Polls are no substitute for leadership because, at its very essence, leadership is about giving people what they don't already have - a sense of vision, inspiration, or even an adequate grasp of a particular subject.

I suspect the secret of personal attraction is locked up in our unique imperfections, flaws and frailties.

Yet in our enthusiasm for the idea that everyone should be able to read and write fluently, we may be missing a crucial point: in today's culture, finely honed literacy skills are simply not as important as they once were.

With increasing frequency and growing vehemence, you hear people saying they are ashamed to be Australians.

The yearning for strong leadership is more about strength of purpose - clarity of vision - than about merely 'getting tough'.

Parents should be encouraged to read to their children, and teachers should be equipped with all available techniques for teaching literacy, so the varying needs and capacities of individual kids can be taken into account.

Although we love the idea of choice - our culture almost worships it - we seek refuge in the familiar and the comfortable.