Federal Election

[FNM]

So who ends up PM  ???

Whoever can form a government with the independents I'm guessing!

[Francois Jackson]

How are they going to work with the independents
The independents can't even stand each other after watching Tony Windsor and Barnaby Joyce tonight lol

that Joyce has got a face i want to smash.

a stuffwit of the highest order.

[mightytiges]

Isn't it amazing the parallel between this and the UK election?

There the Lib Dems chose to support the Tories because 1) there was a protest vote against the government. 2) It was a more stable arrangement given any arrangement with Labour would have required a heap of other minor parties like Sinn Fein coming on board.

Will be interesting whether the Greens choose the Liberals for similar reasons, especially given that the independents are mostly notionally conservative

Could go either way. In the 1999 Victorian state election the two conservative independents and ex-Labor independent all sided with Bracks so yep Jake it's quite possible for independents to side with the party which is not their side of politics.

According to the ABC, the Coalition may end up with 73 seats, Labor 72, 4 independents and 1 Green. You would guess the Green would side with Labor so both parties would need to find the support of 3 of the 4 independents. That could change depending on pre-polling and postal votes still left to count. Both sides have practically ended up with 50% of the nationwide vote.
 
Gillard in her speech congratulated the independents by name for winning their seats and the Liberal MPs on the tv are reminding the independents of their conservative roots so the sucking up to the independents has already begun.

[the_boy_jake]

Either way its a terrible result for Australia in fragile economic times to have several years of a legislative process where nothing can happen swiftly because everything needs to be run by several independents and the Greens.

One of the reasons China did so better than expected in the GFC is that they have absolutely no roadblocks in their executive process. Now whilst there isn't too much to envy about their system, what we are facing is quite dangerous

[Chuck17]

I agree the Chinese have no problem with execution at all

[WilliamPowell]

Both sides have practically ended up with 50% of the nationwide vote.

How true I think it shows that neither party has been given a mandate govern depsite what Tony said in his speech last night.

Gillard in her speech congratulated the independents by name for winning their seats and the Liberal MPs on the tv are reminding the independents of their conservative roots so the sucking up to the independents has already begun.

I thought the speeches showed a clear difference in the 2 leaders, one acknowledging in an albeit shrewd way the need to get some deal done with the independants; the other showing a form of disrepsect for the democracy and constitution of this country and to those who actually currently hold all the aces in the pack (read the independants)

I hate to break it to Tony but as it stands right at this minute he isn't Prime Minister, the Coalition isn't in power so to say the current government has lost its "legitamacy" is a bit rich.... 

Bu hey at least he had time last might to remind me again that he'd stop the boats ... well all but 3 a year 

[FNM]

Bu hey at least he had time last might to remind me again that he'd stop the boats ... well all but 3 a year 

When he's sucking up to Bob Brown, I don't think he'll be telling him they'll be turning the boats around lol
How many policy reversals are we going to get whoever gets in government?
He might want to rethink what he thinks on climate change as well 

[FNM]

PS:  Message to Queenslanders, Anna Bligh is state, this election was federal
Amusing the Coalition campaigned with Anna Bligh posters all over the place lol

[the_boy_jake]

PS:  Message to Queenslanders, Anna Bligh is state, this election was federal
Amusing the Coalition campaigned with Anna Bligh posters all over the place lol

Realistically, I think Rudd was probably a bigger issue than Bligh. We are a very parochial bunch. And judged on Gillard's performance thus far its probably not a bad issue to have. The state opposition up here are totally incompetent though and I'd be surprised if Bligh had a great effect on the vote.

[Tigeritis™©®]

This result proves to all that unless your name is Bob Hawke, Labor aren't any good at running government longer than 3 years! Their history speaks loud and clear.
After a landslide victory in 2007 when we all were hopeful that Rudd could make a real difference he was shafted by his own party revealing to all that Labor can't be trusted to govern with a mandate from the Australian public. It shows that Labor are a fractured, unstable organisation with too many hidden agendas and too many heads trying to drive a ship. Problem is that with a constitution that has a 40/40/20 rule that is discrimminatory and is un Australian, the party members are unable to work together or trust one another. Therefore the ship will always sink   
A great example of this was Maxine McKew who was a strong supporter of Kevin '07. In her own words she was "factionless" and was therefore NOT supported by Julia's growing faction The Emily's list. Not even a train line could save her in the end.   
In conclusion
Luke 11:17
Geez knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.

[FNM]

PS:  Message to Queenslanders, Anna Bligh is state, this election was federal
Amusing the Coalition campaigned with Anna Bligh posters all over the place lol

Realistically, I think Rudd was probably a bigger issue than Bligh. We are a very parochial bunch. And judged on Gillard's performance thus far its probably not a bad issue to have. The state opposition up here are totally incompetent though and I'd be surprised if Bligh had a great effect on the vote.

When's the next state election? Be a very interesting one.
Why are they on the nose?  Is it the hospitals still?

[the_boy_jake]

When's the next state election? Be a very interesting one.
Why are they on the nose?  Is it the hospitals still?

Hospitals and selling off public assets (QR) thus alienating Labor heartland.

[FNM]

When's the next state election? Be a very interesting one.
Why are they on the nose?  Is it the hospitals still?

Hospitals and selling off public assets (QR) thus alienating Labor heartland.

Rudd wanted to take over the hospitals at a federal level. Maybe would have been a good thing not just for Queensland.  Been an issue for so long everywhere.
Yep, I can understand the angst in selling QR. Coal miners will be happy but as with anything, they don't put much back into improving infrastructure

[WilliamPowell]

This result proves to all that unless your name is Bob Hawke, Labor aren't any good at running government longer than 3 years! Their history speaks loud and clear.

 

Nope what this result (or NON RESULT) proves is whether you want to admit it or not is that 50% of this country want Gillard over Abbott, while the other 50% want Abbott over Gillard

That's all that yesterday proved IMHO

Wouldn't be hystercial if we have to do it all again because no-one can get a deal done 

[the_boy_jake]

Good news - looks like the independents are behind the NBN

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/independents-seem-to-favour-nbn-20100822-13an7.html

What would be really funny is if the Greens and these independents give the government another term and are big on public infrastructure, social reform, the republic (as Oakeshott is), big Australia etc it could end up worse for the Libs than if Labor had won outright