The people of Australia know, as a fact, that we have an open, competitive economy; that our prosperity depends on selling stuff to other countries. First and foremost, we are a trading nation. We even have a grudging acceptance that we benefit from importing cheap stuff from other countries. In America, the situation is different and it has enabled an…

Joe Hockey is a friend of mine and like many of us he had a dual personality. When parliament was sitting it was on for young and old! When we were in the House we were combatants, but then we’d meet on the touch football field where we played together in the Parliamentary World Cup in 2003. Sometimes I liken…