The Christmas story will remind us that Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn. But Jesus was not the victim of homelessness. He had a home in Nazareth. It was just that he was a long way from home because Caesar Augustus (the Roman ruler) decreed that "all the world should be taxed". In order to assess and collect this tax, people were ordered back to their ancestral villages to be counted in a census. So Joseph and Mary were required to travel to Bethlehem more than 150 kilometres away.
he past couple of census nights have found me in Canberra — on parliamentary business — where I rent a flat with two senators. The census requires the household to nominate the reference person (Person 1) for filling out the forms. It is a touchy subject — who should be the head of the house — in a household comprised of two senators and a member of the House of Representatives.
Worse still, the members of the household have to describe their relationship with each other. What precisely is the relationship of three (male) members of Parliament to each other?
Like most of Costello's efforts over the last decade there are several good single points but no clear thread to tie it into an image or icon. Costello never articulated a clear view of his Australia as opposed to the one Howard relentlessly pushed every single day. Costello promised several times to begin speaking outside his area and begin painting this picture for the voters, but he never came through with it. With pieces like this, despite the disjointed and aimless nature of its thought you have to wonder just what we missed out on by not having a PM Costello.
Most likely he will be gone by the next election, and promptly forgotten by history. He should have been PM, but never was willing to risk all to gain all. I hope thats consolation enough for him on the quiet late nights in his rented Canberra flat.
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