Source: ABC News
So, Australia went to the polls on August 21. We all cast our votes on which local member we wished to have represent us out of the 150 members within the House of Representatives. We also nominated which party we'd like to see represent us in the Senate. We all did that, went home, and for some of us political tragics, we watched the evening coverage with mixed feelings, as the results came flooding in. Would the ALP retain power? Would the LNP get over the line and return to Government a mere 3 years after they left?
Or would we all still be waiting 2 weeks later for a final result? Hmmm - I bet no-one really saw that one coming before the ballot boxes closed.
OK, so it's not as if the 2 weeks that have thus far passed are in any real way a bad thing - at least we know the process is happening in a decent way. And for most of us polly tragics, the fact is this new scenario of a hung parliament / minority Government is like a breath of fresh air in what was fast becoming the most nonsensical and stupid election campaign of living memory. The pattern has been broken, and if nothing else, at least the next 3 years should provide us with some interesting points of discussion.
So far, the LNP have seemingly come out in front on the raw seat numbers - 73 seats vs the ALP's 72. This does, however, include the WA MP Tony Crook, the man who so wonderfully ousted Wilson "Ironbar" Tuckey from his seat. Crook has declared that for the most part, he will be sitting on the cross-benches, and won't be automatically siding with LNP policy. Which is fair enough, and not a huge surprise, given the WA Nats have always seemed to want to march to the beat of their own drum. Still, it is kinda funny if you think about it.
Meanwhile, the ALP have already managed to increase their number of seats from 72 to 74, putting them ever so slightly ahead of the LNP - but this was only possible by signing a 3-year treaty with the Greens to include Adam Bandt in the ALP count, as well as new Tasmanian Independent Andrew Wilkie. Essentially these deals give the ALP confidence that supply will not be blocked by either member in the event of an ALP minority Government, as well as having the support of both men in the event of a vote of no confidence motion being put forward in the House of Reps. There's also been some policy discussion, but I guess that sort of stuff won't happen in too much detail until the ALP are confirmed as the next Government.
So now that Julia Gillard is close, she is still some distance from being able to visit the Governor-General and ask to form Government. Hence the reason we are still waiting on the 3 remaining Independents to finalise their views, something we expect to see happen next week.
The interesting side-note to all of this has been the Coalition reaction to the news, which has been hysterical to say the least. Tony Abbott and his minions really haven't handled this post-election phase at all well, with various rantings and sledgings of how things have gone to be quite amazing, to say the least. None of which can really be helping their case, it must be said. The overriding view I get of their attitude thus far has been that they really were just keeping it together until August 21, with all of their might and willpower, with the hope of winning and getting into Government, at which point it wouldn't matter how they carried on, because they had won. Now that victory is so close, and yet so far, the LNP are starting to crack under the pressure, with wild claims and accusations flying thick and fast.
The fact that the Coalition tried to "bribe" Andrew Wilkie to side with them, by offering a $1b slab of pure pork, goes to show in some small measure just how desperate the Coalition must be at this stage.
Then comes today's news about the LNP costings having an $11b "black hole" present, and suddenly the above theory takes on a much more sinister tone. They appear to have fudged the figures, claiming some areas twice when it comes to savings, removing the usual buffer put in when estimating future policy costings, that sort of thing. All dodgy little tricks in their Excel spreadsheet that would most likely send a chill up any accountant's spine. Well, save for the dodgy ones, that is.
It's clear from the reporting that the LNP knew their figures were dodgy - why else withhold them from the Treasurey department, under the Charter of Budget Honesty they themselves set up, if they knew the damage the figures would do to them prior to August 21? If this is indeed the case, the Coalition have no right to govern, since they were prepared to go to great lengths to hide the truth from the Australian people, and do we really want people like that running this country?
The alternative argument is that they honestly didn't know there was this big a problem, which begs the follow-up question - do we really want people running our finances if they cannot even get their own budget figures right? I thought the LNP were meant to be the responsible economic managers?
Anyway, I guess all of this will be resolved in just a few days time. I for one am hoping the 3 Indy's back the ALP, and give them 77 Seats in the House. If nothing else, this way we get the fun of watching the LNP explode, although the sad part is the mainstream media, in particular News Ltd, will quite happily assist the LNP in any attempts to undermine the ALP's minority Government stance.
Which could very well be the saddest outcome of all...