Matt Smith: A vote that will signal change with big ideas at stake

The public is bored and fed up with Australia’s politicians but tomorrow they will still have to make one of the biggest philosophical choices in decades, writes Matt Smith.

Australians are over politics in this country.

Apathy is sky high — alongside distrust, cynicism and frustration.

During the past five weeks, there has been an overwhelming sense of boredom from the public when attention turned to the election campaign.

It is understandable that people have been bored.

But this is not a boring contest. And it is important — really important.

Politics is a contest of ideas.

And on that basis, today’s election is one of the best in living memory.

There is a reason why both sides of politics, for clearly different reasons, have made comparisons between Bill Shorten and Gough Whitlam.

Regardless of today’s outcome, Australia will change significantly tomorrow.

Mr Shorten and his team have gone to the election with an enormous policy platform.

It is a platform that could affect each and every Australian in some form or fashion.

The Liberals headed by Scott Morrison have, on the other hand, campaigned on the status quo, urging Australians to stay the course.

And on the fringes, minor parties, that have the potential to force either party into minority government, have a raft of reforms and positions on the table.

In the past few decades, political parties have taken significant reforms to the voters — think Work Choices, the GST, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. But today the weight of change facing voters is significant.

Parents could for the first time send their children to school for two days a week from the age of three. Action on climate change could be significantly fast-tracked. Employers will have to restore penalty rates for thousands of Australians.

Welfare recipients could for the first time in decades see a real rise in Newstart payments.

Aspirational Australians may no longer have the opportunity to purchase an investment properties and use negative gearing.

Older Australians who have gone into retirement expecting income from franking credits could lose them. TAFE students could study cheaper.

A minimum wage could be replaced for the first time with a living wage increasing employee bills substantially.

Australia’s Fair Work Commission could have to consider pay equity a central objective of the workplace relations system. Large companies with more than 1000 employees publicly reveal their gender pay gaps for the first time.

Australia could have its most ambitious renewable energy targets ever.

Oil and gas exploration could be halted in the Great Australian Bight. The number of migrants calling Australia could rise or fall, depending on the outcome of the election.

Australia could have its first national integrity commission.

Voting is a purely personal opportunity that is treated a little differently by each and every Australians.

What is important for one person could be irrelevant to the person beside them.

But it is impossible for this election to not be important for each and every Australian — just in different ways.