Brexit, Trump, now NXT ... we're sick of the old, established order
A LONG campaign through the dark winter weeks served to prove that Australians feel lukewarm about politicians. 
Voters hitting the polling booths yesterday were far more impassioned about the various sausage sizzles (or lack thereof) and the length of queues.
A consistent message from within the Liberal Party has been that although they recognise Malcolm Turnbull has not lived up to the hype there were no "baseball bats" out for him either.
On the Labor side, Bill Shorten has proved a pleasant surprise, but that was coming off a very low base. So far, so tepid.
Pundits have started talking about the "Nexit". A shift away from the usual order, signified by the move towards Nick Xenophon Team.
The exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union - known as Brexit - was broadly seen as a sign of disenchantment with the established order.
The rise of Donald Trump in the United States is attributed by many to the same phenomenon.
Even if the Nick Xenophon Team comes up short of its enormous expectation, it presents a real and present danger to both sides that will persist through this next term.
The Government may not have changed but the face of politics has. Last night, Mr Turnbull looked set to be returned, so his troubles are just beginning.
It's not clear that he'll have enough votes in a joint sitting to pass the union legislation that was the purported reason we went to a   July 2 double dissolution in the first place and that will be embarrassing.
He also won't have had a convincing enough win to deliver him the authority he needs in a partyroom split by ideologies and loyalties.
On the other side, Mr Shorten may have done far better than expected but, if as is likely, he falls short of winning he too will face questions from within his own party.
NXT could well fall apart under the pressures of Parliament but for now Senator Xenophon is the most successful leader in Australia.
NXT candidate Rebekha Sharkie last night captured the blue ribbon Liberal seat of   Mayo from former minister Jamie Briggs.
Labor looked favoured to retain the seats of Kingston, Makin, Port Adelaide and Wakefield. Adelaide member Kate Ellis was predicted to hold her seat despite a small swing toward Liberal candidate David Colovic. The Liberals were forecast to retain Barker, Boothby and Sturt despite swings against them in every seat.Hindmarsh and Grey were too close to call.