If Shackleton's ship was undamaged then why did it sink?

If you read Shackleton's account and watch Frank Hurley's films and still photographs of the ship being crushed in the ice of the Weddell sea you will probably guess it was definitely terminal.

Good on them for finding her but, as a surveyor, I have to ask how accurate was their original position in the first place?

Mr Albanese delivered a very impressive speech on Labor's foreign and defence policy at the Lowy Institute on April 10.

He covered the full range of issues in a comprehensive manner.

Of particular note, in the context of the current floods, was the national security risk of climate change.

Another important aspect he spoke on was the national security importance of defending our democracy internally and maintaining social cohesion.

He came across as a person ready for the office of Prime Minister.

Scott Morrison never tires of claiming the Coalition are the only ones who can be trusted on security.

Yet, when discussing the greatest threat to security we have ever faced - climate change - he falls back on the pathetic excuse that Australian action alone won't change the climate in the flood-ravaged areas of Queensland and NSW (as if anyone had ever suggested that it was that simple).

This is known as the "deserter's argument". "Why should I stand and fight when I'm only one soldier among many and my personal efforts won't make much difference to the outcome of the battle."

I'm sure we're all aware of the traditional view of deserters. More positively, most of us understand that we all need to stick together and do our bit when facing such a grave and urgent threat.

The news Coles and Wing (Google) drones have teamed up is another blow to residents' rights. The residents in Bonython suffered a trial of these large, very noisy drones, before they were moved on due to 80 per cent of our residents being against them.

If a neighbour makes undue noise, does something dangerous or invades privacy there are remedies. But if they get regular drone deliveries there is apparently no way to take action. Drones are noisy, hover only metres from the ground when delivering, and can affect a neighbour's peaceful existence.

They are not essential, not needed and not wanted by most people. Why are they to be imposed over our heads?

Flood disasters such as those in NSW and Queensland are only going to become more common because of climate change. If the ice caps in Greenland and west Antarctica melted much of the east coast, including Sydney and Brisbane, would be under water. This would not be good for residents of the coastal fringe.

The "build-to-rent" model being pushed by our local government to transfer the responsibility for fixing unaffordable housing to "can-do capitalism" will worsen the problem. Scarce land and development opportunities, which could be used by a government with a desire to address our housing crisis, have been lazily diverted to institutional investors and carpet-baggers. Perhaps the Labor-Greens motivation is that "build-to-rent" tenants ultimately pay land tax as well as rates, subsidising the landed gentry.

RBA assistant governor Luci Ellis has said: "If you own your own home at the point you retire that's basically the thing you need to do to not to be in poverty in retirement."

Given typical retirement ages and the necessity of 30-year mortgages we should be doing everything possible to provide an achievable path to home ownership by the time people are 30. The solutions are not novel. They are not based on "build to rent" but on "rent to buy".