Or not.

For the second time running, the incumbent PM has chosen to announce their proposed

election date months out from the actual event, but the reasoning remains unclear.

The plan has spectacularly backfired on both occasions – Julia Gillard did not even hang on to her job long enough to lead her party to the election, while Mr Turnbull’s government has dramatically fallen in the opinion polls over the past few weeks – so we might not see the tactic used again.

It seems Australians enjoy election campaigns even less than they enjoy run-of-the-mill politics, so extending the pain is not likely to win you any new supporters.

Even with the prior warning from Mr Turnbull, tough, Australian voters are still facing the prospect of a long eight-week official campaign that will test the public’s patience and the parties’ bank balances. The big question for many voters will be whether their disappointment in Mr Turnbull’s performance since taking the PM’s job is outweighed by their antipathy towards Bill Shorten’s continuing leaden performance as opposition leader.

Mr Shorten does not present like a prime minister – but then, neither did Tony Abbott. 

Locally, it feels like the race has already been run and won after Orange state MP Andrew Gee won preselection for the Nationals last weekend.

What might be interesting, though, will be the impact that local issues such as the shortlisting of Hill End as the site of a new nuclear waste dump might have at the ballot box.

Many long-time Nationals were upset with the way they were treated by the Coalition government throughout that process and vowed they would be switching their votes to the Greens – the only party they felt supported them.

That’s unlikely to be enough to change the ultimate winner on July 2, but it might be enough to send a message. Unless Calare suddenly becomes a marginal electorate, though, it’s unlikely anyone will be listening.