Wayne Swan’s admiration of Bruce Springsteen got him plenty of headlines last month and caused Joe Hockey to make some self-righteous responses. It was a delightful way for Swan to turn the debate away from the monotony of the carbon tax saga and on to the many more important issues that we should discuss and implement.

For example, at my suggestion last month, the Deputy Prime Minister held a meeting with 160 seniors at Brisbane’s bayside suburb of Sandgate to discuss the need for oldies like me to prepare for the digital age. An NBN executive was present and he fielded many questions. To my surprise, 90 per cent of the questions were positive requests for information and none were political. Technology for Seniors is now a significant matter in the quest to achieve productive ageing, and it will be a major issue for greying voters at the next election. The party that embraces it totally will do well.