It’s time to choose what kind of society we want. We have only one chance to get it right

October 26, 2026 — 4:00am

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One of the most sobering things in the week since the devastating attack on MP Helen Haines is how many of our politicians expressed that this appalling violence was “a shock but not a surprise”. They had been dreading the real-world consequences of the decline of our public debate and, with that, our democracy. Degrading our leaders has turned into a sport, and increasing personal threats mean a dangerous new world.

Last week, The Age hosted two global leaders at its Melbourne Assembly, the former mayor of New York Bill de Blasio and pioneering urban planner Carlos Moreno, who lives in Paris. Both came with experience of how anger towards society can turn into unthinkable acts of political violence.

They arrived in Melbourne as Paris was burning. Even those accustomed to the French and their love of a protest have been shocked by the scale of violence. As we were sending journalists to France to cover the riots, we were also sending journalists to Wangaratta, where the community was coming to grips with the unimaginable.

The morning after the alleged attack on Helen Haines, de Blasio challenged........

© Brisbane Times