I've never subscribed to the belief in some circles that our country has gone to hell. A prouder Australian you will not find.
Faults yup, we've all got a few. But in all the ways that really matter we are a nation that is true to its core values of freedom, democracy and looking after your mates.
You know the ones. But, regrettably, I'm afraid this week might have tipped me over the edge into thinking that maybe all those naysayers are right. Maybe we have completely gone to hell.
The Australia I know and love would never let an ally down. In fact, we are renowned for doing the complete opposite.
We have always punched well above our weight when it comes to fighting off those who wish to do us and our friends harm.
Indeed our Defence Force, though maybe small, fights with the kind of heart and courage most nations could only dream of.
So this week we learn that a political junior, essentially, has informed the Israeli ambassador that if a broader war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists then Israel cannot count on Australian support.
Now, no country wants to be dragged into any war whether we are directly impacted by it or not but support for one's allies doesn't have to take the form of boots on the ground.
For this Government to declare that it will not back an ally against an evil terrorist regime is disgraceful. Strength, power and unity are all we've got against our enemies.
They, combined, are our greatest deterrent. So while we may not be the biggest or boldest of the allied nations, we are definitely a major player.
As well, rhetoric matters. Weakness will harm us far more than anything else, and recently we've displayed that in spades.
Just look at various stories in this very edition of The Daily Telegraph. They make for alarming reading.
How, for example, did a federal senator being paid handsomely by your and my taxes get away with wearing a dress emblazoned with the words "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free"?
At the very best, that divisive slogan is a clear example of anti-Israel hate speech and at the very worse an incitement of terrorism. It is a call for the destruction of a free and democratic state.
Furthermore, how were protesters able to avoid security and climb onto Parliament House to display the same violent slogan, and others, from the home of Australian democracy?
Most distressing of all, how did they manage to also write this offensive trope onto the most sacred of places: Our war memorials? How are we even having this conversation? As Senator James Paterson warns: "It is alarming that the Government is again abandoning our friend and ally Israel and refusing to support them if they are attacked by the listed terrorist organisation Hezbollah. This should be an easy choice for Australia. We should be standing with a liberal democracy against a terrorist organisation.
"But Anthony Albanese's weakness and Labor's internal division on Israel is preventing them from standing up for our national interest."
I am losing hope. I really am.
How can these people not understand? Terrorism is the complete opposite of everything we are meant to stand for, but it feels like everywhere I look these days there are more Australians doing its bidding.
If you truly care about innocent Palestinians and every single person should then condemn Hamas.
Condemn terrorism. Call for the release of hostages. Use your voices and your freedom and your privilege to help end this horrific war against an enemy that hates life as much as we value it.
Enough. Stop emboldening them. Stop being their mouthpiece.
Stop allowing them to continue to cause every single death we have seen in the Middle East since October 7.
The Australia I know and love is better than this.
And those who share our values deserve better than this.
Our children and our allies deserve better than this, and all those in the Middle East deserve a negotiated, lawful peace which will only come when we defeat evil.
When we are all, collectively, better than this.
Join me this afternoon at 5pm for Erin on Sky News Australia.
My special guests are Chris Miller, the former US Secretary of Defence under President Donald Trump; former UK prime minister Boris Johnson's campaign manager Lord Jonathan Marland, to provide coverage and insights into the British election; and Luai Ahmed, the Arab Muslim Israeli who could have become a Houthi terrorist but who instead chose peace. Maybe there is some hope for humanity after all.
The Australia I love would never let an ally down. In fact, we are renowned for doing the opposite
