Federal Parliament is back next week. I know a lot of people were surprised that the Coalition was returned to government, and my many left-leaning friends were disappointed. I take a slightly different view: I'm disappointed that we have a majority government at all!

If the choice were between Labor or the Coalition, I'd rather have seen Labor in government. But even better than that would have been a minority government where neither party controls the House of Representatives. Then politics would have to be negotiated on the floor of parliament — in public — instead of decided in the one-sided groupthink of a party room. I think that would do more to improve our government than either side winning total power.