I've only watched the Cate Blanchett speech thus far but it was just beautifully done and filled in a lot of the gaps in my education about the cultural history of Australia.

And it was bold speech about the common good, and precisely the thing that the U.S. Congress needs to see now, this instant, even if many of them wouldn't get it at all.

I was a tad surprised at the booing inside the hall, but Australians have every right to express themselves ! We Americans could take a page out of your book there.

it's not usual behaviour.

But I think it can be explained by the fact that Gough's passing highlighted the complete lack of politicians with any real vision for the country today - not only the left, but many in the centre are all too aware that there isn't another Gough around today, nor is there one on the horizon. Today's pollies think only in terms of the 30 second grab for the evening news – that's the extent of their commitment.

Emotion got the upper hand ...

...but booing at memorial services is not unheard of in the United States. When the memorial for Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) was held in 2002, just before a midterm election, at least one Republican lawmaker was booed by the crowd. The American right-wing media immediately made that the story, rather than the unbearably tragic deaths of Wellstone, his wife, his daughter, several staffers, and pilot and co-pilot in a plane crash.