My family has an elaborate faux Christmas tree.
It has not always been that way.
Once upon a time, a popular department store plastic and wire excuse of a tree that adorned our sunroom with a unique lean that had to be leveled with the assistance of a folded sheet of A4 was all we had for Christmas.
There was not enough tinsel across Northern Tasmania to hide its inadequacy.
The tree signified Christmas and that meant so much, but it was half-baked ornamentation at best.
Read MoreSuper is complex, but important and most would agree essential to support the life of which we have become accustomed.
Superannuation funds invest the savings on our behalf, growing the pool in good times whilst suffering any downtown in the market when economic times are not so good.
It was the Australian Council of Trade Unions working with the federal Labor government who delivered the super reforms with the legacy of their decision making continuing to support workers and their families for generations.
Initially, superannuation was also employed to compensate for wage growth with the Hawke government reaching an agreement with the ACTU known as the "accord".
Read MoreA celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be traced back to the 1920's and 30's when the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association and the Australian Aborigines League began raising awareness and promoting rights.
Gradually, the notion of celebration has grown with Torres Strait Islanders added to the NADOC acronym in 1991 to recognise their contribution as original owners.
Like reconciliation, acceptance of NAIDOC Week has been a slow process
Read MoreBeing the public face of leadership during a significant and ongoing crisis is relentless. Day after day of press conferences answering, or not answering, questions and attempting to share information in an unpredictable environment is tough work.
Due to the tragedy of coronavirus deaths and the loss of businesses and livelihoods, there will be also be a mental health impact across the community.
Mental health is important to all of us. Staying strong during times of challenge or crisis or failure or grief or loss is difficult for the most durable minds. Mental health should not be weaponised,nor hidden or forbidden from conversation.
Read MoreAnd since the end of World War II parents and guardians have been hyperventilating about ideas and preparation of costumes for primary school book parades with peak stress hitting at around 7pm the evening before.
What have you organised? What time is the parade? Who are your friends going as? You do understand the theme? We have left it too late ...
The questions and frustrated statements and guilt and panic continue creating all manner of hullabaloo.
Read MoreThis is nothing at all against Redback (South Australian) primary producers, but it is their Shiraz we crave, not their spuds.
The campaign slogans roll as quickly as melted butter off freshly boiled pink eyes: Save our Spuds; As Tassie as Spuds; Support our Spud Farmers; For Spuds' Sake; Potatoes before Politics; Proud as Potatoes; Give Stink eyes over Pink Eyes.
Read MoreAs we waited for Catherine Freeman to adorn our screens last Sunday evening in an ABC documentary celebrating her triumph at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, I took a screenshot of a tweet from local contributor @sallyjgill who posted at 1.45pm.
Simply put Ms Gill shared a photo of road signs 15 kilometres from yingina / Great Lake festooned with red spray paint covering the dual name with a racist tag penned by a bogan showcasing all the traits that should make us cringe.
Read MoreWe 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.
Read MoreTwenty-twenty is akin to wartime where we ask leaders to bring us together, to help them fight the good fight. From bushfires at the start of the year to a health pandemic and subsequent global recession, it is difficult to recall a time where references to British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, have been more prevalent. But it makes sense.
In a crisis we need a familiar face to reassure us that everything will be ok. To look us in the eye and, with compassion, tell us what we don’t want to hear.
Read MoreIt must be more than 30 years since I was a customer on Launceston's Cataract Gorge Scenic Chairlift. In fact, we simply referred to the attraction as the Basin chairlift in the late 1980s.
On that occasion my brother and I witnessed a young reveller, who would perhaps now feature on the Facebook page Chit Chat Launceston, attempting to impress his girlfriend by leaping form the chair into the tree rhododendrons close to the arrival point on the Trevallyn side.
The consequence of this stunt was violently swinging chairs for those who followed with a quick exit required to regain composure once the platform was clear.
Read MoreHow much do you know about Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War?
If I asked you a similar question about the World Wars including the Gallipoli Campaign, the Western Front, the Kokoda Track, and Hellfire Pass, would you be able to answer in more detail? Could you tell me about posthumous Victoria Cross Winner, forever 18-year-old Tasmanian Ordinary Seaman Edward "Teddy" Sheehan VC who, wounded and on the brink of death, strapped himself to an Oerlikon cannon on the sinking HMAS Armidaleto protect his mates.
My hypothesis is - you could.
Read MoreAustralia has an uncomfortable past. It is simple to acknowledge but difficult to repair.
I did not hear nor recognise blatant racism until 16 years of age. I was left feeling shocked and my father demanded to know who made the offensive comment. He understood the impact of intolerance, not racism.
In viewing the harrowing footage that led to the rise of the Black Lives Matter protests, and the unacceptable looting and rioting, it is unsurprising that the issues have also found a home in our country.
Read MorePM Ardern and PM Morrison have, at best, had their differences which appear to be diluting as they tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perhaps we just need encourage Mr Morrison and Ms Ardern to take on another challenge, another crisis where they can work together: coaching Carlton...
Read MoreThe 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, said in his second annual message to Congress on December 1, 1862: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country".
Read MoreIt is important to reassure substitute teachers that you are not going to harm your children's life chances. This crisis is like nothing most of us have ever seen. It has interrupted every aspect of our being with many critically ill and thousands of people dying across the world. Therefore, simply spending time with your children, whenever you can, is non-negotiable.
Read MoreThe chairs were assembled long before the meeting was scheduled to begin. The Chairperson, the son of a dour no-nonsense Scotsman and a gentle English lady, sat waiting for other members to arrive. It was a Sunday in March and he felt unaccustomed being in a school setting even though he astutely guides the Scotch Oakburn College Board.
Read MoreSchools are complex.
The very nature of providing education to young people who don’t always make great decisions builds in a layer of complexity that can’t simply be explained.
Read MoreI applaud the Tasmanian Government and other states and territories who are working towards changing the law, ensuring that Catholic priests are considered mandatory reporters. After all, it is the one issue where Church and State should not be separate.
Read MoreThe conviction of Cardinal George Pell and the lifting of suppression orders, the Lawyer X scandal destroying the credibility of the criminal justice system in Victoria, and bushfires raging across another state, has made explanations to children who consume news with enthusiasm challenging.
Read MoreWe will never stop evil, yet we must use our spheres of influence to try and make a difference. We must call out behaviour that we know is wrong. We must encourage young people to speak out. And we must encourage and recognise kindness.
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