Homes destroyed near Perth as we get an early start to a potentially disastrous fire season fueled by record temperatures.

A relatively minor cyclone in terms of power and size dumps record flood rains in north Queensland.

And over recent days, storms and a tornado smash Queensland’s scenic rim and other large swathes of south-east Queensland, the likes of which long-term locals have never seen before.

All this means I’m left to end 2023 with a simple question I’ve posed many times over recent years and I’m sure you BUGers out there have too.

How on this cooking, storming, pissed-off earth of ours did Australia manage to end up with a prime minister who is as fucking stupid as he looked and acted.

Don Gordon-Brown