All beaten, hands-down, and by people power.

Australia remains the Land of the Fair Go.

I know Tony blames a febrile media for his downfall, but the media can only report on happenings, not make them happen.

And his friends own at least half that media, and by far the loudest voices in that media were powerless to help him.

And so Malcolm’s honeymoon period begins.

Traditionally, a new leader enjoys a bounce in the polls, and he is, but it seems strangely weak. I sense people power again.

“We want to like you,” they murmur, “but you have to give us good reason.”

“We understand you are in a difficult position,” they purr, “caught between knowing what’s right and knowing what you can sell to the party room, conflicted as it is between Liberals and the ultra-conservative rump.

“But be very aware, time is short.

“The far-right Abbott experiment has lost us much time and direction on a raft of issues such as same-sex marriage, climate change and renewable energy, Gonski education reforms, science, asylum seekers, business and consumer confidence, jobs and productivity, just to name a few.

“We want to like you, or we wouldn’t have begged you to take over.

“And you sure took your time getting back to us.

“Now, have we mentioned the probation period?

“No pressure, but let’s see what you can achieve on all those fronts, over the next 100 days.

“Best of luck.”

Terry McGee

Malua Bay