Comment

While the struggle to curb inflation has drawn a lot of attention, one of the most pressing economic challenges facing the government has been widely ignored: the collapse in productivity.

After Anthony Albanese received a standing ovation on Monday night for his Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration arguing the case for the Voice referendum to succeed, Adelaide’s lord mayor made a telling observation.

For the days and weeks leading up to the judgement, the nerves of the parties, their lawyers, the media in general and the court itself were seriously fraying.

The department says you cannot split the numbers. The cost of suffering on Nauru is not divisible by the refugees held there. “I think as we’ve given evidence before, the costs for maintaining the facility are not attributable to the number of individuals,” Stephanie Foster, an associate secretary in the Department of Home Affairs, told estimates this week.

There is a legitimate concern that Australians have become addicted to debt. I grew up in a household where my father would do anything to avoid incurring debt. Any number of scabby shortcuts leap to mind – we always repaired our own shoes, specialised in leftovers and there was an unfortunate period when Dad insisted on cutting our hair.

The choice Australians will have later this year in the referendum goes beyond recognising the special place of First Nations people in the constitution. It also goes to the sort of national leadership we are prepared to endorse.

Late last week the seemingly impossible happened. Stan Grant, a veteran Wiradjuri journalist, with a 40-year career spanning commercial news outlets at home and abroad before his arrival at the ABC, announced he was taking a break. During his time at the national broadcaster, Grant had quickly become much sought after for his expertise on local and international affairs, and this year was chosen to host the network’s flagship show, Q+A.

Late last year, Liberal senator Alex Antic made a calculated intervention into the panic about drag and gender identity. No doubt he had watched excitedly as the same panic played out in America.

Australia’s greatest post-World War II success may well be our establishment of an effective and tolerant, multicultural, multiethnic and multireligious society that is in many respects the envy of the world. A well-maintained immigration program has been fundamental to this – not only to support growth, but to deepen and broaden the richness and diversity of cultural experiences that flow from that expansion.

On Monday, the Albanese government will celebrate its first birthday. The prime minister is confident it has been a year that has established in voters’ minds the character of his government as responsible, measured and very busy.