Choices have consequences. It’s a simple message that sensible parents share with their children and that everyone will eventually learn for themselves.

In a sign of emotional immaturity, where a poor choice is made, some will seek to deflect blame onto others. They will rationalise and justify whatever they can to avoid responsibility themselves.

Last weekend I attended a dinner to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). It was a tremendous event befitting of this amazing organisation which has done so much for so many Australians.

The RFDS was started by the Very Reverend John Flynn, OBE, DD. As a Presbyterian Minister, he initiated the Australian Inland Mission to minister to the spiritual, social and medical needs of those in the Outback.

Our children are unwitting participants in a dangerous social experiment. Their minds and their identity are part of an indoctrination program that threatens the very foundational values of our society.

It is happening in our schools, our councils, our State and Federal governments and every parent should be worried - very worried.

There are five by-elections scheduled in coming weeks. Four of these are the result of the ongoing parliamentary citizenship fiasco and Bill Shorten’s ‘rolled gold’ guarantee that all Labor MPs were constitutionally valid.

They weren’t - which only demonstrates Shorten’s Grand Canyon-esque credibility gulf.

Few people seem to like or trust Shorten, which gives hope to the Coalition despite deep misgivings about their own leader. I suspect this round of by-elections may prove politically fatal for one or the other.

Federal budgets are always interesting because they have the potential to impact so many lives. They also mark the start of the ‘battle of ideas’ that will carry duelling political parties forward for the next twelve months.

This year’s budget was notable for the change in government rhetoric and its obvious focus on the forthcoming election. Whether believable or not, it is refreshing to hear talk of lower and flatter personal taxes, smaller government, encouragement for pensioners and improvement in aged care.

The government announced their latest experiment on your children’s brains this week. Labelled Gonski 2.0 it is a further abandonment of common sense education in favour of unproven concepts that will cost a fortune to achieve very little.

You may recall that the government and a bamboozled crossbench threw $23 billion of borrowed money into education with no idea how it was going to be applied, no stated educational outcomes or financial accountability.

“That will all come later” the Minister told the few of us that expressed concerns. Now we know - and it has only confirmed the wisdom of voting against giving any government an ideological blank cheque.

Here are some inconvenient truths.

It can be hard to put into words what ANZAC Day means to so many of us.

ANZAC Day is perhaps the most revered of all our national occasions. It commemorates all our military personnel whilst reminding the rest of us of the sacrifice they are prepared to make in our service. It reminds us all that families suffer unimaginable losses stoically and that individuals endure frightful conditions without rancour.

As someone who has become increasingly disinterested in professional sports in recent years, I was surprised by my level of interest in the Commonwealth Games. However, the spectacle of the opening and closing ceremonies wasn’t the drawcard; I was captured by the outstanding performances of the athletes.

It’s easy to play the patriotic card and cheer when our national team-members do well, but the contests proved worthy no matter what the result.

After a wonderful Easter break, I wish I had better news for you. Unfortunately it is back to the dangerous reality of creeping socialism.

Last week we saw Labor’s further financial assault on self-funded retirees and anyone else who invests to get ahead. Radical reform of capital gains, franking credits and borrowing cost deductions are just the start of engorging government at your expense.

There are so many events of note occurring in the world, one scarcely knows where to start.

Donald Trump, Russian spies, a Chinese dictator, cricket cheats, football, South African farmers, the stock market…there are dozens of important topics I’d love to cover in this blog but I’ll be exploring some of those in the podcast. If you haven’t yet tuned in, you can listen at my website or subscribe through iTunes.