Margaret Court the Grand Slam Tennis Champion and now the Senior Minister at Victory Life Church in Perth has often said that Australian young people need 'hope' and in her view, its the one thing that that she perceives is constantly in danger of being lost in her international ministry.
'Good-will' is one of the ingredients of life that will send ripples into the hearts of people and in turn, 'allows for hope'! No one can legislate good-will, as good-will is one of the essentials at the heart of the Australian philosophy and the critical unspoken essence of much of the nation's life style in practise.
My own history illustrates the point. Prior to entering theological college in 1977 I was a locomotive engineman on the New South Wales Government Railways, and have since celebrated authoring 16 railway books.
In these years on the railways the Australian Federation Union of Locomotive Engineman (AFULE) and the NSWGR exhibited antagonism toward each other. The one consistency were the regular strikes and running disputes, yet there was Industrial Arbiters and Courts by the dozen. What was lacking was 'good-will'.
Good-will affects every part of Australian life. It affects the work place in relationships between employees, that of the employer to employees, in commerce and industry, between neighbours, the school yard, at university the sporting field and even when we're on vocation.
Home relationships between husband and wife, how the children behave and their teenage years, all have a direct impact on the nature of the 'good-will' that exists between the parties.
Politicians from each side of the political divide must in the end, work on 'good-will' so as to attain what they seek to achieve. Any negotiation for mutually agreeable outcomes is a result of some 'good-will' between all concerned.
The heart of the issue, is that 'good-will' is one of those unseen concepts such as 'friendship, loyalty, honesty, integrity, trust, faith, disappointment, frustration, anxiety, sorrow, anguish, stress' all of which are difficult to quantify."
Some say 'good-will' has to play a larger part in the 'negotiation' equation as it is involves something of the heart, whereas others see 'good-will' legislatively needs a little help along as in this way the 'good-will' has teeth.
Legislating for 'good-will' is a tricky business.
Good-will sends ripples of hope, and as hope is one of the big three ticket items, 'good-will' is a vital component that needs every little help it can get to support those who are searching for something more.