I would suggest that the title of the book by the mad monk Tony Abbott points to the absence of both humour and irony in OZ politics, particularly by those on the right.

The title is of course Battlelines.
Life, culture and politics as a never-ending battle.
I am right, you are wrong - bang bang and you are dead!

Or you will put in a bag and dumped at sea!

Ho Hum:

...We live in interesting times: A period of peace; looking around, that IS Ironical!

Alexander Downer, apart from living up to his name, was quite the comic. The image of wearing fishnets and delivering a policy speech 'The Things That Batter' about domestic violence which led to his Downfall is quite ironic.

It was quite ironic that Howard dumped his Ministerial Code of Conduct before he had to dump all of his ministers for breaching it.

It is also extremely ironic that a member of the academic elite who are so despised by the conservatives is out there being ironic on their behalf.

It would appear the author is one of those humourless irony-free rightwingers, no puns intended.

shhhhhhh,

don't mention the carbon tax.