As I enter the lobby at Sydney’s Four Seasons Hotel near Circular Quay, 20 minutes early for lunch with former diplomat John McCarthy, a seated figure waves his hand. We haven’t met before, but there’s no one else around and it’s clear we are both suckers for the peculiar punctuality that's a marker of these strange times. With non-virtual appointments still few and far between, people are early for meetings,

McCarthy, who has a remarkably big reputation for a man who spent his career acting behind the scenes, is dressed smart-casual, has a warm smile and speaks in a calm, considered tone. And today, he's not much interested in small talk.