ACTION: FALVEY

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Minutes of the Meeting, 26 Sept 2014 University House: 1200-1350+

Present: OAFs Falvey, Hickey & White

Apologies: OAFs Wood (formal), Barlow (apology for not apologizing formally)

AGENDA ITEMS:

1. Minutes of previous meeting:

assumed agreed, after some correction to fonts legible to Oxonians.

2. Matters Arising from the Minutes:

Faculty changes: proposed history of the faculty remained unaddressed.

3. Updates from OAFs:

OAF White advised of writing on soils and climate change for the Year of the Soil (2015), and advised that his tentative significant date in Australian history for The Spectator essay is 1787 – when the decision to send prisoners was made. The meeting recalled its unanimity a successful OAF White would sponsor a fine dinner.

OAF Hickey informed the meeting of writing a paper with his Montreal-based academic son and a business plan for the Perth-based son, of house reparations for his Melbourne-based daughter, of a particularly good Oscar Wilde play in Geelong and having read OAF Falvey’s recent book and challenging several points.

OAF Falvey advised that there must be many more challengeable points in his book, mentioned his recent travels in WA for Hassad, summarized aspects of Gladwell’s somewhat superficial (he thought) book on underdogs’ use of power, mentioned a non-religious ‘secular bible’ based on Greek and other philosophers and his reflective and car-bogging times at his rural retreat.

4. General Discussion:

The meeting considered diverse and important issues, including atmospheric ozone links to greenhouse gasses, and public transport in Melbourne . The latter produced such novel outcomes as: a tax on motorists to pay for public transport; doubling rail links on busy routes; a universal debit card covering e-tag, mykey and other taxed services; microwave energy withdrawals from private cars by buses as sail past in bus lanes on crowded freeways, and the counterintuitive and discriminatory new penalties for fare evasion. No agreement was reached on whether public transport should be free, BUT it was agreed unanimously that, if not free, an improved fare collection system was essential.

6. Next meeting:

Date to be determined by Acting Secretary, OAF White, with apologies form OAF Falvey for absences up until Nov 22 or so.

ACTION: OAF WHITE

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Minutes of the meeting on Monday, 8 December 2014 from 12 noon

1. Present: OAFs Falvey, Hickey, Wood and White.
2. Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting on 26 October passed without notice.
3. Matters arising: None, but if the Minutes had been noted it is likely that a longstanding item? (‘proposed history of the faculty remains unaddressed’) would not have been addressed.
4. Updates: OAF White reported on his cycling accident and recovery from same; also on his election as an honorary member of the International Union of Soil Sciences (see more below). OAF Wood regaled us with the value of truffles ($40,000 per kg) and was questioned on their keeping capacity. There was further discussion on the extent of non-wetting soils in southern Australia and methods by which their adverse effects could be mitigated.
5. Discussion: OAF White informed (reminded?) the gathering that Friday, 5 December was World Soil Day and that 2015 was the UN-FAO International Year of Soils; Soil Science Australia has published a special magazine called ‘Soil Science in Australia’ to mark the occasion and various celebratory events were planned here and overseas. OAF Falvey gave a brief explanation of developments for the mooted Sino-Australian Institute for Food and Environment.

Comments were made about the University of Melbourne’s maintaining its traditions of opaque decision-making, resulting in the reinvention of old wheels (weals?) on roughly a 20-25 year cycle, and the apparent effect of POET’S day in determining the timing of non-departmental FVAS meetings times (and the Christmas party).

OAF Wood initiated a spirited debate on whether university fees should be deregulated, and if they were, what effect would this have on university finances and student access; was such a system equitable; to what extent should able students who could not afford high fees be assisted through scholarships, and would deregulation improve the overall quality of university education in Oz.

There was a somewhat obscure exchange between OAFs Falvey and Hickey about the payment of $25,000 from the former VCAH to FVAS, to be referred to Jeff Topp for resolution.

Because this was the OAF’s first Christmas lunch, a photo of the sumptuous repast was commissioned to record the event for the ‘Annals of OAF’ (see below).

An item for the next meeting’s agenda was to define what the ‘F’ of OAFs should be said to mean in the future.

6. Next meeting at a date to be decided. Action OAF White, secretary by default.