Following on from a Daily Telegraph survey that tested whether voters recognised national leaders, similar trends are now revealed at the state level as party leaders prove to be all but anonymous “Do you know this man? DT, 6/8). Roughly 35 per cent of voters are permanently rusted on to a party, devaluing the impact of either leadership or policy. The swayable middle ground will be influenced by policy focused on fashionable voter self interest. With our entrenched party system in Australia, leaders’ looks or oration skills might get them re-elected after making a positive impact in government, boosting recognisability among those who care. Yet, the idiom that governments lose power and the opposition, (warts and all) takes over by default holds true. Unless voters have a reason to remember names, they won’t waste the space in their memory banks. Mark Speakman’s redemption lies partly in his imaginative policy solutions but mostly in the cauldron of Labor’s failures. Alan Sexton, North Parramatta 7Aug2025