The Dalai Lama in Melbourne (photo Justin McManus, The Age) It has been a fortnight in which bad manners have unfortunately had front and centre stage. These manners have not only been exemplified by our politicians, readying for the battle of a looming Federal Election, and some of the journalists who report on their campaign; they have also dominated the headlines of the newspapers about the battle for appropriate behaviour on Western Australia’s public transport system. And I use the word “battle” cautiously. It seems as if so much of Australian society, from the top down, is in “battle” mode. Common courtesy and considerate gestures seem to have no place in this “lucky country” . Unlike most of the world, while Australia endures some economic turbulence, we have nothing of the scale of Europe, for example. I have been interviewed a few times this week about manners in our society. Tomorrow, following on from an interview I gave for the Sunday Tímes new