The 39th annual Alfred Deakin Lecture was delivered in Melbourne last night by Doug Bereuter, a former leading US congressman and now President of the Asia Foundation. Bereuter called on Australia to be fearless in giving advice to the United States within the framework of the alliance, but, like Peter Costello at the weekend, he managed to do so without once mentioning the word “Iraq.”

It will not go down as one of the most thrilling Deakin Lectures on record. The most interesting moment came during the introduction by Deakin Trust chairman Michael O’Brien. Outlining how Bereuter had spent more than 25 years in congress, he said that he was “that rare thing, a politician who leaves at a time of his own choosing.” It just so happens that O’Brien spent many years as an adviser to Costello – but surely he didn’t have a particular Australian in mind?