Happy Christmas

Nick Bryant | 09:18 GMT, Tuesday, 23 December 2008

John Howard may have power-walked off into history, but he clearly manages still to arouse great passions. Thanks for your typically fiesty comments. metalLuc's 'the great divider' offers the neatest of headlines and summations.

They'll be one final blog before the end of the year, but I just wanted to wish you all a very happy Christmas and to thank you for your continued interest.

This blog certainly doesn't get anywhere near the most comments - should I deploy the fashionable per capita argument here? (I think not) - but I reckon we get some of the most considered, well-informed and robust.

So whether you find yourself above or below the equator, whether the white in 'white Christmas' refers to the sand or the snow, have a fabulous festive season.

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1. At 12:25pm on 23 Dec 2008, ellis-turrell wrote:
Thanks, Nick, for your continued coverage of events in Australia!

Merry Christmas to you.

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2. At 1:09pm on 23 Dec 2008, unounos wrote:
New Zealand not good enough for you Nick? Expand to cover both countries dude.

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3. At 3:44pm on 23 Dec 2008, Dennis_Junior wrote:
Thanks Nick:
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years to everyone at the BBC, your family, the moderators and the contributors to the blog...

To your remarks, about weather and the holidays: it is going to be storming, in the United States East Coast

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4. At 5:57pm on 23 Dec 2008, sinnamonbound wrote:
Hi Nick
I have immensely enjoyed reading your blog's over the last year or so, particularly in preparation for my move (with my Aussie Wife) to Oz in Feb 2009. Some of your readers have been kind, others not, but at least you have written a blog which engenders emotions and argument with an Aussie edge!. Hope all goes well in the New Year and I look forward to continuing to read your blog as an Expat from Oz in 2009.

Best wishes for Chrismas and a happy New Year.....

"Sinnamonbound" ;o)

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5. At 6:55pm on 23 Dec 2008, compo808 wrote:
Hi Nick, I started to read your blog just after having had a wonderful holiday down under. It has helped keep me both interested and informed with what happens over there. May I wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year with many more informative blogs.

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6. At 9:26pm on 23 Dec 2008, NomadsUsR wrote:
And to you and yours Nick....time to reflect on the year that was and look forward to the year that will be.

Now to just finish this year off with a resounding whalloping of those pesky SAs and all will be rosy.

Goddammit they deserved their win in the first test and good on em.

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7. At 10:30pm on 23 Dec 2008, mrcrapulent wrote:
I thought the 'white' in white christmas was expressing a desire for racial purity over the fesive season...woops, how embarrassing! Not such an evil song after all.

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8. At 10:38pm on 23 Dec 2008, wollemi wrote:
Merry Christmas, Nick, and to all the contributors

I haven't always agreed with your viewpoints but the blogs have been provocative and interesting. Look forward to more in the New Year
If you're here for an Aussie Christmas, enjoy the cricket and remember to slip slop slap

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9. At 02:15am on 24 Dec 2008, paulcrossleyiii wrote:
Bonza Chrimbo Nick. Keep 'em honest in 09.
Maybe the first blog could be on the quandry that England Cricket fans find themselves in when having to choose between SA and Aus?

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10. At 10:04pm on 24 Dec 2008, ianeholmes wrote:
Hope you and your beautiful Aussie wife enjoy a bonza Aussie Christmas. Look forward to reading your interesting material in 2009

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11. At 11:36am on 25 Dec 2008, StickJackal wrote:
Yeah second the comment about covering New Zealand. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than their commodity rich larger redneck neighbour.

They are 50 years ahead of Australia in race relations and have incorporated their indigenous people into the nation building project in a way that Australia simply does not dare. Also have one of the world's most audacious social policies in terms of gay rights, legalising prostitution, and environmental protection.

Their Parliament has recently had such fascinating characters as a rastafarian wearing hemp suits, a transgendered MP representing a conservative rural electorates, and just a few years ago they had the top five constitutional offices held by females, probably the first time in human history. We want to hear more Nick! Want to see the future of a postmodern western society and those two shaky isles to your south east will be pointing the way.

Why would you want to focus on the Texas of the south seas rather than the Netherlands?

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12. At 11:52am on 25 Dec 2008, possumMurgatroyd wrote:
Merry Xmas Nick, It's a great blog, I look forward to more in the new year. Happy New Year Nick and bloggers.

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13. At 00:19am on 28 Dec 2008, Polynya wrote:
Nick,

Many thanks for your postings during the year. I am one of the 5% of Australians who are expats, and enjoy reading your perspectives, and to some extent see them as 'letters from home'.

Your post on Howard encouraged me to reflect on Australia over the last decade. I lived through about eight of the Howard years in Australia. I think Howard and Costello will be particularly remembered for their sound economic management. Given the way the world economy has regressed in the last year, and looks set to continue downward for some time to come, I believe Howard and Costello will be most remembered for setting up the best possible cushion against the blow of the global downturn that started in 2007/08.

There was one particular policy failure of the Howard years that upset me the most: Howard indulged in politically-driven middle class welfare instead of investing the money in something with a better chance of long-term returns: Science and technology. The Liberals set Australia back perhaps ten years by neglecting science and engineering. I know, because I am a scientist who works and lives in the USA but was trained in Australia. As a Ph.D. student in Australia I attended several small gatherings with government ministers or parlimentary secretaries where they announced funding for a new super computer, equipment or research center. The only problem was, the amounts they were investing were being eclipsed by almost every other middle-power western nation. An understanding of the fundamental need for investment in the nation's technical capabilities and associated human capital is rarely a partisan issue, for example, in the USA. But, unfortunately for Australia, it seemed to be an area that the Liberals consistently neglected or indulged in micro-managing that stifled creativity.

Overall, I think Howard will be remembered as someone who had the guts to stand up to sections of society who only had their own interests at heart. He took time to consider his stances, and then stuck by them. When one looks at the world today, we could have done a lot worse than Howard for a leader. I think Howard, however, did not have the ability to dream and have a 'vision' for our nation, and, indeed he disliked that word. And that, I think, was his downfall.

Happy New Year.

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14. At 11:10am on 28 Dec 2008, shamimq2000 wrote:
HAPPY New YEAR 2009
Blessings for all human beings .

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15. At 7:15pm on 04 Jan 2009, zalekbloom
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