As the Independents get more demanding, so should Australians - for a new election

The Independents are acting like kids in a candy shop. They are all writing their letters to Santa. News.com.au reports from the home of little Bobby Katter:

QUEENSLAND independent MP Bob Katter is drafting his own list of proposals to take to Labor and the Coalition.

Mr Katter said for every item on the list, he had to drop three or four others, which broke his heart, as they were for his north Queensland electorate of Kennedy. But at this point he had to look at the big picture for Australia, he said.

"I will be drafting a set of proposals, suggestions that I will be putting up," he said.
"It's not good enough to say we want a different paradigm for Australia."

Someone tell him we don't want a different effing paradigm, we want a different government, that's all. That's what we voted for.

This intolerable, excruciating mess must be sorted out this week; if it is not, then, with apologies to Xavier Herbert, 'poor bastard, my country.'

That epithet, will, I fear, be applicable to Australia, whatever the outcome.

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He says we want action on climate change. Really?

Memo to Adam Bandt, the Green elected as the Member for Melbourne: Please do not assume that your ideology and political wants reflect anything other than those views of the few thousand deluded souls who elected you. Mr Bandt is entitled to represent the views of said people, but it is arrogant in the extreme for him to infer that those same views are held by the majority of the wider community.

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All hat, no cattle

If you voted Green, then you're partly responsible for this gem. Honestly, expecting reasoned debate from Bob Katter is like waiting for Laurie Oakes to appear at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

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The AEC declares it, and so do I - a bloody shambles

The Australian Electoral Commission has now declared all seats with the final tally being Labor 72, Liberal/National 73, Greens 1 and Independents 4.

The Green will go with Labor, the Tasmanian Independent and one of the NSW independents are so left they walk with a permanent slant, so they will most likely go with Labor; the other two independents and the Western Australian National who knocked off Wilson Tuckey could go anywhere.

In short: utter chaos. A poisoned chalice to whomever the independents decide to anoint.

I would almost not like to see Tony Abbott offered the role, knowing that as Prime Minister, he would be held over a barrel at the slightest contentious issue by a few former National Party raving lunatic agrarian socialists, and a couple of loony lefties hell-bent on reforming parliamentary procedure at the expense of far more pressing national and international concerns.

Therefore, were Abbott to get the nod, after taking the oath of office, he should immediately request the Governor General dissolve parliament and call another election.

The Australian people deserve another chance at the polls, now that they can see what a vote for the Greens and a vote for Labor can produce.

I hope we get it right the second time – and that the Greens and the Independents rightly get it.

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Election aftermath. Let's have it again

Regardless of whether it is Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott who visits the Governor General, one of the basic tenets of forming a commission to govern the country is that the Governor General must be convinced that you can provide stable government. As someone said last night, she (the GG) is not going to accept a wing and a prayer."

With the balance of power in the House of Reps looking like being in the hands of one Green, three ex-conservative independents, one ex-green independent, and one WA National party member who said he wants to sit on the cross benches, all I can say is good luck with the stability thing. If that lot isn't enough to wilt a greenhouse full of tulips, don't forget that the Greens will hold the balance of power in the Senate, also.

Peter Costello said last night that we could be going to another election in less than twelve months.

The Australian people nearly got it right last night. Let's give them one more chance.

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Prime Minister ....?

What an extraordinary result we have seen tonight. I do think Tony Abbott can form government. He has achieved something truly remarkable.

I would also like to congratulate Alby Schultz in romping home in my electorate of Hume; and special kudos to Wyatt Roy, Member elect for the Queensland seat of Longman - the youngest Member-elect in the history of the Australian Parliament. A brilliant result.

Good night, one and all.

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Thoughts from the polling booth

Cold, wet and windy here in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. Lovely morning to vote. Not. Even worse if you have to stand in the rain handing out leaflets.

I have just completed my first two hour shift of the day. Reactions among the voters were interesting. A high number of people were not taking any how to vote cards from any party. I lost count of how many actively sought a Liberal Party one. I did not hear one person ask for a Labor Party one.

The vibe was encouraging if you are a Liberal Party supporter - but that needs to be balanced by knowing that Hume is a Liberal Party seat with a margin of 5.3%. I return to the front line at 4pm - my fingers should have thawed out by then.

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Election-eve thoughts

Labor are giving every indication that they are in crisis. They are certainly losing their grip on this election, but the party, along with Prime Minister Gillard, are also losing credibility.

Today Gillard looked gutted and desperate as she flogged the old Workchoices horse. Dear me. Julia, in the Penrith by-election a couple of months ago, at the three booths where ALP volunteers were wearing 'your rights at work' t-shirts, the swing against the ALP was over 30 percent. Do you not see any messages there? Workchoices has as much traction as a skateboard on ice.

I look forward to tomorrow. I will be handing out how to vote cards in the morning when my local booth opens, and again for a couple of hours before closing.

I am increasingly hopeful of the dawn of a new era in Australian politics, and that tomorrow night we can once again proclaim that the people understood, and voted accordingly.

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Debating debating challenges challengers

Julia Gillard wants to debate Tony Abbott a second time. Abbott wants another Rooty Hill-style forum. Gillard will not get the former, but Abbott needs to be careful with another forum - it worked for him once, but many a weekend hacker have broken 80 on Saturday, only to return to the course on Sunday, full of bravado, to shoot 97.

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We can't afford another three years of Labor

It is going to be a busy week, and I fear that posts will be sparse - and short. So, while I have the time, here are my thoughts for this coming Saturday.

The Courier Mail editorialises today:

RARELY has a government squandered goodwill and confidence as quickly as did the Labor administration.

Kevin Rudd's spectacular approval ratings dramatically collapsed and made him unelectable, according to party powerbrokers.

His demise came on the back of a clumsily administered home insulation scheme, a wasteful Building Education Revolution and an undeliverable commitment to address climate change. The great communicator was unable to sell his message and his rapport with the people was submerged in a tidal wave of jargon.

Kevin Rudd was an accidental tourist to the Lodge – almost as if he arrived there not knowing what to do once he unpacked his bags. As Prime Ministers go, he was a complete disaster. He had neither the managerial nor corporeal qualities for such a demanding position. It was fortunate for Rudd that he departed when he did. I believe his health would probably have suffered had he decided to tough it out.

For all of Rudd's deficiencies, voters have a right to be cranky, not just because of the manner in which he was despatched, but for the fact that they will not be able to have the chance this Saturday to do to Rudd what the backroom boffins of the ALP - and Julia - did instead. Queensland and NSW voters are particularly livid. They are the ones with baseball bats at the ready come Saturday.

The ALP will most certainly lose seats in Queensland – at least eight by my reckoning, but possibly as many as ten, as well as three or four in NSW. The anti-ALP swing appears to be neutralised in Victoria, although I wouldn’t be surprised if Corangamite went back to the Liberals.

Thanks to Labor’s squandering of the surplus they inherited, it will take many years for this country to get back in the black.

On Saturday, Australians should vote for proven economic managers – true fiscal conservatives. We need a return to a government that knows what to do to ensure a high quality of life for its citizens - a standard of living that once made us the envy of the rest of the world. We need a return to a stable, competent government, lead by a Prime Minister with courage and humility.

It is unfathomable that Labor could be given a second chance after so many stuff-ups in three years. Don’t risk them again. Vote for the coalition on Saturday.

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The Federal government: your infrastructure dollar at work

I was flicking through 2GB's website and an interview between Jason Morrison and Warren Truss, Leader of the National Party, grabbed my attention.

I have said before on this blog how backward and second world the rail infrastructure is in Australia.

Well, get a load of this: it turns out that from August 8th, there have been no passenger rail services between Sydney and Melboune. If you want to catch a train from Sydney to Melbourne, you can only go as far as Albury (three hours from Melbourne) and transfer to a road coach to complete the journey. This situation is indefinite, and all because the track infrastructure in Victoria has not been maintained by the government-owned corporation responsible.

This is gross political and economic negligence.

Welcome to Australia in the 21st century.

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The Liberal Party: a few ads short of a campaign director

I complete agree with this. I said as much here.

The Liberal Party advertising campaign should be attacking Labor for the shameful waste, mal-administration, in-fighting, and sheer incompetence of the last three years. The ads have simply not occurred.

The coalition cannot rely solely on Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones to get them over the line next Saturday.

Why have we not seen commercials ripping into Labor? It is not bloody good enough.

If the Liberals lose this election, then federal campaign director Brian Loughnane should resign his post immediately, or be sacked.

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When the vanquished resort to vitriol

I live in the federal electorate of Hume – ‘an electorate the size of Belgium’ as everyone seems to refer to it. Give me Hume any day.

The current sitting member is Liberal MP, Alby Schultz. Mr Schultz is re-contesting for the Liberal Party. Schultz is 71.

Against Mr Schultz, I have heard the terms ‘seat-warming’, ‘lazy’, ‘past-it’, and the plain-speaking ‘too old’ bandied about. ‘How could someone who will be 75 by the time of the next election, possibly have the energy and enthusiasm to represent a huge rural electoral containing over 220 villages and towns?’, they ask.

I know Alby Schultz. I have met him, shaken his hand and spoken to him on many occasions. I don’t always agree with everything he says, but I have never doubted his ability to represent his constituents. He is a true, hard-working, grass roots politician. He is also part of a duo, the other half of which is Alby’s better half - his loyal and dedicated wife, Gloria. Gloria often accompanies Alby on his trips into the heart of the electorate, and takes over some of the night driving for Alby, who lost the sight in one eye in a chemical accident several years ago. The Schultzes know Hume backwards.

In my local paper yesterday, the Labor candidate for Hume at the 2007 election, David Grant, revealed, in a letter to the editor, why he was not standing as a candidate again in 2010. He mentioned that his reasons were a combination of work commitments and a desire to pass the baton to a “much younger” candidate (Grant is 61).

Grant’s letter was as subtle as a draughthorse’s fart. Replete with sly references to the age difference between Schultz, himself and the current ALP candidate, it was distasteful in the extreme – the very thing you would expect from the ALP.

If Mr Grant thinks 71 is over the hill, he needs to re-evaluate his definition of geriatrics - the oldest member in the UK House of Commons is Conservative MP Sir Peter Tapsell. Tapsell is 80.

I can tell people why David Grant is not standing again for the ALP in Hume – he is not standing because he knows he would not have won. The voters of Hume got it absolutely right in 2007; and Grant knows that in 2010 he would have had Buckley’s chance of getting intelligent, responsible and classy individuals to vote in their very opposite.

Age has nothing to do with it.

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Gillard Abbott Public Forum (Stunning performance by Abbott)

The public forum is just over and it was the best performance I have ever seen Tony Abbott give. To say he was impressive is an understatement. He was engaging and comfortable - and very candid at times, as well. I must say I was nervous at the start, fearing that Abbott would appear wooden and aloof, but, thankfully, he was just the opposite.

There are certain game-changers in every election campaign, one that jolts the audience awake. This could just be once such occasion, and all in Abbott's favour.

The Labor spin doctors will be up all night. Clearly, from the questions and reactions of the audience tonight, the ALP/union attack ads and a predictably negative campaign, is not working.

All Tony needs now is to employ a youth adviser once he becomes PM.


UPDATE

Andrew Bolt avers that Abbott correction, 'the Liberals' will be wishing tonight's coverage of the forum was not limited to SkyNews, the ABC's 24 hour news channel and a live stream on news.com.au. I don't think Tony should worry - it will probably be all over YouTube in a few hours.

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The wheels are off and Labor's firing blanks

Ooh wah, did you hear what Tony Abbott said today?

Good, so did I - and he was one hundred percent right and without fault.

Credence should never be given to anyone with such puerile minds who feel the need to extract every ounce of innuendo where none could ever be found. Do you want to know when 'no' means 'no'? 'No' means I will never vote for any party who seeks to use non-stories such as this to divert attention from their own leaking, farcical campaign.

Muckraking so-called 'journalists' do themselves absolutely no favours when they proselytise this anti-conservative hysteria. Get a life.

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