Women have made some pretty incredible gains in the 21 years since Carmen Lawrence became the first woman premier in Australia.

Since then there have been women premiers in every state except South Australia (it seems that, for Mike Rann, no women are eligible for promotion in his boys-club cabinet) and we have women leading Queensland, NSW and Tasmania, along with women as Prime Minister and Governor-General.

There is, however, a pattern emerging when it comes to the promotion of women in politics. It seems in Australia when governments are facing electoral oblivion, they turn to women to lead them from the abyss (perhaps in politics, like the household, it still takes a woman to clean up the mess the boys have left behind).

Did you know that your tax dollars are currently paying polluters to pollute?

A carbon price is part of a vitally important process of turning that around - making sure that the big polluters pay for their pollution and some of that money comes back to you to help build a cleaner, healthier, happier community. A carbon price, teamed with policies like a feed-in tariff, means we can drive investment towards the solar future while making sure that governments have the funds to help people struggling to make ends meet.

This summer we've seen a terrible warning of what climate change-fuelled disruption will look like.

With scientific projections of more frequent and severe droughts, floods, fires and storms already coming true, climate change will not only drive prices for food, water and insurance through the roof, but it will risk the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the globe including here in Australia. We cannot simply sit back and let that happen.

To prevent the climate crisis, we need

I receive hundreds emails every week but this weekend, one in particular caught my attention. It was from a catholic priest who wrote in support of marriage equality. He wrote that many "Catholics are in support of equality for same-sex couples to marry the person they love... because they realise the point is not about gender but about love, commitment and equality."

This email stood out because it shows just how far the marriage equality debate has come. This is no longer simply a gay rights issue, it's a human rights issue and it's mobilising a broad section of the community. From church leaders to ordinary Mums and Dads who just want their gay son or daughter to have the same rights as everybody else; many Australians are joining the fight for equality.

Greens Leader Bob Brown discusses the carbon tax, mining tax and constitutional issues with Paul Bongiorno on Meet the Press.

Click the more link for the transcript.

Last week was a low point in our nation's politics.

On one hand, we had the opposition quibbling over the cost of funerals for the victims of the Christmas Island boat tragedy. On the other, we had the government stubbornly refusing to relocate the survivors to the mainland, citing bureaucratic process over common sense and compassion.

Caught in the middle were those vulnerable people who came to our country seeking our protection and support.

“No Australian official ever saw Mr Habib in Egypt,” the Australian government says. What do you think?

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown, speaking in the Senate, last week asked the Government if it was aware of Egypt’s General Omar Suleiman’s reputation as a torturer and a murderer. He also asked whether the Australian Government or members of its intelligence service had met General Suleiman and whether there was involvement in the illegal detention of Australian Mr Mamdouh Habib in Egypt.

In the Senate, the next day, Senator Conroy replied:

“In his question, he asked : Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. It is known by the government that Mr Habib was detained in Egypt. Has any member of the government or its intelligence services met Mr Suleiman? Were they involved in the detention and torture of Mr Habib in Egypt?”

“I can now furnish further information: Mr Habib’s allegations are not new. In 2005 the Australian Government asked Egypt to investigate Mr Habib’s claims of mistreatment.”

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has advised that during 2001-2002 Department officials made several attempts at senior levels to confirm Mr Habib’s detention in Egypt and to obtain consular access.”

“Egypt never confirmed that Mr Habib was in custody and consular access was never granted. No Australian official ever saw Mr Habib in Egypt,” Senator Conroy said.

“Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have met Mr Suleiman, in particular in his capacity as a lead negotiator on Middle East peace process issues.”

Today, The Age reveals that an Egyptian intelligence officer has supported Mr Habib's claims that Australian officials watched as he was tortured in Egypt.

Mr Habib was detained in Afghanistan in 2001 and he says he was repeatedly tortured in Egypt before being sent to the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay.

He was released in 2005 without charge and returned to Australia.

A short sighted price war, or purposeful manipulation the dairy industry? You decide, but one thing for sure is that regardless of Coles and Woolworths' assurances of absorbing the costs of slashed- price milk, the farmers will eventually suffer.
Dairy farmers are right to be sceptical about a promise from the duopoly. For example, more than a year has passed since both Coles and Woolworths promised they would end restrictive covenants aimed at preventing competitors opening stores close to their own, yet in 2011 many of the covenants remain.
With this in mind, how are we to trust their word? How are we to believe they are about to place the welfare of dairy farmers above their single bottom line when they have not acted in this way previously?

The report of the Independent Review of the PTTEP Montara Action Plan makes some very strong statements on the significant and sweeping changes in governance and oil field practice that PTTEP needs to make to reach the kind of safety and risk management standards the community expects of it if it is to operate in Australian waters.

What is the purpose of the Australian of the Year award? Recognition of past achievements, recognising Australians who uphold our values? Endorsing role models for the rest of the community? Or simply rewarding hard work and determination?

Are we looking for ordinary people doing extraordinary things, or extraordinary people doing ordinary things? What measuring stick do we use to define the qualities of a person who captures the essence of our diverse and always changing Australian society?