or signup to continue reading Finding the way from point A to B has never been a problem. North and south, east and west come easily. But lately left and right have become blurred, especially navigating politics.
The old markers have gone. Here, we have a conservative opposition leader we would have once labelled "right" making the same noises we once heard from the left. He chafes at the elites, whether it's a supermarket giant deciding not to sell Australia Day tat or corporations lending their support to the failed Voice campaign or investing in green energy.
He'd have us believe he's a working class hero - never mind his personal wealth having made it as businessman. He hates fuel efficiency standards. Calls them a "ute tax" even though they're nothing of the sort.
The intention is clear. He's trying to win over the workers - the subbies, chippies, sparkies and plumbers who drive them, thanks to the tax concessions which cost the rest of us $250 million in lost revenue. They're the new high-vis elite earning way more than the old besuited elite with their uni degrees and massive HECS debts.
We have a Labor Prime Minister, also wealthy thanks to his bloated taxpayer funded salary, who built his political persona as a leftist whose favourite pastime was "fighting Tories". A knockabout bloke from the inner west of Sydney - now home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country - with a log cabin story to tell about growing up with his single mum in public housing. But he's not averse to mixing it with the elites the left once eschewed.
Turns up at a sumptuous celebrity stacked radio shock jock's wedding without hesitation. Is mates with the diminutive Irish CEO who flew Qantas's reputation into the ground while we bought flights that had already been cancelled. Doesn't mind a black-tie knees-up with foreign leaders.
The closest we have to an actual left is the Greens, who repeatedly join forces with the conservatives to hold up or block legislation put forward by the Labor government. Left and right have become strange comrades in this confounding political environment. In the US, the political party that once sat firmly on the side of business now casts itself as the champion of America's working class.
JD Vance, the Republican who could well be the next vice-president, sold himself at the party convention as fervently blue-collar, despite his Ivy League education and success as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. And the audience - actual blue collar devotees - lapped it up. What was once a neat political spectrum comprised of left, centre and right is in dire need of new signposts if we are to have any chance of navigating it.
Are the old definitions of politics - left and right - still relevant? Are there better ways to describe political leanings? Is Labor still the champion of the working class or has it surrendered that claim to the Greens and the Coalition? Email us: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend . : - A French chateau bought by former political staffer Brittany Higgins and her husband David Sharaz may be sold to pay for amid a defamation battle against former defence minister Linda Reynolds. - Fewer than one in three Australians want either Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton as their prime minister but the contest between the two parties is heating up.
The latest Newspoll survey for showed only as their preferred leaders of their respective Labor and Coalition parties, ahead of five other chosen candidates. - An apprentice was hung from a noose and poked with a drill in his groin as part of at work, with his employer fined $10,000 over the abuse. The first-year apprentice was working for Celsius Ballarat Pty Ltd in Bakery Hill, near Ballarat, when he was targeted by colleagues.
"In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another." - Voltaire Some swear by them. Others prefer the indulgence of a hotel, where housekeeping cleans up after your stay.
And then there are questions over the effect of short-stay rentals on the housing crisis. Vince writes: "How about all the people that holiday rentals employ? We have a holiday rental property and we have cleaners, a linen service, a gardener and others who would not have a job if we permanently lived there." "My brother and I grew up camping in tents and a caravan," writes Jeanette.
"But as an adult I realised it wasn't much of a holiday for our mum. Still the same work to do but in a smaller setting. My idea of a holiday is on a cruise ship where you don't have to do a thing - not even your laundry.
" Linda writes: "My go-to are motels for my husband and I especially as he has a disability. I do enough housework at home! Won't do cabins either. Why should we clean up when they are being cleaned after us?" "My jaunts have usually been to see family, often in far-flung places," writes Alison.
"Never had the money to stay in B&Bs and only rarely hotels.The latter make me uncomfortable, with the implied elitism of a lower class doing the dirty work for me and having to smile while they're doing it." Anita writes: "I'd rather stay in a reasonable hotel for a couple of days, than stay in a tent for a week.
Once upon a time, camping may have been my thing but it's not now. I certainly have no wish to spend time in a place where mod-cons are less than I find at home. The luxuries are part and parcel of the holiday.
" "Airbnb is a bit like the curate's egg - some good, some bad," writes Bill. "But then so are our hotels. Before Airbnb existed, we spent four days, four adults, in a unit in Eden perched on the cliff, whale watching in August.
Old building, but still fantastic. Essentially, I am a hotel/motel man, but avoid their (generally) expensive dinner restaurants. As for that self-serving exec from Airbnb, I call BS.
Hotels in tourist dependant smaller cities and towns are struggling. It's disruptive, as intended. And then there's the impact on worker rental accommodation.
" Russ from the UK writes: "I have done both Airbnb and housesitting. You may say there is no accommodation for workers but that is not the fault of either mode. The problem is always that we are not building enough homes for the population, despite mega billions thrown at the problem.
And I am scathing of our government that our veterans should be be homeless, regardless of the myriad of reasons for it happening. Also, targeted immigration needs to replace the current free-for-all that we have inherited." Four decades in the media, working in print and television.
Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW. Four decades in the media, working in print and television.
Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW. Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.
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