If you’re reading this it means one thing: you and I both have survived the most boring election of all time in the Lucky Country.
But you know what? I like it.
I like that for eight long weeks we’ve had to listen to economic plans for jobs and growth and boosting the economy by putting more money in health and education.
That’s not the only reason why I liked it.
I liked it because the repeated messages were being presented to you and me every night against a backdrop of a world gone mad.
Brexit, another terrorist attack, Donald Trump knocking on the door of the White House…
And what’s doing Down Under?
Well, your honour, we’re snoozing through an eight week campaign, that’s what.
Oh, and Queensland has sailed to another Origin series victory and the NRL is yet to decide if Parramatta will lose those 12 points.
Touch wood, how lucky are we?
Ought to be called the lucky country or something, I reckon.
Of course I am sure Malcolm Turnbull didn’t find the campaign boring, not did our local federal member, Russell Matheson, who has pulled out all stops to save his seat of Macarthur.
Matheson is not in trouble because he’s suddenly stopped being a good local member.
He won the last election by a margin of close to 12 percent.
They call that a thumping win.
But he got smashed by a subsequent redistribution of the seat, which made it almost the most marginal in the country.
Matheson has always been a fighter and I expect him to just hold on, maybe by fewer than 300 votes.
Werriwa: from Whitlam to Mannoun?
But if you think Macarthur is interesting, take a look at Werriwa, which used to cover Campbelltown and Liverpool.
Following the redistribution, Werriwa’s boundaries moved north and is pretty much a Liverpool based seat.
So it’s no surprise the main combatants are Liverpool councillors, Anne Stanley for Labor and Ned Mannoun for the Libs.
And get this: the seat that was Labor through and through is in real danger of falling to enemy hands.
Yes, indeed, my friends, the bodgie from Liverpool could be the next in line after Whitlam, John Kerin, Latham and Chris Hayes.
Dear me.
I know Mannoun well having covered Liverpool politics for more than 10 years since 2004, and the news is not good.
But you know what: Labor deserves what it gets if they lose, because if they selected someone who could go all the way to the Lodge they would smash the Liberals and Mannoun.
Cr Stanley is very capable and works hard but to win the seat Labor needed to look a bit further than its south west fiefdom.
Political parties should always be looking for talent that could go all the way, in any case.
If only we could stop thinking that we are some sort of lucky country we may get our act together.
I wish the country well in tomorrow’s election even though I have no doubt we will survive anything the voters throw up.
