An important gesture

The chief of the National Broadband Company, Mike Quigley, is likely to cop a lot of criticism over the next eight or so years, while the rollout of one of Australia’s biggest nation-building projects takes place.

So it was good to see him getting a big pat on the back this morning for making a $2 million personal donation to NeuRA, a neuroscience research group that is undertaking a project to deliver rehabilitation programs to stroke victims in regional areas via the Nintendo Wii computer game console.

The $2 million equates to Quigley’s first year of salary at the NBN Co, and as he said today, he can afford it. After a long-career in the telecommunications sector, including 30 years rising up through the ranks at French telco giant Alcatel, Quigley is clearly a reasonably wealthy man.

But that doesn’t devalue his gesture, which is important on two fronts.

Firstly, this is clearly a great cause and Quigley, who survived a cancer battle in the 1990s, is obviously a passionate supporter of medical science.

Secondly, this is one of the most prominent examples of a business leader coming out and making a public donation, and talking passionately about the importance of giving.

Australia doesn’t have a huge history of grand philanthropic gestures, but that is starting to change.

In recent years we have seen former Startrack Express founder Greg Poche, Perth entrepreneur Jack Bendat and Wotif founder Graeme Wood make big donations to medical and education organisations.

Last week, Rich 200 member Chau Chak Wing gave $25 million to the University of Technology in Sydney, and last month Frank Lowy gave $10 million towards a new cancer centre at the University of New South Wales.

While it could be argued that the establishment of charitable foundations that give for decades is just as important as these grand gestures, the big-ticket donations do send a message to the rest of the business community that philanthropy is important.

That message is clearly getting through. Every week we see CEOs walking, running and cycling for charity, or sleeping out in the middle of winter or staying overnight in jail. It’s almost a case that from big things, little things grow.

Quigley’s donation continues that trend. While his is wealthy, he is certainly not in the league of these members of Australia’s rich list mentioned above, and his gesture shows that every business leader is capable of extraordinary acts of public good.