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BY PAWAN LUTHRA

he last two years seem tohave passedin astateof suspended animation- although things happenedaroundus, there wasafeelingof beinga casualobserver of our ownactivity. Apandemic,one supposes,does dothat topeople; constantlockdowns addthe dimension of GroundhogDay syndrome where we relivethesame day over andover.

As weend 2021 andstart 2022, one hopes, nay, prays, thatCOVID is behind us. Butwith therecentemergenceofthe new variant Omicron, onecanonly wish that weare ableto keepat bay Pi, Rho andSigma, the next Greek alphabets earmarked for possiblemutants of COVID-19.

Assuming wearefinally going to geta senseof normalcy, let's look atwhatto expectin 2022inAustralia andglobally.

Herearemysevenissuestolookoutfor:

1. Elections will dominatethe sound cloudinAustraliafor 1nostof theyear, withFederalelections to be called before May. Itwill be a brutalfight betweenSeo-MoandAlboandone suspects it willnot bepretty.If the LaborParty caused astir with their 'Mediscare' campaign inthe 2016 elections, the Coalition hit backwith their retireetax scarecampaignin 2019. Iftheearly analysesare any indications, theIndianAustralian community in certainmarginalseats, especially in Western Sydney, can hold the key to theLodge. TheLiberals needto double down to winthem over - there's a fair bitof anger therein thecommunity.

2. Property prices are predictedto continue rising but notas strongly as in 2020/21. Modest priceincreases in 2022 willallowagradualslowdown in 2023. Theonly caveat tothe priceincrease willbe if interest rates increase sharply, butin a Federal electionyear that will nothappen.

3. Thereturn of theinternational studentswillbe welcomed by universitiesandemployers whoare facing staffingissues. The debate on migration numbers will be rampedup asskillshortages continue to bite.

4. China willalso dominatethe front pages of newspapersin thecoming year,perhaps the comingdecade. For its part, China willfocus attention on