PODCAST: The Hoot on housing wedges, a hazelnut debacle and random booze tests

I totally agree that it may be difficult sometimes, but we can and should find ways to balance protecting the environment with both commercial and residential development. And that includes agricultural development, with this Ferroro-Rocher debacle one of the latest examples of getting it wrong.

It’s been a huge waste of limited resources, including taxpayer dollars. A reminder that bigger is not always better, and that both governments and the agricultural sector need to think realistically, sensibly, and strategically about what can and should be sustainably grown and raised.

Don’t be drunk at work. That should be a fairly sensible point that the vast majority of Australians can agree on. Quite apart from all the politics, Parliament House is also a workplace. I’ve worked for numerous companies, large and small, in multiple states and countries over more than 3 decades, and I’ve never taken a drug or alcohol test to get or keep a job. But I’ve always agreed to abide by a code of conduct that included my behaviour in the workplace, at after-hours work-related functions, and at any other times and places when it might reasonably be assumed I was representing my employer.

It’s sad that there is apparently a “hey, we all end up drunk in the gutter sometimes” constituency who find Barnaby’s recent behaviour endearing and relatable. They can have him. And hopefully all of them will get the help they so obviously need.