A time of whingeing
Is Australia the happiest country in the world? The OECD may think so, but the electorate is among the gloomiest in the world at the moment with the prospect of Tony Abbott being elected prime minister in September. Optimism was there during the Whitlam years and to a lesser extent, during Rudd’s short reign, but politics in Australia is now depressing and full of negativity. Video Sharon Shostak


For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling.