The era of minority government is upon us, and we should welcome it

This election will end the Labor-Coalition contest. The first preference vote of both major parties is in the mid 30s. The combination of the rest is also in the 30s.

It means that the minor parties and independents will get a significant number of seats in the House of Representatives. It will not be a one off. Hitherto they have got 25 per cent of the vote or less and got 10 or fewer seats out of 151, or just 7 per cent of the seats. Push that 25 per cent up to 30 to 32 per cent, as the polls are suggesting now, and the 7 per cent of the seats goes up to around 15 to 20 per cent of the seats.

It means that neither of the two major parties can ever form majority government in their own right for a very long time.

They will always have to accept that they will have to rely on minor parties and independents to form government. That happened in 2010 and almost happened in 2016 and 2019. Just forget the idea of one or other party having a sizeable majority.

More importantly, minority governments will have to compromise on policy.

Australians should applaud this. For more than three decades many Australians have despaired over the polarisation of politics. They hate the sparring and point-scoring. They want politicians to concentrate on addressing the problems facing the nation.

Significantly, minority positiions will reduce the power of the far Christian right in the Liberal Party and what is left of radical left in Labor.

Andrew Wilkie in Tasmania proves the point. He was elected as an independent in Tasmania in 2010 in what was a safe Labor seat, needing preferences to win. Voters appreciate his independence and work for the interests of his electorate and in the national interest. Now he has one of the safest seats in Australia and does not need to go to preferences.

Other independents are doing the same thing.

MORE CRISPIN HULL:

This election is going to change the fundamentals of Australian politics. Many in the media, with their win-lose mentality, will find it hard to cope

The Coalition has virtually no hope of forming majority government. Labor might. If it does, it will be a one-term event. The trend has been consistent. Voters have been turning away from the major parties over the past two decades, for very good reason.

Now the momentum has reached the stage that that sounds in a significant number of seats. And once an independent or minor party gets a seat, they usually keep it: Wilkie; Haines; Bandt; Katter and before them Ted Mack. On Saturday, don't expect an on-the-night definitive majority for one or other major party on the night, or ever again.

The big question is how will the Governor-General responds to the tussle between the Coalition and Labor in a position of a hung Parliament. He should sit back and wait for the House of Representatives to sit and elect a speaker and vote for someone to form a government. That process should be enshrined in the Constitution.

He should not "call" on anyone to form a government before the House of Representatives meets, especially not on the "advice" of the outgoing prime minister.

In short, forget the old pattern of Labor v Coalition and a winner on the night.