It appears from the polls that Western democracies are lurching to the populist right. Voters across Australia, US and the UK are increasingly dissatisfied with major party duopolies – or as many call them, the ‘uniparty’.

The Australian Labor Party's 50th Annual Conference, at the Adelaide Convention Centre, was a tightly stage-managed affair.

Senate Estimates descended into 'Yes Minister' territory last week when the vexed subject of AUKUS came up, following the revelation from deputy PM and defence minister Richard Marles that Australia's best case scenario was now that we would receive three second-hand submarines from the USA during the transition stage of this very expensive project, possibly between 2032 and 2038.