The Labour party will find it difficult after 7 years of diaster for Australia. Even Sweden has woken up to the obvious fact you can't have open borders. Most Australians have woken up the the gw scam and won't tolerate anymore dishonest taxes like the one Gillard introduced. Maybe Gillard/Rudds incompetence might have finally taught Australia that you need a little substance not just spin. It seems that Turnbull is to scared to touch any of the good policies Abbott brought about. No carbon tax, a vote on redefining marriage and keeping the boats stopped have all been a priority for Malcolm. It must eat at him that he has no choice but to maintain sensible policy. All he can change is weasel words. And now no vote on a republic!

It is wise to recall what it was that put Whitlam into the driver's seat in '73. He had a raft of policies, many of which were broadly attractive, in education, health and social services.

The voters of 1973 were neither blind nor stupid. They knew that the likes of Crean, Cairnes and Connor were not trustworthy, yet they voted for the policies and the hope that the leader could deliver them, which to a large degree he did... along with a pile of best-forgotten errors such as the foreign policies regarding Indonesian expansionism and PNG independence.

The message for both sides of Australian federal politics this year is that Malcolm seems not to have policies but has voter confidence that, if only he had a policy or three, he could deliver (admittedly not re NBN, but nobody's perfect).

On the ALP side any list of policies, no matter how popular, can get an untrusted team into office.

Where to turn?

Plibersek is very intelligent, presents well and is capable of turning on the charm. Pity about her choice of husband, a bureaucrat with a past. As I said above, nobody's perfect.

But who will be in her team? Or who else could lead the ALP? NB I have written off both Albo and Shorten.

We seem to be doomed to 3 more years of the same - an unpopular Prime Minister (ALP + Green) or a popular PM with no policies (Lib + Nat).

Plus, due to silly election rules that leave the 0.5 percenters in the Senate count, a stream of no-hoping, disruptive dills who claim the balance of power and then retire to the cross benches for 6 unproductive years at a time.

Hi JohnBennetts

Well yes Turnbull is a master at offending noone - if at all possible.

If that means no policies (no broader or 15% GST) then Turnbull is the man to romp home through no policies.

A bit like a hospital kept spotlessly clean by being uncontaminated by actual patients.

Nevertheless Turnbull's Republic policy is already utilising his Pet Australian of the Year, David Morrison, as the Republic Policy Propagator. Morrison is a sort of agent for the Republic http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-25/david-morrison-backs-call-for-australian-republic/7114146 .

This may lead to Turnbull being First Australian President.

Now thats a policy, isn't it?

I think?

Not.

Pendulums swing. There was a time -- less than ten years ago -- when the highest office of state held by a non-Labor official was the Lord Mayorship of Melbourne. The ALP will come back, or at least something will come back calling itself the ALP. Hopefully by that time it will have swallowed the bitter pill of pragmatism and realised that government is more than merely expressing good intentions, but also requires you to provide reasons to believe your plans will work, and funding for them to be carried out.