The ability of the major parties to have their management committees vet preselections by the members has always vexed me. I can see it is sometimes necessary, but it has not always led to good results.
On 16 February 1984, two young blokes joined the Australian Federal Police: 18-year-old Peter Mellor and 20-year-old Michael Chew. On 27 February 1984, “a skinny little Greek kid who grew up in the back of a suburban Perth fish shop” (his words) by the name of Mick Calatzis also joined up.
In the past few weeks, there has been a lot said about defence recruiting being well short of the targets set. The hoary old issue of conscription has been raised again.
Australia Day is a day of celebration of being Australian, no matter where you were born. In recent years, ceremonies have given due recognition to our unique Indigenous history. The day marks the beginning of modern Australia.
For about six years or so, the ACT has been blessed with a new innovative program whereby therapy dogs are taken to places where people may be stressed and need the wonderful calming influence a dog can give.
The Gaza/Israeli war has bumped the long-running Russian invasion of Ukraine off the front pages, but that deadly conflict continues, and a fickle West cannot lose sight of it.
Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee last week removed Jeremy Hanson as her deputy. The up-and-coming, talented Leanne Castley became deputy. The vote was apparently five to three. Several days later, Elizabeth announced her shadow cabinet, and Jeremy Hanson and Elizabeth Kikkert were left out.
Now, Papua New Guinea is the only country in the world that has rugby league as its national sport. It appears that the Kumuls – the PNG national team – could be admitted into the National Rugby League (NRL) in 2027.
First, congratulations to Dave Sharma on winning the NSW Liberal Senate preselection. He is a quality person, and should make an excellent addition to our national parliament.
