Former prime minister Kevin Rudd writes in The Conversation (16.12.16) of Australia having lost its national bearings and being powerless to act to find its way in the world.
‘We live in a deeply unsettled world, where once again the great questions of war and peace rumble across the international headlines, casually, almost as a matter of routine, as if we have become inoculated to their actual meaning.
‘We live too in a troubled country, with growing uncertainties on how we carve out our economic future. We also live, some of us, in troubled communities, where the politics of race once again raise their ugly head.
‘In Indigenous Australia, where reconciliation seemed possible, we now seem to be sliding back into older, more familiar patterns of division and despair.
‘And then there is the planet itself, which we all share. Despite the best efforts of many, we will pass it to later generations in sad disrepair.
‘But our national cup remains more than half-full. There is much to celebrate, much to be grateful for from those who have gone before us, and even more to encourage among our fellow Australians for the future.’