New Australia Government

[Tropod 144]

Please be aware of the Current Events Rules before posting. Thanks.

Surprised this hadn't.........er, then again, I'm probably the only Aussie here

Labor Government has won power. We now have a new Prime Minister; Kevin Studd Rudd.

I for one, think this is definitely for the better.

EDIT: found a good map/guide of Australia of the seats:

http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/map.htm

[toxicpiano 125]

Did Howard lose his seat? Change is always nice after a long government. It would be nice to have some in the UK...

[Sam 163]

Originally posted by: toxicpiano Did Howard lose his seat? ...quote>

Not quite yet. It will be an amazing turn-around if he retains it, but it will most likely go to postal votes. If he doesn't win, he'll be only the second sitting prime-minister to lose his seat in an election.

Originally posted by: Tropod

Surprised this hadn't.........er, then again, I'm probably the only Aussie here quote>

I've been too busy watching the coverage  Some of the swings have been huge.

Originally posted by: Tropod

 ...

I for one, think this is definitely for the better.quote>

I agree. I don't think its good to have one party in power for too long.

[coolotter88 2]

I for one think Australians are basing their votes on the fact that electing the Labor party can end a multi-year drought

>.<

[Edude7 1]

Originally posted by: coolotter88 I for one think Australians are basing their votes on the fact that electing the Labor party can end a multi-year drought

quote>

On what authority/qualification do you base this assumption and which country are you assuming from? Never mind - I figured it out.

Anyway, I am also an Aussie on here, and I was also glued to the coverage of the election on multiple channels. It was interesting to get overseas perspectives on the issues on CNN and BBC (even though it barely made a headline ripple on FOX) as well as flicking back to our own coverage.

There were many issues at stake, but I think the main one was credibility on delivering fairly for all Australians was the main issue which manifested itself in many forms.

It was time for change.

Edude7

[BurroDiablo 222]

Originally posted by: toxicpiano Did Howard lose his seat? Change is always nice after a long government. It would be nice to have some in the UK...quote>

Uh, as long as its not chav-hugger Cameron, yeah, would be nice.

[toxicpiano 125]

Originally posted by: El Burro

Originally posted by: toxicpiano Did Howard lose his seat? Change is always nice after a long government. It would be nice to have some in the UK...quote>

Uh, as long as its not chav-hugger Cameron, yeah, would be nice.quote>

It's not like there's anyone else. I don't like him either but I imagine we will be stuck with him for a while yet.

[Tropod 144]

I agree. I don't think its good to have one party in power for too long.quote>

oh I don't know, I mean if the majority of the population was happy with (any) current government, then realistically I would imagine that people will continue to vote for them, regardless of the length of time in power really. But they weren't in this case, I don't think it had anything to do really with people thinking the govt was there for too long. And for any politician suggesting this is why they lost, is just laughable. It just happens to be related; they'd been in their long enough that they'd lost touch, interest, care, for the majority. They were to business & economy focused/orientated, which I am not suggesting is a bad thing, but clearly the majority of people seem to think govt went to far with AWAs.

This is not China, where people are willing to work slave labour (this is not a pun at China-just an observation), & that's the route these AWAs were heading IMO: anyone with an understanding of economics ought to realise that this would actually hurt the economy more in the long run, not to mention the socioeconomical problems it would (already started to) cause. Anyway....

I am surprised by how much some seats have won though. 20%+ margin in some electorates (both Labor & Liberal). And swings of up to 15%: that is quite significant.

For anyone interested; break down of the electorates, votes counted, gain, margins, swings etc

http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/results/electorateindex.htm

[ephorex_77 0]

I arrived in Australia at the end of '99, so really, Howard's been the only PM I've ever known...kinda nostalgic actually, epecially when Channel 7 had "End of the Howard Era".

But honestly, if what I've read is correct, this is the first time that a government's been turfed out that's NOT been in economic trouble. In fact, we've really had an unprecedented economic boom, so I fail to see how Howard got defeated. 

I put it down to the all-too-slick presidential style campaign and the piggy-backing off Howard's policies. Rudd has no discernible stance - almost all of his policies are Howard's, only presented with more shine and with ostensibly less baggage. 

Another thing that struck me last night was Rudd's speech. I notice that when he mentioned "national security" (i.e. kicking out Muslims), the cheers he got were half-hearted at best. "National security" was arguably one of Howard's more contentious policies that he stoicly maintained, much to the chagrin of many Labour voters. And now, Rudd's getting the same reception. 

That guy appealed to waaaay to many people to see the coming years go smoothly. You can't be nice to EVERYONE in politics; invariably, someone out there's going to be unhappy by your decisions, but that's what Rudd has tried to paint himself: a man for "ALL AUSTRALIANS", which doesn't work. 

The coming years will be interesting. Obviously I hope Liberal wins the next one. Wall-to-wall Labor isn't good.

[Sam 163]

Originally posted by: Tropod

I agree. I don't think its good to have one party in power for too long.quote>

oh I don't know, I mean if the majority of the population was happy with (any) current government, then realistically I would imagine that people will continue to vote for them, regardless of the length of time in power really. But they weren't in this case, I don't think it had anything to do really with people thinking the govt was there for too long. ...quote>

The problem with party politics is that a particular party targets only a certain section of the demographic (in the case of the Coalition, middle Australia and small business) . In this case I think although the economy was booming and the resources industries and small business had really benefited,  other parts of the public were not sharing in those good times. With a labor government those people will be hoping that the issues you mentioned will be re-balanced (industrial relations, costs of living etc).

Its rare for Australia to have a change of government and as was mentioned in the campaign, certainly not in times of economic prosperity, which is why the results of this election are rather unusual. I think there were a lot of people who were feeling left out of the good times.

Interestingly, the last time a sitting Prime-Minister lost his seat in an election, industrial relations were also a key election issue.  (I guess they always are though)

Western Australia looks to be almost solid Liberal though (oops no there's a few around Perth that are not), the most dramatic changes were in the eastern states. Map of seats by party: http://media.news.com.au/multimedia/2007/11/election07/results/courier-mail.com.au.html

[Deathtoall 28]

As an Australian who can't vote i think it was time for a change, the only thing my area wasn't not going to, not in a long time.

I think that they have similar policies but people don't like Howards soft stance on Enviroment and AWA so they went lesser of two evils in away. But go greens, balance of power!

Edit, Maxine McKew will probably just win, after postals.  I hope she does. I never like Howard that much.

[owenluby 1]

Thank God Howard's gone!

[Sam 163]

He did do good things though. When he came to office there was a multi-billion dollar national debt and the budget was in deficit. The debt has now been cleared and the budget is in surplus.

I had just entered the work force the few years prior to him coming to power at a time when the nation was in recession. At the time there was very high unemployment especially among young school leavers. Interest rates were at 17%, which although good for people living off superannuation investments, was not good for people with mortgages and just about everyone else. It was a difficult time for everyone. Its a very different situation now.

[Tropod 144]

Amazing, don't believe it, mr costello has given up the leader of opposition & now tony abbott doesn't want it either. It's like a dominoes affect, one dropping after the other hahaha

They couldn't have liked or cared to much about their job to give it up like this. And mr costello was presumably going to be next PM after johny. just woow really

[ajay_law 1]

All I have to say is WOOT, because we have been waiting for this moment for 11 years, and it's time for a change from the norm aswell.

[Sam 163]

Originally posted by: Tropod Amazing, don't believe it, mr costello has given up the leader of opposition & now tony abbott doesn't want it either. It's like a dominoes affect, one dropping after the other hahaha

They couldn't have liked or cared to much about their job to give it up like this. And mr costello was presumably going to be next PM after johny. just woow really

quote>

Indeed. I guess its lucky for us they're not leading the country anymore.