Yes, but what did it all mean?

I think it's too early to assess the result of the election. Many wise owls will pronounce this or that and tell us as usual "whatever happens, one thing is clear". Yeah, whatever, as the young kids say.

Maybe I might make a couple of observations and let people respond with their usual energy.

First, if people dislike the two main parties, then the Greens have missed a great opportunity. They failed to make any headway, although their credibility on the environment is strong. The Murdoch press has thundered about the Greens as ratbag lefties and fruitcakes. OK, we shouldn't be surprised by that. But when I looked at the Greens running for the Senate- what did I find? Not a single person to inspire or give any hope of decent policies. Just a list of familiar names who have been outraged about asylum seekers and fulminating about foreign aid, or angry at something else. The balanced, sensible people seemed absent. I think the Greens need to take a long, hard look at how they are being perceived by the electorate.

Two, the Xenophons seem to have done well. Nick seems - to many I speak to- like a sensible voice. A bit of publicity seeking here and there, but a lot of sense: that's what people say to me. His calm approach and common sense have a deserved appeal. We will have to see how his team performs.

Third, we do seem to have lost one Senate with a pile of all kinds of weird and amazing people - and gained another. The PUP team seems to have disappeared in a cloud of dust. Pauline Hanson is back with a vengeance: she is clearly articulating the voices of ordinary people in Queensland and New South Wales. Educated people and those who work in SBS and the ABC probably think she is the epitome of all they hate. She speaks poorly, she doesn't present well, she rambles. There are people out there though that are worried about Muslims in one form or another. When she condemns foreigners taking control of Australia, people seem to listen. When she argues that all the people of Australia should be treated equally, she has a point. I don't know what other issues she stands for. Perhaps she doesn't know. I'd give her marks for resilience.

There is a lot of cynicism out there about what THEY say and what they do. We're always being told something, sometimes over and over. The thinking person wants attention to basics: how much tax they pay. The cost of electricity. The facilities and quality of teachers at the local school where he or she sends their kids. The local hospital and the doctor they go to. And the environment, as we said before. We're tired of empty slogans on both sides. And empty people with no original ideas.

I sense that many are unconvinced by most career politicians. They want leaders who are above politics. I doubt that we'll get them. Avoid career politicians, and you get so-called celebrities and clowns and such. Perhaps we're seeing similar results in the USA. But in the end, people see Trump as a hollow man with little substance.

There have been other knife-edge elections here and elsewhere. We've forgotten about Andrew Peacock and Arthur Calwell and Kim Beazley, and all the other near-misses. Well may Turnbull say to the Australian people – in the words of Laurel and Hardy- "here's another fine mess you've gotten me into". Sadly, we have to live with the result.