Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational.

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

The thing we need most is each other.

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.

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

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.

It seems inevitable that the magic of the written word will fade.