Who do you predict will win the election?

Who do you predict will win the election?

Is it just me or does everyone love and hate election campaigns in equal measure?

I love them because Canberra goes into hyperdrive and you never know what might be spat out.

I hate them because the media is so focused on catching our pollies out we rarely see any real policy debate, instead it becomes a beauty contest, not about what the candidates stand for but who the voters like the look of.

I still believe in democracy but like everyone I am very disillusioned.

We are told ‘if you don’t like it, just vote them out at the next election’ but the truth is the other side is not much better.

Both ScoMo and Bill Shorten are trying desperately to be Australia’s best mate.  They both love a scare campaign and try to reduce the complexities of the modern world into a sound bite zinger.

The truth is, no matter who occupies The Lodge after May 18, we will be OK.

Neither side of government likes to say it out loud but the day-to-day management of the economy is left to the Reserve Bank, which acts independently of any elected government. Which is great news for us.

Politicians still get to argue about the budget and the coalition is very excited about it’s predicted decade of surplus. Labor is banking on hospitals and health.

Economic threats don’t come much bigger than climate change, upon which both sides will remain disappointing.

What happened in Christchurch has taken some of the electoral sting out of asylum seekers.

Both sides will talk about wages growth (or lack of it) and the cost of living.  Unless you’re a banking CEO, wages growth is a lifelong battle, no matter who wins next month not much will change.

Negative gearing is an interesting one.  Who do they want more?  Baby boomers or young families looking down the barrel of never owning their own home?

In regional Queensland there is strong support for the Adani mine to go ahead, while voters in Sydney and Melbourne are opposed to coal-fired power.

Queensland matters. We have five seats held on a margin of one per cent or less, and a few more that could go either way.

I honestly don’t care who wins the election but I am excited to watch them try.

The fun ones will be Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson, Tony Abbott’s seat of Warringah which could be taken by Olympian Zali Steggall and Wentworth, where polls predict Kerryn Phelps might lose the seat she only just wrested from the coalition.

If you’re a real nerd, watch out for Flinders where former Liberal MP turned independent Julia Banks will challenge Health Minister Greg Hunt calling it ‘unfinished business’ and Kooyong where the high profile son of a former Liberal politician, Oliver Yates is challenging Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

Let the games begin.

Caroline xx