I believe that John Howard and his government have shown such impropriety, through their handling of "Children Overboard" and the war against Iraq, to make their return to office untenable. I believe that their standard of global citizenship has been not just bad, but poisonous. On the domestic front, I believe that the main issues can be subdivided into two categories:

Domestic issues:

1. Sustainable socio-economic management
2. Sense of national identity

Sustainable socio-economic management

Sound economic management is not just fiscal policy. It's not about building huge unspent surpluses. It's not about selling public assets to retire debt, or to increase the wealth of private enterpreneurs.

It's about generating an economy which gives fair opportunity to everyone, dignified assistance to those who can't help themselves, and to those who need help to attain those opportunities.

It's about creating a level playing field for all Australians - and that includes intensive help for the disadvantaged, especially our indigenous fraternity.

It's about welcoming foreigners to sincerely help in our growth and share our prosperity.

It's about considering life in 2020, in 2050, in 2100, when managing our economy, our society and our environment. And remembering that Homo sapiens is not the only life form that matters on this planet.

Sense of national identity

We shouldn't claim that Australia is the "best place on Earth" - that's an obscene and arrogant concept - but we should be able to claim that Australia is "a great place for all of us to live".

We should embrace multicultural diversity.

We should acknowledge the history and ownership - however undocumented - of this continent over the past tens of thousands of years.

We should apologise to our indigenous fraternity for all the wrongs done to them since the European invasion in 1788. We should compensate them for the damage done over the past two centuries or so, not with cash but with the return of land, and with strategies of affirmative action and self-determination.

We should have an Australian head of state, not one who resides in a north-west European island. Whether our head of state is called a president and whether our nation is classed as a republic are semantic issues. Whether our head of state is elected by the people or by parliament is something we have to thrash out once and for all - and soon.

We should get a flag that is distinctly Australian, not one where foreigners have to stop and think "err, is that Australia or New Zealand"?

We should not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexuality or disability.

We should respect the separation of religion and the state, and we should respect the diversity of bona fide religious beliefs.

We should celebrate the arts and the sciences as much as we celebrate sport.

And we should preserve this continent's extraordinary biodiversity.