AS WE GO TO PRESS, Australia awaits the final to the Rugby World Cup. Regardless of the result, everyone agrees that we are a great sporting nation. Australia is also gaining international repute as a creative nation: observe the success of our film industry and, of course, the recent Booker Prize win by novice expatriate Aussie novelist, Peter Finlay.

At the MJA, we are also in the midst of a creative renaissance. The entries in this year's Christmas competition defy classification. Some are witty, some reflective and others are just great images or stories. The standard, however, is high and the voting this year was very even-handed. In the written section we chose Edwards' depiction of himself donning a Ned Kelly suit to survive the sadness of death in the Emergency Department, while Penington wins in the visual category, proving that football is still the most important creative force in our nation. Both winners will receive two bottles of fine Australian wine from the cellars of the MJA.

Thanks to all this year's entrants and, to the rest of you, we hope this year's contributions inspire you to enter in 2004.