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.

A strangely reflective, even melancholy day. Is that because, unlike our cousins in the northern hemisphere, Easter is not associated with the energy and vitality of spring but with the more subdued spirit of autumn.

It is the misfortune of contemporary leaders, across the whole spectrum of Australian life, that the community's demand for strong leadership is growing in direct proportion to our lack of confidence in ourselves. The end of this century is an unusually difficult time to be a leader in Australia.

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.

Obviously, every child should be given the best possible opportunity to acquire literacy skills.

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