The pivotal issue of election 2016 isn't jobs, or tax, or growth, climate, education, refugees, healthcare or super. It's Australia's politicians.

As the torrent of spin once more engulfs the nation, coast-to-coast, it is clear that, for many voters, a paralysing ennui has set in that numbs them to the endless slogans, the schoolyard barbs, the exaggerated claims, the "repurposing" of history, the tawdry bribes and the attempted hijacking of the national interest by the sclerotic ideologies of left and right.

This election, more than any, is about the "black hole-in-the-heart" of Australia's political representation – not about the contest of ideas.

It's about the future-blindness which has gripped our political parties and their stooges, as the country stagnates into debt, division and rancour, led by a visionless class of professional self-servers largely recruited from the ranks of those who've never held a real job, run a real enterprise or worked in a real industry – political staffers, union organisers and lobbyists. It's about the lack of transparency, accountability and personal responsibility that goes with party politics as it's played nowadays.

As examples of where the loss of Australia's moral compass is taking us, it fell to a foreign paper, The New York Times, to twice shame the nation over our inhuman treatment of refugees – a policy endorsed by both the main contenders in this election. Then there is our unconscionable support for nuclear weapons on the anniversary of Hiroshima. There is the ugly attempt of the Turnbull government to airbrush the devastation of Australia's once-great Barrier Reef out of world history. There is the commitment of both sides of politics to never-ending war in the Middle East, and the politically serviceable terrorism it spawns.

Despite nearly two-thirds of Australians demanding more action on climate change (ABC VoteCompass) the two main parties endorse growth in the coal and gas industries which will commit generations of Australians (and all other nations) to an accelerating climate catastrophe. (A bizarre case of synaptic malfunction in the political brain was the announcement by the Liberal Party of a $6.5 million upgrade for a regional airport in NSW that its own climate policies will eventually submerge!).

Another was the federal Labor frontbencher with the undeclared $2.3 million house, in a party that professes to stand for the disadvantaged and lowly paid. No matter how hard they try, both parties continue to be touched by such incidents. They have become endemic. A federal ICAC is the only vermifuge.

No wonder voters are disillusioned, disinterested, disengaged, disgusted. Despite the election being ostensibly called to get rid of them, there now seems every likelihood of an increase in the number of independents and minor parties as disenchantment with the majors grows. Minority governments could become a perennial feature of our political scene.

And coups-d'etat – such as the predicted attempt, by Abbott on Turnbull, should he fail to secure a convincing majority – will be a regular event, foisting "factional warriors" on the nation for whom it never voted.

Although this has been building up over several election cycles, 2016 is shaping as the watershed moment in Australian politics when voters shift from supporting party politics to seeking people with decency, integrity, talent and commitment to represent them.

For voters, the perennial issue is "How can I tell if candidate X is a decent person – or a grub?" One approach, tried in NSW by the St James Ethics Centre and Sydney Morning Herald last year, was to ask all MPs and candidates to take a pledge not to behave like grubs. For details, see http://www.smh.com.au/cqstatic/141b7u/thepledge.pdf. Unfortunately this document contained clauses that Rake could drive a cattle-truck through.

More lucidly, the Canberra-based Alliance for Participatory Democracy (CAPaD) – who are hosting Demfest at the University of Canberra on June 18 – has been discussing a charter wherein politicians essentially promise not to lie, cheat or steal:

The draft contains clauses such as:

1. I will at all times tell the truth to the citizens and voters of Australia and be honest in all aspects of my work as an elected representative of the Australian people

2. I will fully disclose and make public the sources and value of all political funding donations, contributions, gifts etc, public and private, towards my election campaign and political activity

3. I undertake to be fair, ethical, compassionate and diligent in serving my electorate and the nation at all times, and to uphold the Australian value of "a fair go for all".

4. I will at all times place the interests of Australia, and Australians as a people, above those of sectional, corporate, party, personal, religious or other interests.

5. I will never abuse or misuse the allowances, subsidies, concessions and privileges accorded to me by the Australian people and Parliament in my role as an elected representative.

In Australia, politicians are subject to extraordinarily low standards. You only need not be a caught criminal to stand. While public servants have security, performance and integrity checks, MPs have none. While teachers, police and defence personnel are carefully screened for drugs, sex offences and other vices, MPs are not. Truck drivers, machine operators, pilots and plumbers all need licences. Corporations routinely test executives for mental fitness, physical fitness, performance and qualifications, yet Australian MPs can be mentally unbalanced, slothful, dilatory and completely unqualified.

So, in exchange for the $200,000 a year-plus that we pay them, Australia needs to introduce some firm employment criteria for our elected reps, to weed out the undesirables before they even nominate. And, just as we expect doctors to take a professional oath to "do no harm", there should also be a Charter of Political Integrity, administered as a sworn oath by the Australian Electoral Commission to every MP upon election.

The performance of each individual can then be independently audited and the results made public. To this should be added the wide promulgation of their parliamentary voting record, as is the case in the US, so electors can fairly judge whether or not a particular MP is truly representing their interests – or saying one thing and legislating the opposite.

In short, it's time to cleanse and professionalise Australian politics, to filter out the scum and give the Australian people a fair choice of decent representatives we can all be proud of.

If Election 2016 sends that message to the electorate, as well as the politicians, it will have served the nation well – regardless of what sort of parliament it delivers.

Federal election 2016: Our politicians are the real election issue