Wryness is the best I can offer in this, the last of my campaign columns. Look at the frontbenches of both government and opposition and you'll see nothing but a professional political class. The huge number of early votes may well suggest a disenchanted electorate has noticed this too

For all the PM’s blather of 'most exciting times' etc., the government’s campaign has failed to engage the electorate’s imagination. Bill Shorten sounds like a statesman who has just met an autocue for the first time. And these are our chief contenders. How sad

When the media chain gave itself an editorial lobotomy to be more in tune with the readers it seeks to attract, there was never a moment's doubt that Abbottphobia would feature prominently. The latest confection of rumour and wishful thinking shows just how low the publisher has sunk

The polls say the government is ahead, but only in margin-of-error territory. Meanwhile, a clear majority – around 54% – believes the government will be returned. By this time next week they might well have come to grasp that protest votes really do matter

The latest polling has re-assured the Coalition, but how much faith can be placed in surveys that have been all over the map? Not much if one goes by our motor-mouth Treasurer, whose garrulous gobbledygook contrasts markedly with the strong and silent confidence of the man who stopped the boats

Across the broad, brown breadth of Australia's fruited plane politicians are swearing blind that they represent higher forms of life than the rivals they hope to defeat. You can only wonder why they bother, given that many of those whose votes they seek have already cast their ballots

It was inner-city types who journeyed north on the Hume in 2013 to help independent Cathy McGowan oust Liberal Sophie Mirabella. Another election, another eruption of man-bun sentiments going bush, with the ABC's much-admonished Jon Faine at the microphone to do the aural grooming

Afflicted with a sore throat, the PM nevertheless braved the Q&A audience and even managed a quick swipe at the ABC's bias, which didn't seem to be a bother when he was the communications minister who might have done something about it. Not to worry, only ten more days to go

The Facebook debate between the PM and his challenger might, just might, shed some light on the directions in which each contender hopes, or at least claims, he wishes to take the country. That's a possible outcome. The far more definite conclusion, however, is that Australians have some strange fixations