A bombastic blowhard posing threats to parts of our nation has sucked up all the public attention and turned the timing of the federal election on its head. A cyclone also menaced the east coast of Australia. While Alfred didn’t give the Earth the bump it desperately needs in the climate polls, it has coincided with a fillip – to the prime minister with his best approval ratings since the defeat of the voice to parliament referendum in October 2023. Cyclone Donald continues his own whirlwind of destruction of what was until recently a global democratic consensus led by the