The national interest demands a double dissolution

Just as Hawke and Keating had to enact a right wing agenda of reforming unions, privatising government assets, encouraging competition and making serious cuts to government spending, so Turnbull will have to take on the National Party's dud-farmer support schemes, business welfare, and all the absurd handouts Howard initiated in the boom years, which Labor failed to remove in its wasted six years in office.

And there is the entire energy-transition/climate-change policy challenge. We will not see real progress until after an election.

Our global environment includes the collapsing of the Islamic world, with Sudan, Libya, Syria and Iraq showing the way. Egypt, Turkey and others have their own specific problems. Nobody talks about the Arab spring any more. Millions of people are on the move and millions more want to follow.

Then there is Russia quietly going broke while getting ever more belligerent.

And Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Israel/Palestinian problem, and so many more issues that no one has any idea how to fix.

Are we helping to encircle China or are we upsetting the US?

It would be useful to have an established government rethinking Australia's role in this complex world.

There is also the issue of globalisation, which has been great up to now but could be about to get rough.

The financial crisis has been suspended for a few years by central banks injecting massive amounts of new money into the system but it looks like the magic may be about to stop working, as it eventually must. A big financial crunch could occur at any time. It would be best for all of us to have the election before rather then after such an event.

Put all this, and much more, together and there is a lot of work for a government to do.

Turnbull is going to have to be tough as he faces the real world issues. He should harden up his smiley face image with some tough action against his internal foes and the Senate. A few more third-rate enemies will be neither here nor there.

This will be one of the most important elections in the nations history, even though we already know who will win. Lets do it on March 12.