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Shout out to the Aussies who said *quot;it couldn't happen here*quot; then watched our elections go 'tits up', as we like to say!

******

We were sitting on the back veranda of the house, facing the garden. It was just the two of us, at a pause in the conversations. In the darkness not far away, someone had put fresh wood in the brazier and the flames were leaping into the night sky. We could feel the warmth from where we were sitting. Even with the fire, the warmth, and alcohol, the mood was low.

Teija sat beside me, shaking her head. *quot;How could we lose? How could we lose so badly?*quot; She shuddered with anger, despair, the cold, or all three.

There had been a general election. The conservatives have been in power for six years, Six years of fighting over leadership, destructive incompetence, even corruption. Now surely, it was time for the progressives to take over, restore order and actually face the challenges of the future.

The progressives had lost resoundingly. A mixture of dirty tricks by the government, vicious attacks by conservative media and people's fear of the future had ruined them. This party was meant to be a victory party. It wasn't even a wake.

*quot;It's the end of the Great Barrier Reef. The inland rivers. Penalty rates. Affordable housing. Renewable energy. Hell, we may not even get electric cars.*quot;

I smiled to myself. Teija, pronounced Taya, was an old friend, with a big heart and a strong conscience. A year out from school, she had gone from *quot;concerned*quot; to *quot;full-scale eco warrior*quot;. Her city friends were that, even more than her. Since I came off a farm, they were very suspicious of me. But Teija, credit to her, always defended me.

The fact is, farmers are actually greenies, though they'll never admit it. It's obvious really, they have to have healthy soil and good water, they have to be sustainable or they go broke (even faster than they do anyway). They have to conserve the land, so that makes them kind of conservationists. They're actually in opposition to the conservative political parties. Their party, the Country Party, was now called the Nationals and always supported The big miners or agribusiness over the family farmers these days.

Anyhow, this party was made up of Teija's green/progressive friends and she had made a point of inviting me. Shame it was so miserable.

I poured some more champagne into our plastic cups. It was called 'Saint Louis' and I thought it would be funny to drink champagne named after a French king on this election night. It was a bad idea and terrible champagne.

Teija shuddered again. Hunched against the cold, she grabbed my hand. Her hand was quite cold to touch and instinctively I took it in both of mine to warm it up. She leant against me, for warmth and maybe for comfort. With a start I realised she was weeping softly. I wasn't sure, but it seemed right to put my arm around her shoulders. I could feel her unsteady breathing

This was new territory. We had grown up together, shared baths as little kids, chucked cowpats at each other, romped in haysheds, helped each other with cuts and grazes... but never felt (or wanted) to get closer. Except for one time, about two years ago...

Opposite our farm there was an old, empty farmhouse. It was fairly close to the road, while we were set back a short way. The land had been sold off and there was just the house, a few sheds and mature trees in a *quot;home paddock*quot;. Around the start of primary school, Teija's family moved in. Things changed.

There was lots of activity. Odd deliveries came by post and in trucks (often we would get them because none of the drivers even knew the other house). Funny music played, which I later found out was a cello. And this girl with long, white-blonde hair, a bit older than me and younger than my sister, played out the front, all the time.

We rode our bikes down and watched from behind some trees. When we got a bit bolder we rode down to our gate. Immediately she called us over and brought us into the game as if we'd been doing it for years. It was so natural, we just joined in. And that's how it stayed.

My sister was pretty knockabout but Teija was next level. If she fell out of a tree or off her bike and scratched herself she would ignore it. If it was bad enough she would flatly deny she was hurt. She wasn't reckless, she just didn't let anything stop her.

The other thing was her speech. She spoke perfect, almost posh English with us, but the first time her mum called her we just stopped