There always are impacts, yes form tells us we will see a change in government.
But in any form of racing the rough outsider wins now and again.
Who will win?
How will we handle it?
We at such times are indeed the lucky country, we line up and vote without street fighting.
We never truly except the voters will if it is not the result we want but we do not fight in the streets.
If the polls are wrong? if Labor is defeated?
The impact will be huge, workchoices will see its intention come to reality unions would shrink.
If the polls are right?
Conservatives in one electoral term would have gone from the heights to the very bottom, years of rebuilding ahead.
I feel it is unlikely we will find our economy suffers who ever wins but what do others think.

No election in my lifetime has been as important as this one there will be impacts for Australia.
It is not over both sides can win and the one that does not?
Just say Howard pulls it of, what next for Labor, how could they expect to win an election?
And if the polls are right?
Rebuilding the Liberals may take them back to the past or in brand new directions.

If Labour wins in the federal election the scenario will mirror the previous Labour wins. Lots'n lots of spending the savings of the conservative governments until we hit the economic brickwall again. However, the recovery will be a hell of a lot harder until the following election. Why, because of Labor's tendency to pander to the idealistic & unrealistic orientated rather than the workforce which, after all, is the backbone of the country. People always criticise Howard's crew isn't doing enough. Try & focus on your job whilst some dimwit is nagging you with nonsense 100% of the time. I'm sure most of us can't perform under such circumstances.

Nearly everyday we hear of changes which effect the people of Australia, most of the changes take away our security and conditions.
John Howards Industrial Relations Legislation has created more harm than good for the average working class people.
As a swinging voter, to name a few, the following issues are what I beleive need to be addressed and rectified,
1/ Climate change
2/ Immigration should cease until we have sufficient water and
recorces.
3/ Protection for people with a mortgage. Mortgages should not be
effected by interest rate rises.
4/ Fair Industrial Relations Laws and not as they curruntly are.
5/ Act for the people of Australia and not for Foreign Governments
Global Corparations.
John Howard, Peter Costello and the Liberals, whom I voted in the last Federal election have had their chance. We need a change, a new Government, one who will act for all Australians regardless if they are rich or poor, working or retired.

OK for those who came in late I am from the ALP center unity faction, the right.
I live in the same faction of the trade union movement.
Proudly.
I when 74% said Bob Hawk was doing a good job did not like every thing he did, love the bloke now.
Rudd will win, he will govern well, too well for me, he will be well liked and his support is likely to be as great as Hawk's at some time in his term as PM.
Some detractors in conservative ranks will try to hide todays fears and forget todays claims.
Yet I may well regret the loss of Beazley and dream still of an ALP lead by Bill Shorten.
See I have no fear of New Labor, a step in the evolution of left of center politics.
No fear of accountability in social welfare, education , health spending.
But while I want Rudd to win more than I want air, I fear him.
I do not fear accountability for unions.
I do not fear harder work for better outcomes for unions.
I do not fear change for unions.
I fear the blindness that says only unions are the problem in IR.
I fear Kevin Rudd, who grew up poor never had to hold his hat over his heart in a country town while the boss passed by.
Never had to sit down 2 days before pay day to make a choice to spend the last money on bread or milk?
I fear my voice will be lost in the crowd.
There will be impacts.

Belly,

I do not fear accountability for bureaucrats.
I do not fear harder work for better outcomes for the whole of society.
I do not fear for useless & corrupt unions being put into place.
I fear the blindness of the left-wing that says unions are not to blame for the necessity of IR.
I fear for Kevin Rudd the kid who never grew up & now wants to be in charge of peoples' lives.
I did have to sit down several times before pay day to make a choice what spend the last
dollar on after losing employment due to Labor mismanagement.
Belly, I fear my experience is lost in the crowd & I fear nothing more than Kevin Rudd becoming PM.

Belly,
there's another thing I fear about Kevin becoming PM. It's the Peter Principle (google it). This is particularly relevant in the public service which is the backbone of Labor. People get promoted when they are good at their position until they reach a stage where they are incapable of performing their duties & that's where they remain. This is the reason why the IR laws are so important. IR may look bad to those who only look at their Super policy but those who care for society as a whole can see it's merit.

Individual I fear I can not calm your fears, however if you sit and read I may just add to your education.
Left! ah the boogy man comes! Rudd is not from the left, nore am I and like it or not a great many trade unions are while left of center hardly Lefty's.
A second after mad Mark Lathams gift of the senate to Howard conservative Australia rejoiced.
Rightly so! that ALP team did not deserve to win a chook raffle!
Johny old fella however took to his Aussie battlers! indeed surely not understanding the full impact he flogged low income earners with a weapon called workchoices.
After Australia elects Kevin Rudd, a financial conservative, will you have the good graces to except the voters intentions that you no doubt had on election night 2004?
12 months into Rudd's first term , with his polling even higher than now will you remember your charges? will you admit you got it very wrong?
election night at my place come, lots of fun and joy better than that a new start for Australia.

12 months into Rudd's first term , with his polling even higher than now will you remember your charges? will you admit you got it very wrong?
Belly,
12 months is a totally unrealistic period to judge a new Government. Closer to the end of the three year term is where it counts. The performance of an either good or bad Government doesn't show for years. The Whitlam legacy is still haunting us today. Go back further (I wasn't even here then) when the Snowy mountains Scheme was built. We're still enjoying the benefits from that administration. The fact that the rivers are now in trouble is not a reflection of the government of that time. It's from later ones which allowed not only too much use of the water but straight-out exploitation. Look at the disaster that was the removal of national service. ALP & the Coalition both have done good & silly things. The fact remains that the ALP has a greater %age of the latter. A Canadian visiitor was recently quoted in the Courier Mail as saying "Australians must be stupid, they have the best economy in the world & they want to sack their Government".
Belly, if things are as good as you claim they will be but in three years from now not just one then I will concede. It'll take Labor at least three years to blow the dough.

I find your post interesting, to me it is a symptom, evidence of why we are indeed going to see a change of government.
You go way back to 1975 to find fault with my party, yet ignore AWB, children over board and so many lies.
The denial of climate change then its adoption, the claim workchoices was fair then the changes.
Taking credit for a world wide boom, but not excepting in the past dreadful interest rates had help from such a world wide rise.
I except those interest rates hurt this country ,but how can we ignore they had been even higher while Howard was treasurer?
This one term turn around, from glory to defeat is John Howard's work.
Soon conservative Australia will debate that issue and in rebuilding that side of politics we will have a better country.
If I came from your side of politics I would be more concerned at the part your side has played in electing Kevin Rudd.

Belly you put up a sound argument on many of your points but myself as a swinging voter beleive we need a change in government.
Howard and Costello are attempting to buy the election with their proposed tax cuts but they fail to guarantee they wont take the money back in other cunning ways.
I helped elect John Howard in and now I hope to help elect him out.
I have seen first hand the error of Howards I.R. Reforms. Work Choice is not doing the job the advertising campaign alleges they are doing.
Every week we hear of people losing their homes, interest rate rises are mostly the cause of this.
I am niether pro nor anti union but our history involves the trade union movement.
I could go on and on about many promises given in the past only to be forgotten when they were elected.

gypsy it may be hard to believe ,but I can put my country before my party.
Those who can not? gee that would be near betrayal of that country would it not?
Laying aside my membership of the ALP , my hurt at the pain workchoices is doing daily I think in my heart we must change the government.
And while despite the lies I know Rudd will not be the unions friend, will not give us 10% of what we want.
Think he will lead us away from a very deep hole we are digging for our country.
The current anti union add is a fear tactic and hurts John Howard more than the ALP.
It highlights government by lies and miss information ,not in any way facing the fact Howard rules a government run by big business, for big business.