Having just received our electricity bill, we have a credit of $123, as we have regular fortnightly payments deducted from our account, which obviously covers our usage, plus the multitude of charges Origin adds on.

As well as having a credit, our kilowatt hours decreased by 0.93 (or 9.76 per cent) over the past year, our gas emissions decreased by 0.1 tonne and our consumption is the lowest compared to other households in our area.

Despite this, our supplier has indicated our fortnightly payments will increase.

Are we concerned?

No way, because Malcolm and Lucy have promised many times they will take on the energy companies and charges will decrease.

I am still trying to come to grips with the astonishing event of last week which had a very short life in the media. Indeed, I didn’t see its full implications spelled out anywhere.

Donald Trump showed us that, in one aspect at least, he has a more just, compassionate sense of what is right than our own elected members of parliament.

America agreed to take 52 people who legally sought asylum in Australia and who instead found themselves incarcerated on Manus Island and in Nauru where they either experienced or witnessed hardship and abuse sponsored and fully paid for by our taxes because this is the only creative way our elected representatives can find to ‘stop the boats’.

The government (both the Coalition and Labor) tried to say it was a great achievement and it was for the 52.

However, there are still at least 1700 people on one of the two islands who are being punished, even though they have not broken any laws and done nothing wrong.

The government, in my opinion, has nothing to be proud of.

At best, the members can simply be relieved that the Donald has agreed to try and partly bail them out of a situation which UNHCR, Amnesty International and many other groups and countries around the world regard as unjust, cruel and inhumane.

To complete the farce, Minister Dutton was unable to decide whether or not it was safe to return a Rohingya refugee to Myanmar when the whole world can see every hour of every day on the news what is happening there.

While on an early morning bicycle ride last February, I had the unfortunate luck of colliding with a concrete block which had been left discarded on the side of the road.

The accident resulted in my falling heavily to the ground, instigating initial unconsciousness and numerous injuries.

Had I not been wearing an approved helmet, consensus of medical opinion was that probably, the outcome could well have proven fatal. Please, do not "dumb down" laws regarding the wearing of bicycle helmets. Worn correctly, they do save lives.

It does seem a tad ironic that people who don't want to be seen wearing bike helmets are happy to wear Lycra. Perhaps they don't own mirrors.