Last week, Australian senator Pauline Hanson stood up in President Trump's gold-encrusted palace in Florida and said it was wonderful to be in America with a 're-energised, strong and patriotic leader who has the best interests of his people at heart', before attacking her own country's immigration, climate and native title policies.

In humans, delusional thinking is a mental health issue. In politics, believing in things despite clear evidence to the contrary now seems to be a prerequisite, along with the accompanying feelings of persecution and grandiosity.

Last week Julian Assange spoke publicly for the first time since his release from solitary confinement at Belmarsh Prison, saying 'I am free today after years of incarceration because I plead guilty to journalism.'

The ALP has just held its national conference, in Brisbane, but most of the progressive ideas were discussed only on the fringes, and on the streets outside, with the official debate constrained. Down in Sydney, things pushed further into crazy-land at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an Australian version of the Trump-worshipping American event.