As a working journalist, I didn’t like people knowing what my politics were and I was pleased when people, after the same interview, would ring or write saying, ‘Clearly you’re a blue-ribbon Liberal’ and also say, ‘Clearly you’re a card-carrying Communist’. People see what they want to see. I like that. If people don’t know my politics, I don’t really care. In fact, I work at it, so then they can’t accuse me of being biased against the prime minister of the day.

It feels off, but Ray Martin is being sensible and likeable.