Labor is on track to a thumping majority, with Peter Dutton's Coalition cut to shreds, following an Australian election conducted under the shadow of collapsing democracy in the United States.

In 1996 the American intellectual Noam Chomsky wrote, 'The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.' Professor Chomsky has now lost the ability to speak, but his words continue to ring true.

Electoral reform sounds boring, which is probably why the government hoped to squeeze a substantial change to the way Australian politics works in amongst some positive-sounding modifications late last year, without too many people noticing. After independents raised the alarm, this legislation was delayed, and is now likely to be presented in the new year.

In a week when the major parties raced to the bottom in reaction to the High Court's decision on indefinite detention, the teals in Canberra showed another way of doing politics, on issues including lobbying, forests and truth in political advertising.