Criticality & Control and "Pink Elephants" | Risk! Engineers Talk Governance

In this first episode of Season 8, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis look at "criticality and control", starting with the pink elephant problem: Why organisations that successfully prevent bad outcomes often end up defunding the very risk functions responsible for that success. During their chat, they unpack the Port of Auckland conviction and what it reveals about the gap between Australian and New Zealand WHS enforcement, a local government case study on engineering versus insurance priorities, and why short-term commercial thinking clashes with the long timeframes in real risk management demands. They close with a preview of what's ahead this season, plus a few early thoughts on where AI does — and doesn't — belong in risk practice. Timestamps: 00:36 – Season 8 introduction 01:07 – Port of Auckland conviction and NZ vs. Australia WHS enforcement 03:23 – Season 8 topics ahead 04:57 – The pink elephant story 07:47 – Local government case study 09:07 – Short-termism vs. long-term risk 09:41 – Bushfire risk and generational memory 12:01 – Closing thoughts on AI If you’d like us to cover a specific topic or have any feedback we’d love to hear from you. Email admin@r2a.com.au. For further information on Richard and Gaye’s consulting work with R2A, head to https://www.r2a.com.au, where you’ll also find their booklets (store) and a sign-up for their quarterly newsletter to keep informed of their latest news and events.