When the three independent MPs agreed to allow their private negotiations to become fly-on-the-wall fodder for last night’s Four Corners — the critically sensitive discussions that determined which party would govern Australia — they took a risk that no “normal” politician would take.

In a world of talking points and spin control, Messrs Oakeshott, Windsor and Katter agreed to expose themselves in all their independent glory to the scrutiny of an ever-present TV reporting team (with the doors closed only occasionally). In doing so, they took the idea of a new kind of politics to an exciting new level.

Watching this compelling warts-and-all drama unfold, which at times was breathtaking in its honesty as well as its naivety, was like taking a dip in a crystal clear lake after spending years wallowing in sludge.

That really was a new paradigm.