Well, at least Australia can now pride itself on its democratic system-three individual mutts deciding what Government for the whole nation. Highly democratic !

Stable government? Should Labor form the next government, the over-riding certainty of the Labor-Greens Alliance is that there would be more uncertainty in all industry sectors. Foreign investors would need to think twice before investing in Australia. Imposition of an ETS/carbon-tax would be expected to result in electricity prices going through the roof and Australian manufacturers losing any comparative advantage they currently have. We would have to get used to stagflation: high inflation accompanied by high unemployment.

I can see the Liberal slogan at the next election already.

A vote for the Greens is a vote for left-wing Labor.

Bob will be pleased, I'm sure, but Bill will be horrified!

*I voted Green for the first time this election because I was unhappy with Labours back down on Climate change action.*

Ah Kenny, and what will happen when they jack up your electricity
price by 100% to pay for it all? Will you be the first to complain?

If you don't, I can assure you that millions will. Corporations
won't be the ones paying, for they don't operate at a loss. Its
cheaper for them to produce no electricity, then do so and
constantly lose money. So in the end the consumer will pay.

So that is the dilemma for consumers and voters. We can satisify our feelgood
factor tomorrow, when it comes to climate change. But the cost
will be dramatically increased electricity prices, so don't complain
when it happens. Will it make a scrap of difference to climate?
Not really, because in the global scheme of things, Australia simply
does not matter.

Will it make a scrap of difference to climate?
Yabby,
This is what the silly mutts don't ever seem to grasp. We get climate change no matter what we do. But how to get get a change of mentality is the far greater & more relevant challenge. Judging by the election fiasco I guess we're still a long way off Hawkie's clever country.

<< Surely the best way for Katter, Oakeshott and Windsor to demonstrate this is to follow the voting intention of their constituencies which seems to clearly favour supporting the coalition regardless of their personal feuding with the National Party. >>

Sounds logical Malcolm. But what is more logical is the position that I’ve been strongly advocating and which most people dismiss as a no-goer – that the independents remain truly independent and don’t back either party.

They should simply say that they won’t block supply bills or put a spanner in the works of a parliament that is run by either lab or lib, but will remain entirely independent regarding their vote on anything else.

This is what they are basically saying anyway – that no matter who they back, they will remain essentially independent. So why back either?

OK, so they’re in powerful bargaining positions where they could win big favours from the party that wins government if they back them. But they could lose out badly if the other party wins. They could just as effectively win a lot for their electorates from either party if they promised not to back the other one, couldn’t they?

<< The agreement reached between Labor and the Greens essentially deals with peripheral issues >>

Yes it is a piss-weak set of agreements, compared to what the Greens should have put on the table, as I have emphasised here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3936

<< …it is hard to believe that the Greens will not use this increased power to drive their own agenda in areas critically affecting the future of the Australian economy such as coal mining >>

Not sure about that because I’m sure that the Greens do actually have an agenda that is significantly different to Labor! The Greens just don’t seem to be too interested in the big green issues of our time!