They stabbed it with their steely knives, but they just can’t kill the beast,’ sang the Eagles in ‘Hotel California’. Perhaps they were talking about the Australian media, or perhaps not. Either way, the question remains: can you ever slay the bestial appetites of our relentless 24-7 news cycle?

In recent times, Labor has become mesmerised by both beast and steely knives; perversely determined to satisfy the bloodlust of the media by killing their own in unprecedented numbers.