The date of the election

was set long ago. It was set when the politicians decided to give themselves a fixed term.
Fixed terms, so they tell us, give certainty. Perhaps they do. 
It is something the voters in this state may yet have further cause to regret if there is a really messy outcome on March 17th. Imagine finding ourselves with an unwilling coalition of politicians. They will be people who have been able to retain or obtain power only by going into coalition with a group who will effectively be able to call the shots without any of the responsibility. It's not a happy thought.
There is also a long-standing coalition at federal level. The Prime Minister from the major party and the Deputy Prime Minister from the smaller party have been having a very public spat. Can they go on working together? It would have been better for the country if they had both maintained silence and not allowed themselves to be goaded into comment.
I have been thinking about this as there are a couple of organisations I belong to where the leadership is well past the use-by date. People should go. Other people have simply allowed them to stay. At election time they simply announced they would be going on with their roles. It wasn't put quite like that of course but it was done in such a way that some people were unaware that the positions were actually vacant. Some believed there was still another twelve months to run and that they had to wait until then for the chance to appoint someone else.  Others were simply too cowed to speak up. Fortunately there are time limits on how long positions can be held in these organisations. Things will change, hopefully in time for the groups to be revitalised.
Perhaps it is time to consider the same sort of thing for politicians? No, you can't be Premier or Prime Minister or President forever. Somebody else needs to take their turn.
Yes, I am feeling a little anxious about the outcome on March 17.