It’s only fitting that the nation’s capital should be drenched in thick smoke while the country burns. Canberra; home to the Parliament of Australia, the city where politicians stamp their mark and…

It is time to build a New Australia.. Not a cheap plastic copy of America. Not a copy of the moth-eaten nursery toy that is Britain. But something that has never been tried before – a truly Australian Australia, fit for purpose, fit for the continent, fit for the climate, and fit for the future.

Another hot day: thoughts go out to friends nearby in the Daylesford area of Victoria, especially Jim, whose farm has been badly damaged by fire before, and Patrick, who moved…