Australia, we need to talk about politics: history beckons at this election, and keeping your head down just won’t do

‘Scott Morrison is no Mandela, nor is Anthony Albanese, but the stakes of this election are incredibly high.’ Composite: Mick Tsikas | AAP & Lukas Coch | AAP

When the Australian election was finally called, I was not in Perth, where I live.

Instead, I was sitting in a cafe with a friend in Johannesburg, talking about politics. I was finally home after a hard border closure that saw Western Australia shut itself off from the world for 697 days.