It's Australian to do such things because, however uncivilised they may seem, it's human to do them.

Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.

No one welcomes chaos, but why crave stability and predictability?

One reason we resist making deliberate choices is that choice equals change and most of us, feeling the world is unpredictable enough, try to minimise the trauma of change in our personal lives.

One of the most important responsibilities of leaders in any setting - including business organisations - is to tell us our own story; to explain us to ourselves; to help us weave some meaning and purpose into the fabric of our lives; to illuminate our understanding of where we have come from; to paint word pictures of our future onto which we can project our aspirations.

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

It's Australian to do such things because, however uncivilised they may seem, it's human to do them.