Comment

Albanese’s choice is between the call of the parrot and the scream of the chainsaw: the rescue of the honey-eating swift parrots from extinction or the ongoing, needless destruction of their forest habitat.

The employment white paper released by the Albanese government this week is a vast improvement in professionalism and substance on the previous government’s three-word slogan – ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ – which offered precious little detail about which jobs and how they would be delivered.

The departure of one powerful man and the sidelining of another has accentuated the profound influence both have had in shaping the direction of the nation. Their legacies are now both a challenge and an opportunity for Anthony Albanese to learn from and refine.

Recently, I tried to help organise hazard reduction burns in my fire-prone local area. For months it was too wet to burn, due to three years of rain. When it finally seemed as if it was dry enough last week, it was too hot, windy and dangerous. That was the same week Sydney experienced the hottest three consecutive days ever recorded in September.

Among the various pressures pushing up our cost of living, one that is often overlooked is the exchange rate, or the value of Australia’s dollar relative to other currencies. Our currency is usually quoted against either the United States dollar, or a basket of our major trading partners’ currencies, known as the trade-weighted index.

In the shadow of the National Library, inside the Parliamentary Triangle, the Yes23 organisers could scarcely believe their eyes as the crowd built for Canberra’s version of the Walk for Yes rally and march … Researcher Peter Lewis, of Essential, says even though his latest poll has ‘No’ with a slim majority (51 per cent) for the first time, this is not a prediction of the outcome in four weeks’ time.

The ‘No’ campaign’s confusing and foggy polemics about the Voice referendum have set me thinking. The thought is about those qualities that we uncritically ascribe to our Australian character: that we enjoy a fair go for all with no one left behind, that everyone is equal.

The word ‘woke’ has taken on too much negative connotation in our political debate. It has become a derisive term to disparage and effectively dismiss virtually any position that doesn’t accord with the extreme conservative, hardline right agenda.

Somehow Anthony Albanese is being blamed for the catastrophic failure of governance by the Qantas board and its long-time chief executive. The behaviour of Qantas since Alan Joyce became boss almost 15 years ago is marked by arrogance and anti-competitive bullying.

The current debate on rent controls in Australia, such as it is, is stuck in the tired old narrative of the beneficiaries of property price increases.