Howard and president who?

Perhaps it's time for the Aussie Prime Minister to get serious about getting on with the Republic of Australia, so that the Australian people can have the opportunity to see which President takes precedence, and so that at times a President could explain a little more eloquently than a Prime Minister, the feelings Australians express on issues that concern Earth, or Bumi as it is in Bahasa Indonesia.

To see the eloquent Gareth Evans in Davos was a joy, which led me to the question, would potential President Keating even want the position? President Evans?

So much we see in the world today requires the deft touch of a peacemaker, someone whose core being is rooted in the earth of the nation they represent and the notion that all of that earth and its water too, form all of our planet. Thank God Indonesia has a President.

I just wish my old country would take the Thomas Jefferson model a little more to heart.

GREG WARNER, Jakarta