I've always argued that the best leaders are those who plan a long way ahead. Our political forefathers who formed the Federation of Australia in 1901 planned for it to last more than 100 years and it has. The American Constitution is a masterful document that still gives great guidance to the country even though it came into force in 1789.

I've mentioned this before but consider the far-sightedness of the government that planned the Snowy Mountain scheme. Just out of World War II it created much-needed jobs as well as an irrigation system and power supply for a nation and is one of our most significant sources of renewable energy today.

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox.

And it took real foresight to build a bridge across Sydney Harbour in 1932 that could handle the traffic volumes of a booming international city for decades.

Nearly 100 years earlier, foresight, financed by a gold rush in Victoria and the great European-style boulevard, St Kilda Road, was built. It still serves the city well even though the population has increased tenfold.