“THE parties seem to polarise on almost every issue, and I wonder whether the ordinary voter is not becoming sick and tired of the vested interests’ influence on the present political parties.”

That quote could have been delivered this week — as we all bore witness to the delivery of two budgets.

Camera Icon Peter van Onselen. Credit: Supplied

And as sure as night follows day the respective oppositions took issue with measures in the budgets, mostly because that’s the game politics has become.

But don’t get depressed. The quote at the top of this column wasn’t delivered this week. It was spoken more than 40 years ago by the founder of the Australian Democrats, Don Chipp.

The point is that polarised debates between the major parties is nothing new. When opposition leaders such as Bill Shorten or Mike Nahan complain about budgets, they are treading on well-worn foot marks.

What has changed is the adroitness of voters noticing the childish antics of the major parties: a key reason no doubt that minor parties remain on the rise. At the last Federal election we saw 15 out of every 100 voters cast a ballot for a new party built on gimmicks.

Is this a good thing?

If the zeal of minor parties leads them to block the agenda of governments elected with a majority in the Lower House where they campaigned on the policies they seek to implement, that’s a potential problem.

And now two governments selling their budgets will need to navigate their upper houses, with minor parties controlling the balance of power.