I love federal elections.

They’re my Grand Final and I like to watch them uninterrupted at home while I channel-surf through all the election night analysis and scroll social media for the theatrics.

My guilty pleasure is watching my political opposites eat humble pie on live TV as their team goes down the gurgler. Excruciating for them, best day ever for me.

From the moment an election is called I’m on the hook, glued to the political point scoring. I devour the latest news and scroll through the comments to get an idea of where the political chips are going to fall.

I’ve been engrossed by elections since I was a kid, tiptoeing into my parent’s bedroom the morning after election night to tap Dad on the shoulder and find out what happened after I fell asleep.

I got the political bug from Dad, who read newspapers every day and religiously listened to ABC radio in the morning and watched the ABC news on TV at night.

The first election result I distinctly remember was in 1983 when Bob Hawke demolished Malcolm Fraser, because where I grew up in conservative Central Queensland this was a tragic turn of events.

Fast forward a few years and I met Bob Hawke when I was a young journalist in Rockhampton. I can’t remember why he was there, but I do remember being struck by how small he was for someone with such a big presence.

For me, there is nothing more exciting, more dramatic, more heartbreaking, and more important than politics – because ultimately, everything about our lives, our health and wellbeing, and the society we live in is political.

The first politician to truly break my heart was John Howard. I voted for him in the 1996 election and then he refused to apologise to Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.

I still remember the feeling of shock and betrayal, and deep shame that I had voted for him and contributed to this terrible moment in history.

How could he be so belligerent, so short-sighted, so heartless to our own people? Being seen and heard matters. Gaslighting non-apologies are beyond forgiveness.

Needless to say, I never voted for him again, or anyone else who sounds remotely like him.

From my conservative Queensland roots, to a period as a swinging voter, I’ve become deeply committed to the values of the Labor Party. In fact, the older I get the more important I think they are.

And now my cousin Kara Cook – a lawyer, wife and mum of three – is the Labor candidate for the seat of Bonner in Brisbane. So another Central Queensland girl turned Labor red.

Lucky Bonner residents having Kara in their corner because she is brilliant and a fierce advocate for her community, as she was in the courtroom defending family violence victims and as a councillor on Brisbane City Council.

My cousin Kara Cook on the campaign trail (above) and with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers (top).

For me, the swing left is this simple: Left-wing politics are progressive and help to lift people up. Right-wing politics are regressive and keep people down. They are consistently on the wrong side of history, fighting against fairness and equality, denying science, fuelling fear and division.

The single biggest issue of importance to me is the fight for equality, and dismantling all the ways that inequality creates hardship, limits opportunities and drives poor health. Politics is where problems are fixed because change must be systemic and come from the top down.

There are so many politicians who loom large in my memory with a kind of rock-star presence.

Wayne Goss, the Queensland premier who dragged Queensland out of the corruption of the Bjelke-Petersen years.

Charismatic characters such as Paul Keating and Graham Richardson, who continue to be walking headlines any time they fall in front or a microphone.

Julia Gillard, an icon whose rightfully enraged misogyny speech has captured every generation of young women since.

My absolute favourite among today’s crop is our Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, who stands out as one of the most capable and impressive politicians of any era.

Penny Wong and Kara Cook with Bonner locals. Pictures: LABOR PARTY STAFF

Politicians cop a lot of stick, but there are so many I admire, as well as just appreciating the ideal of what politics can achieve.

This election my vote is with Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party, which is Tim Watts in my local electorate of Gellibrand.

I think Albanese is an exceptional leader – strong, steady, dependable; a genuinely decent person who is in politics for all the right reasons and has a proven track record of working for all Australians.

As voters, regardless of our political persuasion, we now have better access than ever before to make informed decisions on issues that matter to us and make our lives better.

And the best thing any of us can do is get out and cast an informed vote. Long live the democracy sausage.

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