Australian politics returned to white noise this week. It started happening after Parliament rose before Easter, but we are now in a zone where the public are mostly tuning out – unless there’s an attention snapping event. The intensity of the first two months of political action – dominated by exposés of appalling behaviour, allegations of more and brain-dead responses from the Prime Minister and many of his colleagues – turned voters off. After a year of rallying around the flag, willing governments to get things done and battle a health and economic emergency in intelligent unity, disappointment and frustration were back in vogue.