So we know Albo can be a hipster. He chugged a beer at a Gang of Youths concert and is planning a so-hot-right-now “small wedding”. But he still caught me off guard when, spruiking the government’s $8 million promise for a health facility in Tassie, he called it a “centre for wellbeing”.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. His government has form: the 2022 federal budget included a section on wellbeing. Undeterred by being sledged as a “spiritual leader”, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it would explore “international best practice” in wellbeing.

Therapy and exercise are valuable. But the commodification of wellness is about offering salvation through performative consumption.Credit: Getty Images

Look, I love being well as much as the next midlife matron in the gym class with a secret stash of Valium for relaxation. But wellbeing veers dangerously close to something ubiquitous that I still don’t get: Wellness.

Bloody wellness.

When I feel flat, I........

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