Caucus gets a role. It has been a long time between drinks but finally the Labor caucus has reasserted its right to have a role in political life other than sacking and then choosing a leader. And credit too to Prime Minister Julia Gillard for finally listening to the majority view about Palestine. No doubt she could have trampled over her cabinet colleagues, forced them to back her on the principle of cabinet solidarity and thus won any vote at the party meeting but she wisely decided not to do so. Democracy is all the better for that.

Where the big earners live. My neighbours have let me down. Beautiful downtown Duffy did not make the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s short list of the highest earning suburbs released this morning. Not even in the top five for the Australian Capital Territory.

Top of the list are those Toorak toffs where the average personal income in 2009-10 reached $132,252. The next highest statistical areas were Double Bay-Bellevue Hill ($129,116), Mosman ($126,956), Hunters Hill-Woolwich ($123,869), Woollahra ($120,199), Dover Heights ($115,387) and Rose Bay-Vaucluse-Watson’s Bay ($115,148) — all in Sydney in New South Wales. The Cottesloe SA2 (statistical area level two, $113,892) in western Perth was the only other SA2 in Australia (outside of NSW and Victoria) that had an average total income exceeding $110,000.

Outside of the metropolitan/city regions, the SA2s with the highest average total incomes were the mining regions of Western Australia, in particular Karratha ($79,925), Port Hedland ($78,584), Roebourne ($75,316) and Ashburton ($73,645).

New South Wales:

Victoria:

Queensland:

South Australia:

Western Australia:

Tasmania:

Northern Territory:

Australian Capital Territory:

News and views noted along the way.