"...we know the extent of loneliness, and the report is also telling us about the consequences. Poor for general health, very poor for mental health. This is something that government has to respond to, if we’re serious about looking after Australians."
Read MoreShaun has written an important book, and written it well. Whitlam's Children deserves to be read, and talked about - it illuminates a conversation that has been more characterised by heat than light. This has benefited neither party, nor our politics. He raises the prospect of a ‘more robust, self-aware relationship’ between the ALP and the Greens.
Read MoreI'm so excited to have the opportunity to share this evening with you, and to be able to share some of my thoughts with you. Thanks so much for the invitation, thanks for coming and - most importantly - thank you all for flying the flag for Labor in North-East Victoria. This really matters.
Read More...I'm really pleased that now, thanks to Bill Shorten's letter to the Prime Minister yesterday, that Australians can feel relieved that schools shouldn't be expelling students by reason of their sexuality. But I’m concerned there is more to be done. This doesn't begin and end at expulsion.
Read MoreA couple of years ago the British commentator Will Hutton wrote a book entitled How good we can be. He called for a better politics, and better policy, focused on what these should lead to: a good society.
Read MoreShortly after his retirement in 2010, former Labor minister Lindsay Tanner set out a powerful critique of the world he’d devoted his life to. In his book Sideshow, he wrote that two rules directed Australian politics: “(1) look like you’re doing something; and (2) don’t offend anyone who matters”.
Read more