From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli – 8 May

A plea to all politicians: Please, will you stop with the b****** and the scaremongering, and tell us, in precise terms, what your party proposes for the country? It is important!

THEY are incorrigible! You ask a politician what they had for breakfast, and they tell you about the chicken sandwich they plan to have for lunch. The platitudinous gobbledegook is endless, and galling. For the average punter, wanting to cast their vote with a degree certainty, it is impossible to make a decision.

If only they would stop telling us what is wrong with the opposition’s election manifesto, and tell us a little more about their own policies, and the consequences of their implementation. You would need to be half-witted to cast a vote based on, or influenced by, their jaundiced views of each other’s proposals. It is time they stopped treating us as if were fools; intellectually concussed imbeciles.

The hubris of the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, is infinite. His patently outrageous claims would seem to know no bounds. Again, he is involved in a controversy based on his mischievous interpretation and extrapolation of an opposition proposal. In a flagrantly misleading analysis, he conflated, outrageously, two figures to arrive at a totally erroneous conclusion and then began pedalling the unmitigated nonsense as a truth. His truth!  When asked by journalists to explain his deduction, he ignored the question and went into a diatribe of tedious party rhetoric. This is not the first time Mr Taylor has been involved in such a controversy. He has something of a propensity for tinkering with veritas.

Be cautious. Do not take politicians on face value when they are criticising the opposition. They have a vested interest. By definition, their view is negative.

There should be a degree of sympathy for Katherine Deves, the captain’s-choice, Warringah Coalition aspirant in the forthcoming election.

However, as a consequence of previous public utterances, Ms Deves has been subjected to both serious death and rape threats. While the behaviour of the cowardly culprits is abhorrent by any civilised standard, and Ms Deves is entitled to her opinions, it proves, yet again, one needs to exercise circumspection when commenting on highly contentious issues.

Also, social media means careless utterances have the potential to surface and bite you on the bum!  Sadly, no explanation will erase the statements.

Politicians of all persuasions would be well advised to heed the words of Omar Khayyám, “The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

The greatest playwrights – living and dead – have taught me: language has a life of its own. Sometimes you need to pause, consider, and then say it differently.

Lisa McCune is an actress of some standing!

She has an enviable cannon of theatre work, including Mrs Anna in The King and I, and Ensign Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. Now she is at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, together with Peter Carroll, Helen Dallimore, Grant Piro and Peter Kowitz, in a production of Girl from the North Country.

One of the most critically acclaimed musicals of the 21st century, with music and lyrics by legendary Bob Dylan, it’s playing from 29 April for a strictly limited season.

Victorian Dining and Entertainment Program allows you to claim back 25 per cent of your purchase up to $125 if you spend $40, or more.

Roland can be contacted via [email protected].