Almost certainly it will be Labor who will form a minority government. All the independents (even Bob Katter) are quite anti Liberal party in many of their current views ...... that's why they left the conservative side and have been successful independents for so long. Labor will court them successfully and form a government.

The election was definitely NOT an endorsement for the Liberals. They managed only about a 1.5% increase in their primary vote. Those anti Labor votes did NOT go to the Liberals, they went to the Greens And in doing so they "almost" gave the election victory to the Liberals.

I think labor will govern for about a year or more, then due to Senate blockage will go back to the electorate for another election, probably late next year. Then they'll be re-elected with an increased vote that will enable them to govern as a majority government. By the end of next year our economy will be in the initial stages of another boom, and this will greatly favour labor.

about 8 hours ago I gave government to the Liberals.
I got that wrong too.
One of the ex Nats has worked with Labor before, the other two will not work with their former party's leader.
Green works only with Labor and if elected the Tasmanian is unlikely to work with Abbott.
A west Aussie Nat say he will Be independent so we will see some trading done.
And my mob? can not hurt to know improvement is required.
Interesting times ahead maybe we all will gain from this.

Belly,

While anything is possible, all 3 of the independents come from conservative electorates. In none of them did the ALP and the greens combined get more than 18%, or more than the nationals which came second.

Supporting a Labor / Green coalition would be difficult to justify, especially in the next election. So while the game is on, the die are loaded.

Good riddance to bad government.

Bob Brown has horned his way in to second guess the Greens' newly elected lower house MP, Adam Bandt, who had already declared he wanted to work with Labor. So much for the Greens' respect for individual preferences and democracy in their own ranks.

However it would be preferable if the Greens signed up with the LNP because there is no way the Liberals would accept the one-upmanship, deceit and stirring that the Greens are capable of. The ruthlessness of the Liberals accepts such unreasonableness in opposition, seeing any disruption to government as a good thing, but when they are the target it is a different thing.

And my mob? can not hurt to know improvement is required.
Correct Belly but is it possible ?

examinator I'd been thinking about a post you made regarding your local member http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3817#93595

If you live in the same electorate as me it appears that the local candidate has turned things around just a bit

http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2010/guide/bowm.htm

for the previous election
http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/bowm.htm

R0bert