The substance of the summit and distraction of the footy finals

I have been in Sydney this week, and few people were discussing the goal review system after Tom Lynch was denied a goal in the last quarter of Richmond’s narrow loss to Brisbane.

I missed the game because I was out to dinner somewhere at a place called Barangaroo, but The Age said it was “fast, it was frenetic, it involved not a little bit of luck, and it featured an incredible 17 lead changes”.

It is good to be home. The AFL finals is a time in Melbourne where the world seems to shrink.

The Tigers’ Tom Lynch takes a mark during the fast and frenetic elimination final between Richmond and Brisbane.Credit:Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

There have been other things on, of course.

The two-day national jobs summit was important and hopeful. It was a relief for the country to discuss policy in an open way that acknowledged our challenges and how complicated they are. I especially valued the contributions of people who set out the larger picture of why those challenges are connected.

Economics columnist Ross Gittins wrote about Professor Ross Garnaut’s speech. “We have to stop kidding ourselves about the budget,” Garnaut said. “In the face of these immense budget challenges, total federal and state taxation revenue as a share of gross domestic product is 5.7 percentage points lower than the developed-country average”. He’s arguing for tax increases, never popular, but he’s thinking about the reality of much-needed funding for things such as health and childcare.

He was also, as Gittins put it, inspirational about what Australia can do to take advantage of the opportunities we have. While the nation emits only about 1 per cent of all greenhouse gases, Garnaut said we could equip the world to cut a further 7 per cent of all global emissions, creating an economic boom for ourselves in the process.

I learned a lot from the opening address of Danielle Wood, the chief executive of the Grattan Institute. Senior economics correspondent Shane Wright referenced her speech, which he wrote “was aimed at the business, political and union class that has let down the country for too long”. You can read Wood’s full address here.

Wood sought an agreement to make full employment “our economic lodestar” to deliver better economic conditions for all Australians. To do that, she argued, we need to prioritise pro-growth investment and employing and training Australian workers, including those often left out such as young people in their first job, those with disabilities and older workers.

“And it will require a substantial upgrade of the policy scaffolding from government … the climate policy, digital policy, industrial relations and human capital-boosting policies – to provide a positive ecosystem for this investment.”

If the summit contained the substance of the week, the beginning of the footy finals was the week’s distraction. Come the finals, Melbourne becomes the centre of its own world, and it is, in my view, a time when we can revel without embarrassment in our parochialism.

We’re a big city that comes together for the finals – yes, I know not everyone participates. There’s a buzz around town, everyone talks about it – men and women, old-timers and the young. Melbourne is special for many reasons, none more so than the football.

(I will make no comment about the Dustin Martin “story” except to say we hope, one day, there will be no such incidents. I’ll leave the commentary to Caroline Wilson, who will be writing about it tomorrow.)

I have been invited to the Grand Final on September 24, and it will be the first time I have attended in person (for years, I worked on Grand Final day). St Kilda won’t be running out there, but that hardly matters because the privilege of experiencing such an atmosphere will be thrilling.

It is also a special year because it’s the first time since 2019 that the MCG has hosted a Grand Final. At The Age, we often call on associate editor Greg Baum to encapsulate the moments around football, and we asked him to do so again this year.

“If you think watching grass grow is boring, know this,” wrote Greg, “between the home-and-away AFL season and the finals, the MCG switches the mowing pattern of its turf from checkerboard to diamond.” Love is in the details, Greg.

“At risk of – in fact, in the full certainty of – offending footy brethren in other states, this weekend the AFL finals are coming home. More than 170,000 are expected to pass through the turnstiles in 24 hours. Rightly or wrongly, the pandemic will never have felt more at bay.”

“This much is certain: if you’re on the MCG in September, you know you’re alive.”

Hyperbolic? Not at all. In Melbourne in September, if anything it’s an understatement.

If too much is not enough, do follow our live blogs during the finals, including player ratings from our experts. Review the round with Caroline Wilson, Jake Niall and Michael Gleeson with the Real Footy podcast each Monday. Follow our experts’ tips and Jake will give his video tips on every final. And sign up to receive our Real Footy newsletter here. We’ll pore over the news big and small.

As my plane landed in Melbourne this afternoon, the flight attendant told us to check for personal items, wear a mask into the terminal and informed us that our baggage could be found on carousel number four. “And I just want to say ‘Go Dees’,” she said. “Apologies to all the Swan fan passengers.”

Welcome to Melbourne.

Gay Alcorn sends a newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive her Note from the Editor.

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