The great Australian revolution

How I long for the days of Menzies and Chifley.

They were political opponents who were good mates, meeting regularly for drinks where they would agree on important matters that needed to be above politics.

When Chifley died suddenly of a massive heart attack, Menzies wept tears of genuine grief.

The respect that Menzies built into the Office of Prime Minister was awesome. When he entered a room everyone would stand and applaud, even his most trenchant political opponents. Can any of us even vaguely imagine this happening to Abbott?

I pray that these elements of common decency will return to our Parliaments so we can renew our respect for our institutions and our leaders.

A good start would be to have Parliament agree unanimously to a Charter of Dignity within which the politics of the nation will operate in future.

The alternative is for voters to buy even bigger baseball bats and continue to use them with every bit of strength in their angry being.