The Echidna: Biting the hand that never fed us

In fact, Saturday's result saw an outbreak of civility and good manners among the stunned and greatly chastened political class. Gone was their barely disguised contempt for a voting public they have long regarded as ignorant and easily manipulated. In its place was a chorus of Labor and Liberal voices promising to listen more and speak less. Amazing what a sinking primary vote and a radical realignment of the landscape can do.

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Apart from the massacre staged by the teals in safe Liberal seats, there was no finer example of a scorned public turning its back on tradition than in the once safe Labor seat of Fowler. Party powerbrokers had expected some backlash when parachuting former NSW premier Kristina Keneally into the seat, from our very own Scotland Island. But no-one in their arrogance ever imagined voters would retaliate with an 18.5 per cent negative swing and hand the seat to local independent Dai Le, the daughter of Vietnamese boat refugees.

Readers across the country have repeatedly complained to us about the frustrations they experience living in safe seats where finding your local MP feels like a real-life game of 'Where's Wally?' They rarely receive grants for shiny new sporting stadiums, hi-tech technology hubs and luxurious public swimming pools. All they know is that their roads have more holes in them than a United Australia Party policy document.

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Dai Le says Fowler is no different after years of Labor neglect. "While it is socially disadvantaged, a lot of the younger generations, the children of migrants and refugees, are ... entrepreneurial, are very innovative and are professional. They are asking ... 'why can't we have what other electorates have?' ... Our hospital - Fairfield hospital - does not have WiFi. Our roads and infrastructure are so abandoned and neglected."

Just consider the astonishing absurdity of a major hospital without WiFi in 2022 and you begin to understand why voters in Fowler finally bit the hand that never fed them. Is it any wonder the major parties are in strife? Research by political blogger Ben Rau shows the primary vote for Labor and the Liberal party declining from 98 per cent in 1951 to last weekend's all-time low total of 68.5 per cent.

After being sworn as Australia's 31st Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeated his pledge to change politics in this country and get rid of the petty mudslinging and character assassination. "People do have conflict fatigue," he said. "I do believe that we can do politics better."

No-one doubts Albanese means what he says. But the heart of politics lies at grassroots level and for too long Labor and their Liberal opponents have shared the opinion of Winston Churchill, who once confided: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

Well, look who's listening now.

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