Emerging from the long shadow cast by the Bondi shootings, as the city exhales after summer’s hush, our focus turns again to the vibrant mosaic of daily life. After months of heated debate, a Royal Commission now stands poised to unravel the intricate tapestry of this haunting chapter in our national story.
As we piece together hope in the wake of Bondi and return from our yearly escapes, the spotlight once again illuminates the rituals that shape who we are. After a protracted debate, a Royal Commission prepares to peel back the layers of this poignant era, seeking meaning amid the scars.
When the Commission’s work is finished, perhaps the ghosts of that December Sunday can finally slip into memory. The image of a family table with an empty chair endures, a quiet elegy to loss. Streets once alive with laughter now echo with absence, standing as silent witnesses to lives forever altered. Yet Australians will keep sifting through the ashes of grief, tireless in their search for hope and a new day.
Sussan Ley may have scored a political victory by backing the Royal Commission, but her silence before grieving families is deafening. Will history remember her as just another Opposition Leader who sees only night, never the promise of morning?
Let’s set aside uncertainty and focus on the hopes and expectations we bring into the new year, as well as the demands we place on our leaders.
Politics threads through every corner of our lives, shaping our choices, our words, and the pace of change. It influences the cost of a home, the quality of our schools, and the wait for care. These are not abstract debates in distant chambers; they are the heartbeat of our daily experience. Still, for many, politics only stirs when the ballot box calls every three years.
Seeing these connections might inspire us to step up and help shape the political landscape ourselves.
The left reaches out to lift those who struggle to stand, while the right applauds those who stride ahead on their own.
As we move further into 2026, fresh challenges lie ahead for Albanese and his ministers. After a victorious 2025, the real trials of leadership are only just beginning.
Those scarred by tragedy will need unwavering support, gun law reforms will require relentless determination, and the battle against antisemitism must not falter.
Inflation and economic pressures cast a long shadow. 2026 will challenge the government’s resolve, calling for bold spending cuts to tame inflation and prove it can build an economy that truly serves everyday Australians.
The May budget will be pivotal. In the rhythm of the three-year federal cycle, it is likely the Treasurer’s best chance to make tough calls on budget repair, while also setting the stage for new policies that reach beyond election promises.
Will the PM dare to confront a tax system that shortchanges younger Australians?
Keep an eye on the simmering tensions between an ambitious treasurer, a restless backbench brimming with new faces, and a prime minister who favours caution.
Artificial intelligence is one development to watch closely.
This is a rapidly evolving field that touches nearly every aspect of work and life. Pessimists warn of humanity’s demise, while optimists dream of a new era of productivity.
If the technology accelerates as many predict, every side of politics will need to decide swiftly where they stand.
It may sound like a rare disease, but I’ll be watching JSCEM closely next year. It’s the parliamentary committee currently reviewing the conduct of the 2025 election and our electoral laws, and one of the things it is considering is whether we should have more federal politicians. The bet is on for more.
In 2026, the migration debate will be obvious. It is not just about numbers, but also about whether people feel in control of their lives. Even if migration policy changes, people will not feel better unless their daily lives improve.
Most importantly, people need to feel that the government is making things better. No matter your political views, it is easy to see why many do not think that way now.
Finally. 2026 will be a year of reckoning for the federal government on climate change.
With much of the political focus on adopting a 2035 climate target or, from the Coalition’s end, abandoning them, 2026 will be the year the Albanese government has to prove it is shifting the dial.
Having shed itself of any requirement to reach net zero, the Coalition is free to tear down the government’s approach to energy and climate change.
Meanwhile, Chris Bowen ended the year with a quiet acknowledgement that the government was not at all on track for its next climate commitment and would also fall short of its 2030 target.
Yes, the Government is confronted with many possibilities, as well as others that spring from nowhere. May they have the intestinal fortitude to deal with them constructively and with haste.
Of course, every year has its own unpredictables, be they political or otherwise. Abanese will also confront a society keen for change.
Internationally, of course, every country will face the world of Trump in some shape or form. Good luck with that, and welcome to 2026
My thought for the day
Occasionally, governing is solely concerned with addressing problems as they arise. But occasionally, an exceptional leader emerges with loftier ideals and a vision for a better tomorrow.
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We all know the Libs never lived up to their own propaganda but who knew that they would become even more daft since Dutton departed.
The biggest disappointment is Labor. I never had much faith in Albanese, even less now. Poor Australia. So poorly served.
The attacks on Albo and the Labor government seem to forget one of the principles of the way our government works.
Bills are presented to the parliament for debate, the process should be rigorous, where the bills are examined, line by line, amended as both sides engage in making proposed laws equitable, fair, and then the final bill goes through for voting on, finally passing through to the Governor General to sign into law.
The bullshit attacks by the media, by the opposition, the demands that things need to be done etc are great for people who either do not understand how the legislative process works or seek to undermine it pander to those who are too lazy to engage or learn how government works.
To look at the government’s majority in the lower house alone fails to understand the breadth of representation in the Senate, where the disparate views ind interests are represented and can influence the way laws will look.
But that requires THINKING, WORKING, not just playing mindless politics.
A bit more than throwing mud, framing ‘gotcha’ scenarios. But actually doing the work these people have been elected to do.
Labor is replete with stale careerists who should have left the building a couple of elections ago.If Albo paid more attention to the nitty gritty of running the country instead of the shady machinations of internal party politics, he might do better.As it is now, the more he appears, the worse he looks.
A good start would be to make that fucking embarrassment Marles the next ambassador to the Kingdom of Chaos…whether he likes it or not.
The list you provide John is merely the debris from what Governments have failed to do for the past two decades at least, so don’t expect to see that ‘to do list’ completed any time soon.
As Keating once said ‘they lack the ticker’ to get the job done, and are hypocrites to boot.
As for Bert’s defence of the indefensible, you insult people with your comment that people don’t understand the legislative process, it’s also an excuse for gaslighting and delay, which we all know only too well.
Thanks for thoughts Harry and Heather.