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

Actually, I can't imagine anything more tedious than a perfect person, especially if it was someone who also demanded perfection from me.

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.

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

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

The copycat effects of media violence, similar to those previously attributed to westerns, radio serials and comic books, are easy to exaggerate.

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