Comment

The fault is the media’s also. It entertains the nonsense, repeats it until it is real. It pretends there is debate where there is none. It leans too heavily on conflict. It mistakes credulity for balance. It is in these false equivalences that Peter Dutton finds his purpose.

In the popular imagination, Vladimir Putin is too readily demonised, simplified or caricatured. He becomes a cartoonish character. The truth is far more complex, fascinating and ultimately chilling.

The prime minister managed three significant surprises this week, which variously caught his opponents off guard or demonstrated that when it comes to dealing with our most significant ally, the United States, he has considerable cachet.

It’s time to cut through the posturing and focus on Peter Dutton’s real strategy. It should now be clear the opposition leader’s basic motivation is a power grab. He will say or do whatever it takes to win the next election.

It can be expected that Dutton, in his quest for legitimacy beyond his negativity, will rush to identify with what he will claim is a global surge to the far right ... He will want to stitch himself to the coat-tails of such a movement, to out-Trump Trump.

When Kim Williams wants to make a point, he looks a person dead in the eye. He does not shy from confrontation. He does not blink. In his first major speech as chair of the ABC, Williams has articulated a strident vision for the national broadcaster. It will be bigger, smarter and more willingly self-critical.

The first visit of a Chinese premier to Australia in seven years perfectly demonstrated the complexity of the relationship with our biggest customer. It also confirmed that for Australia’s continued prosperity, accommodating Beijing is not optional.

Picture this. It has been almost five years since Black Summer. Fires and floods, supercharged by climate pollution, have claimed hundreds of Australian lives and thousands of Australian homes. An election is on the horizon and the leader of the opposition declares that, if he wins, he will dump Australia’s 2030 climate targets, the very targets developed to secure a safer future for our kids and grandkids.

Among the stories that accompanied The Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit last year was a detailed account of a very large pig stalking a farmer on a property outside Tamworth. “Everyone is scared of them,” the grazier told the tabloid. “There is a big black 130kg razorback boar and I know he is watching me.

Reconciliation too often appears forced, contrived or convenient. Reconciliation requires more than proforma government apologies or ‘truth-telling’. However sincere, political reconciliation will always be unfulfilling. Reconciliation is not a transaction; it must be a gift.