“The evil that men do lives after them;

Then good is oft interred with their bones.”

Never did Mark Antony’s famous speech ring less true than in the long farewell to Gough Whitlam that dominated the week.

To the parade of eulogists the great man could do no wrong. And, of course, the reforms he initiated were desperately needed after 23 years of conservative rule. They changed the face of Australia for the better.

However, he was an appalling manager. His ministry was a shambles. Indeed, they so trashed “brand Labor” that it took a decade of steady Hawke-Keating governance to repair, only to see it torn down once again by Whitlam’s devoted disciple, Kevin Rudd.

And now look what we’re stuck with.

Indeed, the strongest asset of our own Katy Gallagher/Andrew Barr government is their businesslike, managerial approach. And that’s exactly what they’re endangering with the light rail project.

THE polls this week provided an interesting insight into the attitudes of the broad Australian community. On the Government side PM Tony Abbott would be quite relaxed about his awful 20 per cent popularity. His rivals, Julie Bishop (also 20) and Malcolm Turnbull (35), are anathema to the party room. Joe Hockey is history at 8 per cent, but the most telling result was the 3 per cent for snarling Scott Morrison.

Australians do have a heart after all. But former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope should tread very carefully in promoting the asylum seeker cause in Labor’s ranks. This is one for the people to lead and pollies to follow.

THE other big news was the new climate change report that toughened its warnings that inaction would cause food shortages, major flooding and mass extinctions.

Locally, the emergency services said more than 30,000 homes were at “heightened risk” from bushfires this season alone. But according to our Defence boffins, many of whom I have interviewed for a forthcoming book, the really troubling prospect is a climate refugee crisis that would overwhelm national borders. Combined with the growing jihadist threat, global warming becomes a top-order issue.

Greg Hunt’s laughable “Direct Action” just doesn’t cut it.

IT now looks like many of us will be around to feel its effects. This week’s news that most Canberra men will join their womenfolk in living to at least 80 means we join Japan, Switzerland and Iceland in the longevity stakes. And in those cold holes it would seem much longer anyway.

IF the Greens’ Shane Rattenbury – and a cross-party committee – get their way, the inevitable pains of old age will become much more bearable. Their recommendation to legalise medical cannabis is on the agenda for next year. Let’s hope they extend it to heroin for the final weeks of palliative care.

DESPITE our best efforts and plenty of public protest, we seem to have failed to retain the local Friday “7.30” show on ABC. “We think we’re for the high jump,” a staffer told us this week. Damn shame.

On the positive side, it’s been a delight to watch the development of Aunty’s Siobhan Heanue from cadet to arts reporter and now stand-in newsreader. That young lady is going places.

robert@robertmacklin.com