And so to a new year, but never forget the champions of the old year ...

(Above: David Pope's poignant evocation of the season, with a tip of the hat to the great Xmas party truces of the first world war. Greg Hunt the truces here, find more essential Popery here when he returns this brand new year).

Far too many people have already moved on.

The new year here, the season long past, the time of taking out the trash over ...

The rough gruff Brough slouching off in to the middle distance, and the groper revealed not to be just a kind of fish, but also a brand of hard-living politician ...

And then there was the matter of that other useless body, findings rushed out before the new year began ...

A more curious case of politics gatecrashing the silly season emerged on Wednesday. The Abbott government-inspired trade union royal commission, which cost taxpayers anywhere from $46 million to $80 million, depending on who you ask, released its findings after nearly two years of hearings. The report made 79 separate recommendations, including the creation of a new regulatory body and, to be sure, unearthed instances of bribery and appropriation of members' monies. 
Yet Dyson Heydon's report referred only two former union officials to police for prosecution. One of the duo, Kathy Jackson, originally received kid-glove treatment during her commission appearance. This belies the commission's talk of having identified "widespread" and "deep-seated" misconduct by officials variously labelled "louts, thugs, bullies, thieves, perjurers". 
Behind the highfalutin' rhetoric is this reality: the commission's main target, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, emerged from the drama largely unscathed (as did Gillard); a political embarrassment that necessitated a December release date. 
In any case, the public is likely to see through the commission's politicised findings, no matter their mixed feelings towards unions. They may mark Turnbull down for reaching back to the hyper-partisanship of recent years. (and the rest at Fairfax here).

Already forgotten are determined attempts at attracting attention by the likes of little Timmie, fish and chip wrappings even before they were a day old ...

But the pond would never be able to forgive itself if it failed, as the agile loon digital record of reptilian loonery, to make due and proper note of the inspired final effort by Maurice Newman last week ...

Now Maurice had already won the pond's coveted prize of commentariat commentator for the year. 

There was no need to him to go the extra yard, to show what a sleek, strutting champion was made of, yet there he was, howling at the moon and shouting at clouds in a final flurry of floozies ...

Such selflessness, that the big fella should get out on the track and go around one more time ... and make the silly season truly worthy of the name

It made the pond weep with pride. And yet it also made the pond deeply concerned. What if wastrels, layabouts, bludgers and ne'er do wells were off with the pixies and missed this wonderful effort? What then? If a man shouts at the clouds at the reptile Oz, and there's no one to read it, did it ever exist?

And so for those who missed it, or who came in late to the story, here is Maurice at his very best.

There is no need to add any commentary, simply to present the glory of a high stepping agile old stallion, coat still glistening from high quality oats (perhaps with added egg) doing his thing ...

Of course the pond could have attempted some commentary about paranoia and conspiracy theories, but this would be wrong.

As a reader noted in the pond's absence, the Graudian delivered a piece that gently reprimanded Maurice - Climate sceptic Maurice Newman says world leaders embracing junk science dared to point out a couple of errors in Maurice's splendid rant.

This wretched, idle pedantry is offensive in the extreme, and verges on the irresponsible.

Why next the Graudian might be asking how the reptiles of Oz hope that their business plan will work out this year, but people in digital houses and all that ...

It's surely more than enough simply to note that it seems that under the new editor, the business plan for the reptiles is exactly the same as under the old editor ... and readers will be treated to more Maurice, if enough mug punters can be persuaded to brush away the red back in the purse and slip some cash into the paw of Chairman Rupert ...

And so to the final burst wherein our hand-wringing catastrophist deplores catastrophism...

This is tremendous stuff, beyond critique, beyond criticism, beyond the pedantry of the Graudian, cardigan wearers and time servers ...

Maurice has now reached the Olympian heights of screaming Lord Monckton (can Sutch be far behind?)... and it seems that in the new year, we can all safely look forward to more Maurice at the lizard Oz ... 

And so the pond can stay in business, and where's the harm in that? Though such is his form and his staying power, that the pond is thinking of ruling Maurice out from future competition, by retiring him to Olympian heights as one of the certified gods of commentary ...

Of course, the wise already knew that they could rely on the reptiles of Oz. If Fox News could produce the current wondrous GOP race, why anything's possible down under ...

After all, people with  imagination and determination can achieve almost anything in this shrinking world full to overflowing with Maurices ...