IF opinion polls are any guide, remembering we are still eight months from the election, the Federal Government is on its last legs.
Time then to turn our attention more closely to the Coalition and the development of its policies.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she intended the long lead-in to give us all plenty of time to contribute to the policy debate.
We should thank her for that.
Veteran Mallee MP John Forrest wants to contest another election because he wants to "have a chance to make a difference in government".
The years in Opposition have supposedly given Mr Forrest and his colleagues in the Coalition a burning desire to make changes that will benefit the bush.
We have eight months to make sure those changes are right.
Experience tells us that, once a party is in government, it is much more difficult to make an impact.
An election campaign is the perfect time, some would say the only time, to have our say.
We can communicate with our MPs and candidates as individual voters, we can make our arguments through our representative organisations like the National Farmers' Federation and industry groups.
We can also engage the media through letters, stories and pictures to highlight issues.
Gippsland MP Darren Chester has started making his case for governments to better help country university students.
It costs rural students about $20,000 more than their city cousins for a three-year degree.
No wonder low numbers go from Year 12 to the city universities.
Mr Chester proposes a $10,000 allowance to give country students a boost. This is exactly the policy debate we need.
The Nationals are taking the tertiary allowance forward as a policy and Mr Chester has started lobbying rural Liberals.
He hopes to make it Coalition policy well before September 14.
Now is our chance to contribute to policy development, not just the tertiary allowance but a host of ideas for positive change.
