Let's hope the Liberals "don't get it" for a long time. That way, they can sit in the “naughty corner” of the opposition benches and think about what they've done for a while. They need to learn that they can't just destroy our basic principle of a fair go, just to mold Australia into their miserable and disfigured image.

I was amazed to see Howard shaking Rudd's hand at The Lodge shortly after the election. Surely if there were any truth in the Coaltion's fear campaign, every minister that lost their seat would have packed their bags the next day and left the country to avoid the imminent economic depression we were about to hit under Labor. On the contrary, Costello has said that he'll be moving into the business sector. Now why would he want to do that when businesses around the country are about to collapse in a heap?

During the election campaign, Joe Hockey said that the Coalition's fear campaign was "based on truth". But I'm still waiting for those thuggish looking men with beer-guts poking through their suspenders to barge into the office in which I work and switch off the lights. 'Cause I'll tell ya what, if they dare do that, I'm gonna get right up and switch 'em strait back on. Ain't no Union thug gonna switch the lights off where I work. That's for sure!

In all seriousness though, why would the Unions want to shut-down businesses when they would cease to exist without them? Hmmm... looks like the former government thought we were pretty naïve.

But the Coalition can rest assured knowing that economists (long before Labor won government) were predicting a recession and more interest rate rises in the future - then they can blame Labor for them. Unfortunately though, there will be some who are uneducated enough to believe them and possibly get the Coalition back into power.

Here's something for the Coalition supporters to consider: If the Coalition is so great, then why do they need a coalition to win government, when Labor does it on their own?

Well, of course we had a change of government. A new generation of voters had grown up unaware that the Aussie dollar was once worth 46 US cents, and that housing interest rates reached 18% under Keating.

Labor governments have no idea how to make money, but they sure are good at spending it to buy themselves more ethnic interested or green obssessed Labor voters.

Unfortunaely, sooner or later, the well runs dry. So Australians have to put the Libs back in so that they can figure out how to repay our squillion dollar foreign exchange deficit and make our economy work again.

My advice? Work plenty of overtime now to tide you over for the 2010 "recession we had to have."

AJ,
“Here's something for the Coalition supporters to consider: If the Coalition is so great, then why do they need a coalition to win government, when Labor does it on their own?”

LOL!

Labor is a coalition in everything but name.
A thousand disparate little me-first groups – only unified by a common desire to raid the pantry.

Horus,

<<Labor is a coalition in everything but name.>>

It depends what you mean by “coalition”. Broadly speaking, I guess you could say that. Electorally speaking though, a “coalition” is: An alliance (or combination) of political parties for the purpose of securing a working majority in parliament. (http://www.elections.act.gov.au/glossary.html)

<<A thousand disparate little me-first groups – only unified by a common desire to raid the pantry.>>

What a hyperbolic statement. I don't see how the Coalition are supposed to be any different. They're all self-serving politicians at the end of the day.

According to recent polls, the main reason the Howard Government was voted out is because people felt that they had become internally focused; more interested in themselves than anything else.

This isn't a case of who is better – Labor or the Coalition. It's about getting rid of an old, stale, complacent and arrogant government, who had started to think that it was their right to stay in power.

If you don't think that a government (regardless of their political persuasion) should be tossed-out when they get like this, then I question your rationalé.

I'm afraid, redneck that your memory is faulty. The only time the Aussie dollar dipped below 50 cents US was in 2001. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/mesi/FEATURES/Exchange-rates.htm So I don't see how you can blame the ALP for that.

I can't say I'm much of a fan of Rudd, but I suspect the sky won't fall down straight away.

Love a laugh! we have some one who commented on the thread after reading only the title.
A good thread very true and most posters said it like it is, but JOY!
The pain and silliness of a couple of hurting conservatives!
Love it!
Fact is by the time Kevin Rudd leaves and our next Prime Minister Bill Shorten takes over the high interest rates issue will be dead.
So to may the conservatives!
Unless they take ownership of this loss, this flogging, this deliberate well earned rejection by the electorate.
Understand it, and find the way back to liberalism and away from Howard's NSW right.
Watch closely as they rip one another apart and give Rudd a free run.
By the way Mr Shorten will not take very long to prove he is going to have a great future in politics.
Thanks to those posters I highlight, my party's self destruction from about 2002 was a self inflicted wound and the difference between me and them is I never subscribe to my party right or wrong.
Nore do I blame the electorate for voting as they wish.