What a sadly negative and seriously wrong writer we have here. The basis for his anger which pretty much seems to be directed against anything and everything Australia is is understanding of the so-called anti-Asian views of Geoffrey Blainey and Pauline Hansen. What a pity - for him anyway - that Blainey and Hansen were never anti-Asian. The truth is that they were concerned by the rate of Asian immigration into Australia and whether the relatively small Australian population could absorb large numbers of new immigrants from countries that were not Anglo-Saxon and hence steeped in European/British history of democracy, tolerance, freedom of expression and religion etc. So the basis of the author's anger is just plain wrong and this article is a sad reflection of his misplaced understanding of the wonderful albeit imperfect country that was and still is Australia.

Perceptive analysis!

Agreed, the rot started with John Howard. The intractable problems we're facing today clearly trace back to his refusal to use the mining boom to benefit all Australians into the future, his overly-generous tax breaks for investors and the wealthy and his racist dog whistling. So galling that our media still defer to his out-of-touch views as though he's some wise elder we should be listening to. He's just reaffirmed this week his support for nuclear and his skepticism for the need for Net Zero. He's a dangerous old fossil whose views should be ignored.

Regarding the Greens and the Teals, their vote held up well, considering the multi million dollar campaigns run against them, using lies and distortion to smear and discredit them. They were attacked by the Coalition, by Labor and by powerful rightwing and mining lobby groups with deep pockets, so had a lot thrown at them and certainly enough to have sunk weaker contenders.

They'll continue to build their vote as the climate catastrophe deepens, wealth disparity increases and the Albanese government sits on the fence tinkering round the edges rather than delivering the bold reforms so badly needed. Women and young people especially are increasingly turning to them, so with each election their influence will grow.