Virginia Trioli: Bright spots on dark days

Just a handful of hot north wind-filled days away from the Victorian state election and voter trust seems to have scattered like pollen from the plane trees.

According to the ABC Vote Compass website, voter trust in all the major parties is at dismayingly low levels. When asked: “How trustworthy do you find the leaders?” Denis Napthine scored 4.1 out of 10, Daniel Andrews 3.9 out of 10 and Greens leader Greg Barber 3.4. (Greens leader who?)

Equally dispiriting is the Vote Compass observation that Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott recorded similar levels just before the last federal election. Great: ennui is now a permanent state.

From the voters’ point of view – not much trust, not much faith, and no inspiration. A premier won’t be voted in next week; he will get there by default.

I won’t waste your time with yet another lament about the lack of political leadership in Australia at this time: the short-term squabbles, and the lack of courage to commit to long-term reform even at the expense of immediate political gain. You know all this.

You also know why more inspiring people and those who are genuine visionaries and leaders don’t put up their hands for the jobs.

Yes, the party machines will grind them down (if they can bring themselves to sign onto their incredibly limited party platforms) and, yes, the media gotcha game will grind them out.

That’s the political state of play. Yay for us. The more inspiring picture is provided by what Victorians are getting up to and getting on with, even without the vision.

Some of this has been aided and, in some cases, part-funded by government, but what gives me hope is the intelligence, determination and sheer gumption of some achievers in this city, even without the political leadership.

Glory be, these hard-working individuals are still going to be there in their seats of influence the day after the polls close.

It is now unarguable that knowledge economies are going to provide the real opportunities of the future, and smart cities will be able to foster and attract those who will drive them.

It is awe-inspiring to live, as I do, near the towering Parkville medical, research and university precinct that daily grows larger and more impressive. There’s the uni, the Howard Florey, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and all the other institutes; then there’s the new Penington Institute and Royal Children’s Hospital; add to that the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and the area has the combined brain power of the International Space Station.

Further away, the South-East Melbourne Innovation Precinct anchors the other side of this burgeoning smart city: Monash University and the Australian Synchrotron form the hub, with CSIRO and many scientific and engineering services as active partners.

If I were to go on and list the extraordinary and world-recognised medical, engineering, technology and IT research and development that is under way in Melbourne, my editors would have a fit: I just don’t have the space.

So this election, I’m voting 1 for a smarter Victoria. I’m backing my fellow citizens and the incredible work they do now and will do in the future. The politicians will come and go. Brainpower will always triumph.