Australian voters seem less connected to the current federal election campaign than any other in recent memory.
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With the incumbent Coalition government widely tipped to be bundled unceremoniously out of power, more attention is being paid as to who has been egged and which party's candidates have said more offensive things on social media than on policy debate and differential between the major and micro parties.
But two announcements in what has been a very positive week for the region illustrate why this should not be so.
The first was from the state government who came to the party with funding for planning a new boat ramp in Warrnambool to replace what the RACV voted as the worst in the state.
It is true that this announcement did not come as a result of federal politicking.
But it came about from persistent community campaigning. It came about because the people of the south-west have held our elected representatives accountable. It came about because the people of the south-west were engaged, rather than not engaged.
The second was the announcement of $60 million to upgrade the Princes Highway between Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
This announcement is absolutely a byproduct of the current campaign and it is also absolutely because the people of the south-west have stayed connected to the debate.
The fight for both announcements have spanned decades. The fight has been long, wearying and perhaps has deepened cynicism about our political process.
But in another way, the announcement is reassuring in as much as it shows that no matter how grotesque or misshapen our democratic system is, it can produce the right result albeit occasionally for the wrong reasons.
Cynics may say the Member for Wannon Dan Tehan wangled the announcement to see off any challenge from Labor, the Greens or independent Alex Dyson in his electorate ahead of the May 18 poll.
But with a fat margin and pundits tipping he'll retain his seat with comparative ease, this does not seem to make sense. Or is the Coalition's internal polling telling them things will be closer than imagined?
Perhaps it is immaterial. The people of the south-west will mostly not care about the why. They will simply welcome the announcements for what they are: good news.
