For a long time in this country, conservatism was the political creed that dare not speak its name. The term ‘conservative’ almost never passed Sir Robert Menzies’ lips, and he certainly avoided ever describing himself as such, even though he remains Australia’s most successful conservative leader. For the first century of our national life, ‘conservatism’ was associated with the supposedly class-bound politics of Britain so the term was used, invariably as abuse, to denote someone who wanted to ‘turn back the clock’ rather than simply respect and cherish the best that’s been thought and said.