The promise a Covid royal commission has been renounced even as a sweeping inquiry is needed more than ever

Meanwhile, down the hospital corridor another woman was among the hundreds in Australia receiving IVF treatment in the hope of conceiving, and a few blocks away in a government building another couple sign up in the hope of adopting a child sometime within the next few years.

What we thought might happen back when 'experts' were ringing alarms about tyhe Y2K bug has actually happened now due to the Crowdstrike global outage. Just imagine what could happen if there was an actual cyber attack by such a powerful player as China, Russia, North Korea or an evil axis of all three. No need to drop a bomb, just unleash the cyber gremlins

You almost have to admire the nonchalance with which Anthony Albanese tosses off furphies about the alleged cost and difficulty of a transition to nuclear. Given his affection for overseas travel, why not one more globe-girdling jaunt to France, Finland and Canada for an education in the energy security and household savings Australians are denied?

Chris Bowen says Australia should 'stick to the plan' regarding renewables and 'not isolate itself from the rest of the world by embracing nuclear, the dearest form of energy, which would take too long to establish.' That is so far removed from the truth it would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen and PM Anthony Albanese would like to see an EV, electric scooter or bike in every Australian garage. While this will do much to keep our firefighters busy, it will play merry hell with a grid that draws its wattage from utterly unreliable renewables

Speaking for myself, I'm very glad to have grown up in an era when seduction was alive and well, woke just meant awake, LGBTIQ+ were random letters and there were only two genders. Today's lusty Lochinvars face an entirely different world, one where taking precautions needs to involve rather more than prophylactics

Memo to Health Minister Mark Butler: You could improve services by making the Medicare call centre do what its name suggests and, you know, actually answer calls. Or provide a call-back when they can't. Or include on the web page a contact email that actually works in each state and territory. I fully realise implementing such a fix requires ministerial competence, but you could at least give it your best shot

Not that I'd wish the embarrassment I endured after making a prize mess of covering a sensational Queensland case, but at a distance of many years I can see the advantage of having been set straight by a livid defence lawyer and a no less angry editor. If only Lisa Wilkinson had received a similar on-the-job education she might have saved herself a good deal of recent grief