I reckon I’ve said enough. Disappointing campaign, despite the opportunity. Thought that the independents shone a light on a few issues which weren’t taking up.

And so finally the ALP have their launch in Brisbane. It is a low-key affair. So low-key in the torpor of the Queensland winter that the faithful forget they are at a political rally and that they are supposed to respond spontaneously, like a Baptist congregation in Mississippi. Even the Silver Bodgie has to wait, […]

Election betting has flattened out, but no matter how I look at it, I just keep coming back to one thing: the election result is all about Queensland. And the pollies know it as well. Queenslanders are still recovering from the Coalition’s launch on Sunday. Rarely have so many blueblood Liberals graced the Sunshine State. […]

This election will be won and lost in Queensland. Simple as that. And Queensland is different sort of place, with its own understanding of the world. I lived there for 30 years, and if pressed, I would say I am a Queenslander. Not your typical Queenslander, but I reckon I understand the Queensland sensibility.

Sunday evening used to be for watching Disneyland. You would always wonder which land the story would come from: Adventure Land, Fantasy Land, and the other Lands which have drifted from my memory. Then came Big Brother, and Sunday evening footy, and now Master Chef. I watched the end of Master Chef last night just […]

As Director of Manning Clark House in Canberra, I am obliged to have a good grasp of Australian History, and at least pretend to have a good grasp of contemporary Australian day-to-day politics. I reckon I’ve got the nuts and bolts of the first one covered, but I’m less confident about the other. Not because […]