Today was the New South Wales state election and I’m displeased to hear that the Liberal Party has retained power. Also, the opposing party, Labor, remains in power in my local seat, having won 52 per cent of the vote. Neither party is a good option and the latter has been safe here for decades.

I have neither the interest nor the energy to be political here, so I’m going to focus on the more mundane and humorous elements. Rewinding to this morning, when things were more fun and slightly hopeful, Natasha and I ventured to the local primary school to cast our votes. Generally for any federal or state elections, I have gone late in the afternoon to avoid having to queue. This time, in deciding to go early, we stood in a queue and had the chance to enjoy ridgey-didge Aussie community banter in the line.

Natasha and I quickly became temporary friends withan older married couple. The husband admitted, without hesitation, to being the daggy dad type who happily shops at Lowes and his wife agreed that he is quite embarrassing. I could relate to the compulsion to talk to strangers in community settings, yet I have never been tempted to buy a Hawaiian shirt.

Perhaps the most painful thing that we had to endure was this picture of the Labor victor, awkwardly photoshopped by his devoted followers and given a marvellous halo effect. Someone was really keen to show off their newly attained Adobe skills.

Although we’ll have to deal with many more years of uninspiring ‘leadership’, at least we had the chance to get together around a barbecue and enjoy the best part of the day: the democracy sausage. No election day is complete without a classic sausage sizzle. After a while, you start to forget that they happen at places other than Bunnings Warehouse.

I am now looking forward to this year’s federal election and am hopeful that Labor leader Bill Shorten has learnt not to make sausage sandwiches with rolls and eat them sideways.