As I write in my column today, my driving up north during holidays in the past fortnight brought home to me again the dearth of public or publicly accessible toilets. Like children, pregnant women and old codgers (did your eyebrow flicker?), when I need to go I need to go, and that lends a certain excruciation to the search. Yes, there is an excellent government-funded service at www.toiletmap.gov.au, and it tells me now that there are five public toilets in Bellingen. It wasn't me who had the problem there - I nipped into the pub, where I don't look at all out of place. It was my wife, and when she refused to nip into the bar despite the mounting need we worked out a plan for her to go through the restaurant at the rear of the pub, pausing to read the menu on the way to allay suspicion!

Public toilets are seldom where we need them. Sure, shopping centres, Maccas, pubs, some service stations and some parks have them, but of those the only publicly provided toilets are in parks. Some parks. And in some parks they're likely to be locked, which is more than disappointing when you've sprinted across the grass.

I say we should return to the days of spending a penny. Yes, it would be more than a penny, perhaps $1, and I dare say the value of the penny then is close to the value of a dollar today. It occurs to me now, though, that I paid more than the equivalent of $1 in some of Europe's public toilets. Perhaps $2.

Paying for use would not cover the cost of providing toilets in such places as retail strips and at more frequent intervals on highways but it would at least subsidise the cost of keeping them clean and safe.

I've read of a campaign to have shops open their toilets to the public, and to display signs to that effect, but, frankly, if that gets off the ground I can't see it staying off the ground for long.

Are you happy to spend $2?