Article:Labor has lost its legitimacy, says Tony Abbott as hung parliament looms

[ozbob]

From the Sunday Mail click here!

Labor has lost its legitimacy, says Tony Abbott as hung parliament looms

Labor has lost its legitimacy, says Tony Abbott as hung parliament looms

    * Michael Madigan and Daryl Passmore
    * From: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
    * August 22, 2010 12:32AM

Mr Abbott told a crowd of party faithful at Sydney's Wentworth Hotel shortly before midnight: "What is clear from tonight is that the Labor Party has definitely lost its majority and what that means is that the government has lost its legitimacy."

Australia has a historic hung parliament after Julia Gillard's Labor suffered a vicious backlash from angry Queensland voters in the tightest election result for decades.

A primary vote swing of 9.5 per cent cost the ALP nine seats as the state that handed Kevin Rudd victory three years ago turned on the woman who pushed him from leadership.

Ms Gillard, who started the campaign with a good lead, was facing the prospect of losing power after just 58 days as Australia's first female prime minister.

Arriving at Labor Party HQ after 11pm last night, Ms Gillard quoted former US president Bill Clinton: "The people have spoken but it's going to take a little while to determine exactly what they've said.

"Obviously this is too close to call. I will continue to lead the government and provide strong and stable government until the outcome of the election is clearly known."

Mr Abbott, meanwhile, was being hailed as a hero after a disciplined campaign took him to the brink of becoming the country's 28th prime minister.

But it was an excruciatingly long evening for Mr Abbott and, as the numbers were crunched in key marginals around the nation, it looked increasingly likely that he would have to try to stitch together a deal with four Independents to get there.

Their support for Mr Abbott is by no means guaranteed.

Although three, including Bob Katter in the north Queensland seat of Kennedy, have conservative backgrounds, they are no friends of the Coalition.

The fourth, former whistle-blower Andrew Wilkie who snatched the Tasmanian seat of Denison from Labor in a surprise result, leans towards green policies.

It was a big night for the Greens, increasing their primary vote to 12 per cent, picking up the bulk of the bleed from Labor.

The Greens secured their first seat in the House of Representatives, with candidate Adam Bandt leading in the electorate of Melbourne, where Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner retired.

And environmental lawyer Larissa Waters became the first Greens senator ever elected in Queensland, helping them gain the balance of power in the Upper House.

The most fiercely-fought election battle in decades came down to a couple of dozen marginals, making the result in Western Australia crucial to the outcome.

The likely result was 73 seats to the Coalition, Labor 72, Greens one and Independents four. That would mean Australia's first hung parliament since World War II.

A record informal vote of 5.6 per cent also pointed to a high level of discontent in the electorate, which appeared to want to take a baseball bat to the Government but not decisively enough to throw it out of office.

With more than two-thirds of the vote counted, the two-party preferred swing against Labor in Queensland was close to 6 per cent.

Wyatt Roy, 20-year-old LNP candidate in Caboolture-based Longman, became the youngest person ever elected to Federal Parliament with an astounding win over veteran Labor member Jon Sullivan.

Labor casualties in Queensland included Arch Bevis, losing Brisbane after 20 years to Teresa Gambaro, who served in the Howard government.

Former Liberal MP Warren Entsch, who retired in 2007, had a comfortable victory in north Queensland.

Labor also lost the electorates of Dawson and Flynn, where the mining tax continued to be a key issue, as well as Forde and Bonner and the seats of Dickson and Herbert, which had sitting LNP members but were notionally Labor under boundary changes.

Australian Workers Union national secretary and Labor Party powerbroker Paul Howes refused to accept that Kevin Rudd's dumping had backfired on the party in Queensland, instead blaming dissatisfaction with Premier Anna Bligh.

The punishment continued in NSW, particularly in western Sydney – once Labor's heartland – where voter anger was palpable with a 6.7 per cent swing against the ALP.

Mr Abbott attempted to calm the crowd warning against "premature triumphalism" and urging measured reflection of the magnitude of the task ahead.

He agreed the caretaker provisions of the Labor Government should continue but said the result showed clearly ""the Coalition is back in business."

Mr Abbott said a government which previously found it hard to govern effectively with a majority would never govern properly as a minority government.

"It's pretty clear that the Australian people have responded to the clear policies we took to the election," he said.

Mr Abbott said he would talk to the Independents over the next few days to ensure the Coalition could form a stable government worthy of the Australian people.

""It has been a great night for the Australian people," he said.

Mr Abbott told the crowd he loved its enthusiasm.

"But I have to say to you I feel humbled by the responsibilities that I feel could lie ahead."

Mr Abbott also paid tribute to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

""The last eight weeks could not have been easy for her but she has certainly worked hard for her cause."

But Mr Abbott added the election result was also a comment on the distaste Australians had for the political execution of former prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The "knock on the door at midnight by the faceless men of Labor" should never be part of the Australian political equation, he said.

with Simon Kearney and Steve Lewis

[ozbob]

There is no doubt that Queensland disenchantment has cost the federal ALP the outright election.  We have time and time again suggested that a failure to move forward with simple things like a decent fare structure on the go card, real improvements in train frequency could be costly.  The rail bus that starts this week on the Sunshine coast line needs to be a train to split the long two hour gap.  I am not surprised at the backlash.

What is interesting (but not really a surprise) is the increase in the Green vote, a strong supporter of sustainable transport options including rail.   The greens will have quite a representation in the Senate now, no party has an outright majority, lower house or senate.  

There is an outside possibility that another election could occur sooner than later.  

[Stillwater]

We will have to wait probably until the end of the week to discover the final make-up of the federal Parliament.  What's clear at the moment is that neither major party will attain government without the support of independents who have all said they want a stable government, but one that recognises the legitimate needs of the bush.  So, there might be some movement on long distance passenger trains, if the three remember to include that in their wish list.  (The NSW CountryLink trains are getting a bit long in the tooth and will need to be replaced before there is any toot from a VFT on the horizon.)  Let's not forget that Tony Abbott's view of federal spending for public transport initiatives is that the Commonwealth should not apply federal funds in a way that lets states off the hook for their fundamental obligations.  In other words, he sees public transport as being something that states should fund largely.  On the Labor side, there won't be much money left in the kitty after available funds are spent on the Redcliffe and Chatswood-Epping lines.  The best Queensland could hope for from federal Labor is additional spending to upgrade the North Coast Line on the basis that it is crucial to interstate and inter-regional trade.  That is more in keeping with the function of federal transport spending.  Indirectly, that will have some spin-off benefits for passenger rail in Queensland.  However, we should not hold our collective breath. 

[somebody]

There is no doubt that Queensland disenchantment has cost the federal ALP the outright election.  We have time and time again suggested that a failure to move forward with simple things like a decent fare structure on the go card, real improvements in train frequency could be costly.  The rail bus that starts this week on the Sunshine coast line needs to be a train to split the long two hour gap.  I am not surprised at the backlash.

Not sure I agree.  Those things are really state issues, and I do think the electorate is able to make that distinction.

I do see the outside chance of another election sooner rather than later though.


I'd have to say, that I like this result.  Making it difficult for either of these nutters to do anything is probably preferable.

[ozbob]

I'd have to say, that I like this result.  Making it difficult for either of these nutters to do anything is probably preferable.

But the fact remains the swing in Queensland was the greatest of the states by a huge margin.  http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2010/guide/sop.htm

I have noted the labor party is downplaying the Rudd factor and talking up the state toxicity factor (brisbanetimes).  In reality I think it is both.  I have spoken to quite a few folks today and they believe it is both.  The figures confirm that.  The blogs have a completely lop sided toxic view.

I don't think that any of the major parties has done a good job this election.  

Labor gambled that punters would not mix the state and federal issues.  They figured (wrongly) that the Rudd factor would cost a few seats but the buffer was great and they would still pull through, but underestimated the state level back-lash.   Tactical blunder.  If anything they should have gone later this year to allow more time for the Rudd factor to dissipate ...

[somebody]

I have noted the labor party is downplaying the Rudd factor and talking up the state toxicity factor (brisbanetimes).  In reality I think it is both.  I have spoken to quite a few folks today and they believe it is both.  The figures confirm that.  The blogs have a completely lop sided toxic view.

Just saw Peter Beatty on the news and he thought the Rudd factor was the main factor.  I thought WA would have been worse due to the resources rent tax, but not so.

I guess it's hard to quantify, but I guess state labour has done harm to federal labour in this state.

I don't think that any of the major parties has done a good job this election. 

No.  It has been the worst federal choice since Keating vs Hewson.  Perhaps the next bad choice was 1974, at a guess.