At a time of dwindling public trust in the political system, both Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten deserve to be applauded this week for delivering a genuine contest of ideas.

The world can seem darker than it really is. It is likely to keep improving - because most real power and change come from the bottom up, not from high political office.

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It is more than disappointing that Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop are cravenly endorsing such a stupid, unfounded policy as the US ban on citizens of seven countries.

The food industry is using highly sophisticated lobbying tactics to influence government, pushing to weaken or change public policy in its favour.

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Later this week, the Australian Football League women's competition commences, and it's about damn time.

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The two most fundamental changes required are building proper centres that have adequate high-security sections for recidivists who commit violence and other serious crimes, and then staffing them properly.

Donald Trump's first week has dashed any hope he can conceive of a world where nations prosper together.

On this national day, perhaps we should consider and comprehend that the world might be better were there a little less nationalism.

At the core of any discussion of the justice system is the need to balance public safety with the rights of those accused of crime.

Australia should emulate the "Housing First" policy proving so successful in the US. It has all-but solved homelessness in a number of cities.

This tragedy has united Melburnians in grief and compassion.

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Never has the US has elected a president so manifestly unfit for the job.

The debacle beggars belief. The report found that of $2.3 billion paid over 40 months, $1.1 billion was approved without appropriate authorisation.

The answer to inequality is not to distort markets through heavy-handed government intervention and trade barriers. Rather, progress lies in effectively regulating to protect competition and consumers, and to finally compel the wealthy to contribute their fair share of taxes.

Obama's decision corrects what was a grossly disproportionate punishment for the crime Manning committed.

Should our politicians continue to baulk at real reform, they will rightly be seen as ignoble and hypocritical.

We believe Australia must and will learn from the successes offshore, and that policy will be changed. But how many preventable deaths will it take before that change comes?

There seems a perceptible shift in the Australian psyche away from an obsessive and occasionally jingoistic emphasis on winning.

The following template was adapted, with thanks, from Centrelink correspondence.