Painting Fakes

Here's a different kind of stretch of the imagination .  One of the perennial political debates around the world is the question of budget deficits.  In every election we see politicians vying to present themselves as the more financially responsible alternative, meaning that they will balance the budget, that government spending will match government income and extra borrowing will not be required. Although this appears to be a partisan debate, it is based on assumptions which all mainstream politicians share - that government money is limited and that they can't perpetually spend beyond their means, that the money governments borrow needs to be paid back with interest in the future.  The partisan debate then focuses on how to do that.  Progressive politicians will favour increased taxes on the rich to pay for more generous social programs, conservative politicians will favour budget cuts and if possible tax cuts.  In budget terms they have the same aim - to ba...

So, back in late December Ellyse Perry was named the International Cricket Council's Female Cricketer of the Decade  as well as sweeping up the T20 and ODI player awards.  She is that rare cricketer who can change a game with either bat or ball, or both.  Not only that but she is also an international soccer player, having debuted for Australia in both soccer and cricket in 2007 at the age of just 16.  She continued to star in both sports until 2014, when the increasing professionalism of both meant she had to choose. Not only is she a super-gifted sportswoman, she is also a published author.  In 2016 she added her name to the growing sub-genre of children's books featuring the fictionalised exploits of sporting heroes.  Then in 2019 she published a more serious book of reflections on life as an elite sportsperson, Perspective.   It's fair to say her literary skills are not quite at the same level as her sporting ones.  I'm pretty sure most of the...

Here's my latest letter to our dear Prime Minister.  I've broadened the ask to take in three things that are uppermost in my heart at the moment.  After all, you're allowed to ask for more than one thing for Christmas aren't you? *** Dear Prime Minister I trust you have an excellent Christmas and New Year, and return to work ready to face the considerable demands that 2021 will bring. I have many wishes for 2021, some of which have nothing to do with you.   However, one of my wishes is for better government in 2021, from you and your colleagues.   This wish could be summed up in one main theme – end the divisive, partisan slanging match that politics has become, and get on with making the difficult decisions that we all need. The silver lining in the cloud of 2020’s pandemic is that for a short time, our governments (State/Territory and Commonwealth) worked together irrespective of political colour via the National Cabinet.   However, it didn’t take long t...