The major parties keep saying that this is the most important election in the history of Australia. Of course they say that every election.
There are, however, a few areas that are important.
Broadband
This is an area where the "not invented here" syndrome could do some serious damage. The Liberals have a different policy to Labor for no other purpose than they wanted to be different. And because Labor offered us the best available, this meant that if the Liberals wanted to be different, they had to make their version inferior.
The Liberal policy promises a slower, cheaper version that they say is good enough for now. But when they do that, they are making the same tired old infrastructure mistakes that other politicians have been making for years. Because if you plan for the infrastructure to be "just right", on the day it is finished, then it will be "not enough" the day after. Then you have to start building the next generation, and until that is ready, it still keeps being "not enough".
The effect of continually planning for "just right" on the completion date, is that it is always "not enough".
To avoid this problem, When putting in big ticket infrastructure like the NBN, you actually have to leapfrog "just right", and figure out what "just right" will be the next time the infrastructure will be upgraded or replace.
Right now, doing a national broadband network that meets these goals means doing fibre right up to the front door. The Liberals might say that their version will be ready 2 years earlier, but in reality once we get there, it will be time for another upgrade, so they will end up spending another 10 years on that upgrade.
While the Liberals claim their inferior network will cost less, the old rule applies - that spending less in the short term costs you more in the long term.
In this case, it will also limit economic growth into the future, and is franky financially irresponsible.
When it comes to policies, most of Abbott's other wrong-headed policies are capable of being fixed with one change of government in 2016, although some individuals will suffer in while Abbott is in charge, but Abbott's laughable broadband plan could leave us with a 20 year hangover on the infrastructure, and systematically weaken our international competitiveness in a way that will not be reversed for generations.
It's not clear Abbott is capable of governing
In opposition, Abbott has been prepared to embrace compromise - but only if the compromise is by everybody else agreeing to Abbott's position, word for word. If he keeps the same approach while in Government, he will completely fail to achieve any of his objectives, because he will never get anything through the Senate.
On the other hand, if he starts compromising in Government, he lookss like he is weaker than he was in opposition. It is a no-win situation.
Abbott has already said he will not negotiate with the Greens, so he will have to either crawl back to the Greens with his tail between his legs, or plead with Labor, to get his bills through the Senate. Abbott does not seem like the type of person to do either.
Mandate? Who cares? Not Abbott, so why should anybody else
Abbott likes to say that Labor would not dare vote against his bills, because if he wins, he will have a mandate. That did not stop Abbott from voting down the original Rudd emissions trading scheme, which also had a mandate. What comes around goes around, and Abbott should expect no better treatment for his claimed mandates, than he offered for Labor's mandates.
Double Dissolution? Don't make threats everybody knows you cannot carry out
Abbott has also said he would call a double dissolution election if he needs to, to get his bills through. The Greens will be staring Abbott in the eye, and saying "Go ahead, make my day."
You see, in a double dissolution election, the Senate candidates need a much smaller quota to get elected - about 7.7% of the vote instead of 14.3%. That means more minor party senators, and especially more Greens.
A double dissolution might help get the bills through that triggered the election, but then the major parties will be doomed to 6 years of stronger minor party (mostly Greens) influence, which will make things even more difficult for whichever party is in Government - especially if that party is the Liberal Party.
Last chance to fix the Liberals
More important for me than all of the above, is that I think this election is the last chance to fix the Liberal Party.
You see, I actually prefer the Liberal Party to the Labor Party, I just cannot stand right wingers who have been controlling it for most of the time since 2001 (the Turnbull period excepted). I want the Liberal Party to be better. I do not think the Labor Party is capable of being better - it has underlying structural problems that are impossible to fix.
The real problem is that if Abbott is elected this time around, Malcolm Turnbull will never get to lead the Liberal Party again, and their transformation from a sensible centre party to a party prepared to sell the rest of us out to the most vile elements of society will be complete. The Liberal Party will also become impossible to fix.
I still hear people say "I will vote Liberal, and I am sure they will toss Abbott out before the next election." Forget about that - the Liberals have never thrown out a sitting prime minister, and they are not going to start now.
While there may be some truth in the slogan "Vote Rudd, get [somebody else]", there is an even more disturbing truth in the slogan "Vote Abbott, get Abbott".
On the other hand, if Abbott loses, it appears virtually certain that Turnbull will become leader of the Liberals, and will set about bringing the party back from the dark side.
Summary
I am not saying Labor is a great choice. But I take a long term view, and if you want something better, then Liberal right now is no choice at all. By voting Labor this time, we can hopefully drive out the last vestiges of the extreme right from the Liberal Party, so that we have a much better choice next time.
Let Abbott and his ilk join One Nation or the Christian Democrats. The Liberal Party's constitution says the party supports liberalism - we need them to live up to it.
If Liberal wins now, they will never live up to the ideals of liberalism again. We will be stuck with the same awful choices for a very long time to come.