Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten have been good for the Liberal and Labor parties.
When readers stop laughing I'll explain why.
The Abbott-Turnbull period between 2013 and late 2018 was an exercise in extremes.
Abbott was too conservative, to the point of bringing back knights and dames - much to the bafflement of 21st century Australians.
Turnbull was too moderate, delivering what many commentators have described as a "Labor lite" approach.
Scott Morrison now has the benefits of voters having seen both extremities of the Liberal party and has the opportunity - if willing - to find the more palatable middle ground.
Shorten showed what can happen when party discipline and the demand for unity becomes so important it stifles freedom of speech, policy agility and democracy.
He led the party for six years, including two election losses - albeit a nail-biting finish in 2016.
Some of the policies taken to the 2019 election had already been taken to the 2016 election, with a bit of new paintwork.
When parliamentary committee hearings exposed problems with Labor's proposed changes to franking credits, Shorten dismissed it as a coalition attack rather than delve deeper into the concerns of self-funded retirees.
It was a missed opportunity to redesign a policy which damaged Labor across many seats at the polls.
Now Anthony Albanese has an opportunity to rebuild the party, give MPs freer rein to speak and take a more nimble approach to policy.
When parliament opens on Tuesday, voters will get a glimpse of the new approaches from both leaders.
It will also be the first time since September 2015 there is no former prime minister biding his time in the backbenches of the House of Representatives.
The ghosts of the past have evaporated, with Tony Abbott losing his seat of Warringah at the election and Malcolm Turnbull fleeing parliament in August last year.
On the Labor side, veterans such as Wayne Swan, Kate Ellis and Jenny Macklin are gone.
Albanese's first parliamentary test will be $158 billion in income tax cuts proposed by the Morrison government.
Labor will support the first stage of the plan, providing extra cash for low and middle-income earners and wants the second stage - due to kick in from 2022/23 - brought forward to this financial year.
However it's not in favour of the final stage - flattening the tax rate from 32.5 per cent to 30 per cent for people earning between $45,000 and $200,000 from mid-2024.
It is likely, but not yet certain, Senate crossbenchers will back the government and Labor's vote won't be needed.
But in the meantime Labor wants voters to know it takes budget management seriously, thinks there are better uses of billions of dollars than tax breaks for people earning six figures and worries about the government locking in spending in five years' time when there is no certainty what will be happening with the economy.
With the tax debate over, the political debate will shift to a handful of other battlegrounds.
A proposed review of workplace laws - which received little to no attention during the election campaign - has already raised the ire of unions.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus says it's a response to the business lobby's wish list and an attempt to erode wages and conditions, already under pressure from a flagging economy.
The business lobby is relishing the opportunity to get a more flexible and dynamic workforce.
Freedom of religion is also being examined following Israel Folau's dismissal over his social media posts.
And the government needs to find a coherent message on cutting emissions and bringing down power prices.
We may be witnessing a shift away from the personality politics of the past two terms to a federal political era focused on policy.
