Welcome to 2020. Brexit, Trump, leadership challenges- those were the days.

The Morrison government, after delivering its promised tax cuts, had only one thing on its policy mind- protecting its presumptive budget surplus. Sure, avoiding questions about such trifles as sports rorts, robodebt cock-ups, and water scams required an inordinate amount of energy. But, all in all, it must have seemed like a good time to take a holiday.

Anyway, other people were on the fire hoses – terrified, exhausted, selfless – as south-east Australia gave us a glimpse of the looming slow-motion catastrophe of a rapidly heating world. Meanwhile, in a wet market in Wuhan, events were unfolding that would shake all our societies to the core and change our world forever. The mantle and burden of heroism was about to be passed to a new cast of ordinary people on a very different front line.

Is this a time for joking? Too soon? Maybe we need the penetrating satirical intelligence and the dark, challenging humour of our political cartoonists more than ever.

Featuring Dean Alston, Peter Broelman, Pat Campbell, Andrew Dyson, John Farmer, First Dog on the Moon, Matt Golding, Fiona Katauskas, Mark Knight, Jon Kudelka, Alan Moir, David Pope, David Rowe, Andrew Weldon, Cathy Wilcox, and many more…