The heat is on...

In 1993, when tickets were somewhat affordable for the citizenry, I attended the Men’s Singles final at the Australian Open between Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg. Players and spectators took to Centre Court on a day when the temperature soared to 43 degrees in the shade. Today, the tournament’s heat policy would have seen the final played under a closed roof.  Even before Tik Tok, American broadcasters showed images of eggs being fried on the baking court. It was no surprise that Courier, who grew up in the sultry heat of Florida, beat Edberg from the cooler climate of Sweden, who desperately sought shade at the end of every game.

In 2002, another Floridian, Jennifer Capriati, defeated a rival from cooler climes, Switzerland’s Martina Hingis, to retain her Australian Open title. It was another feverishly hot day. I remember being startled when Billie-Jean King in her commentary chided both players for placing refrigerated towels over their neck and shoulders between games as the day’s heat started to visibly affect them. With typical candour, Billie-Jean exclaimed, “girls, put the towel on your pits and groin if you want to lower body heat.”

Well, even before the Australian Open begins in earnest next week sans Kyrgios, heat- meteorological, metaphoric and political-is affecting both hemispheres, with some already spilling onto tennis courts.

In the northern hemisphere, attention is squarely focused on the rising temperature of political protests in Iran. Most analysts believe that the uprisings, which have left an estimated five hundred dead, are the most serious threat to Iran’s Islamic theocratic rulers since they took control of the country in the revolution of 1979 by deposing the country’s autocratic Shah.

America’s support of the Shah, and their willingness to give safe passage to the Shah led to the siege of the US Embassy by revolutionary militants. No event destroyed the prestige of President Carter’s presidency more than the sight of US citizens being held hostage in Tehran for over 400 days and paraded blindfolded.

Now, the son of Iran’s last Shah has sought American political and military support to overthrow the regime that usurped his father.

President Trump has another extraordinarily important decision to make. Many fear that if the current Iranian regime falters then the “candle may flare before it burns out” and the Ayatollah could be tempted to launch military strikes against US bases and/or Israel.

Within America, the actions of the eerily named ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have left many on a spectrum from disbelieving to distraught. The death of two women, shot for allegedly participating in terrorist acts, by officials who are not trained policemen, but rather a posse of armed citizens has rattled America’s democratic credentials.

America’s rule of the law is being continually strained in a country whose government increasingly fails to display the accountability and transparency that is meant to be its greatest strength. The unapologetic defence of the actions of ICE by Vice-President Vance, evoked memories of Richard Nixon referring to students who were shot dead by State police at Kent State University, Ohio in May, 1970 as “bums wandering around the campuses.”

Meanwhile, in frozen Ukraine, there is no sign of the thaw needed in the conflict to create a lasting peace.

In the southern hemisphere, scorching summer heat has seen the outbreak of bushfires in south-eastern Australia. Remarkably, only one life has been lost, but large areas of land and some towns have had their vegetation and properties razed to the ground.

Whilst bushfires have always been part of Australia’s geographic experience, the political and social scorch marks of recent years have not.

Yet, it seems that much of Australia’s social discourse has become metaphorically fouled. Very few seem to be seeking to be on the better side of the angels. Too much commentary is unedifying, shrill, and simplistic. The lofty aims of thoughtful debate have been trampled by shrill, simplistic voices highlighting the darker sides of human interaction- a descent into the damaging heat of “the pits and groin” of society if you will.

Only days after the Prime Minister recanted on his opposition to a Royal Commission into antisemitism, Australians were once again rent apart by two divisive events.

First, the editors of one of Australia’s media networks allowed the publication of a political cartoon which suggested that Australia’s Royal Commission was established as a result of pressure by conservatives who were “beating the drum” for Israel’s Prime Minister.  After days of controversy the editors published an apology for offence caused.

At the heart of Australia’s antisemitic scourge has been the willingness of so many who are opposed to the Israeli response to the Hamas massacre to manifest their opposition with wholesale denigration of Australia’s Jewish population.

Then, the organisers of the one of the nation’s leading writing festivals in Adelaide decided to withdraw its invitation to Randa Adel-Fattah, a well known opponent of Israel, who on Boxing Day 2024 posted, “May 2025 be the end of Israel.” Earlier that year she had declared that , “If you are a Zionist, you have no claim or right to cultural safety.” What followed, predictably, was the withdrawal of several other authors from the festival in defence of literary freedom of expression. Freedom of speech has never been a licence for unrestrained vilification and hate speech.

Whatever one’s opinion on the relative rights and wrongs of a host of social issues, it is clear that arguably the greatest feature of a democracy- the ability of citizens to engage in civil discourse, albeit sometimes combative and contentious, to determine an agreed social consensus- has been lost in Australia. The inclusive brigade exclude those that disagree with them. Their opponents increasingly speak only to their own supporters.

Yesterday, the finals of the Brisbane International took place. The tournament is a major lead-up tournament to the Australian Open. As if to reinforce contemporary fractures the Women’s final saw Belarussian Arnya Sabalenka defend her title against Marta Kostyuk from the Ukraine.

Belarus is Putin’s major ally in its war against Ukraine. At the presentation ceremony, Kostyuk spoke about the effect of the Ukraine war on her family and “thanked all her opponents” during the tournament. She could not bring herself to specifically congratulate Sabalenka.

These are strained and strange days, indeed.