Have you ever broken a promise?

Knowing the answer, I offer readers compassion.

For me, as a parent, I like to promise weekend adventures akin to movie plots full of excitement and escapades and the unknown.

And then Saturday morning arrives, and I am tired from work and travel, and life.

The expectations of my grandiose promises are quickly modified, not always dismissed but inevitably modified.

On other occasions, I regret to admit, promises are broken.

My "base parenting" can be just as loaded with the unachievable.

"Right, that's it! You can have your iPad back when you are 16!" I spew.

Granted, they are not the most important promises I have ever made, nor the most debilitating consequences, and my conscience will deliver feelings of guilt.

Further, saying you will do something and not following through tends to agitate the Wightman lads.

Politics has become the art of the promise. Non-core promises (whatever they are) provide wriggle room, but a core promise must be delivered no matter the consequences or hurt.

Oppositions decry governments who fail to achieve timelines put in place by overconfident or desperate Ministers of the Crown.

The rationale for holding governments to account on breaking promises is to generate anger and disappointment across a community or an electorate.

Although what goes around comes around and people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, they do so in the knowledge that negative campaigning is the oldest political trick in the book. Thus, most political promises have no room for compromise.

Former AFL footballer and now media personality Luke Darcy brought the over-used word "nuance" back to our lexicon during a solid grilling of under siege Victorian Premier Dan Andrews last week when searching for a lockdown approach that would allow the health challenges and economic survival to be mitigated at the same time.

Unfortunately, nuance, the ability to see shade in the darkness, is no longer found in politics.

Decisions must be made through a lens of black or white because you will be punished at the ballot box if you stumble into shades of grey.

This is a political construct and the fault of major parties.

We then had the Prime Minister and Minister Peter Dutton, both former Immigration Ministers, calling for compassion and humanity after a daughter was denied entry to Queensland to attend her father's funeral due to, ironically, tough border controls as a result of COVID-19.

Their plea for common sense was warranted, but not without a level of hypocrisy.

There has been no better example of a debate that requires compassion than that of asylum seekers and refugees across the world.

Granted, preventing drownings at sea is worthy of praise. However, due to the explosive narrative of "leaky Asian fishing boats" those in dire need of our support have been demonised and treated as criminals to increase votes. Again, both major parties are guilty of policy as a political tactic.

I find a trophy that says, "I Stopped These" (the boats), on an office mantle difficult to digest. Additionally, gloating is unbecoming in an emotive debate. Compassion is important in any argument or decision-making process.

It does not mean you need yield to popular view, but it does mean that it is important to show sympathy to those who are aggrieved.

There is no doubt that Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was guilty of massive overreach last week.

In response to the Prime Minister calling for compassion, she told state parliament last Thursday with an election due 31 October: "I will not be bullied nor intimidated by the Prime Minister of this country who contacted me this morning and who I made very clear to the fact that it was not my decision. That I would pass the information on to the Chief Medical officer and it was the Chief Medical Officer's decision to make..."

Come off the grass!

Ms Palaszczuk was not being bullied nor intimidated, nor should she have been using such language to describe a difficult yet political discussion. To make matters worse, it was R U OK?Day.

"It's our national day of action when we remind Australians that every day is the day to ask, 'Are you OK?' if someone in your world is struggling with life's ups and downs."

Bullying is one of the most challenging enigmas in our society. It can be utterly debilitating to victims, deeply scaring, and leave them with lifelong mental health battles. It was a bad call and by Friday the Queensland Premier was in tears on radio explaining the difficulty of the situation for all involved.

Of course, we cannot, nor should we impose our values on others. Rather, all we can hope for is consistency and a little, dare I say it, "nuance" along with the courage to explain the difficulties in the lines that leave the lips of our politicians and community leaders.

The best I can do is try to keep my promises or... not over promise and underdeliver. Hopefully, the kids will understand.

Promises... promises...