Belly "No vote no brains" Take it easy Belly ,I might represent that!
Belly, when a non vote is a considered option,it is not a no brainer.

If both of your parents are abusing you,would you love them both equally,or look for a better philosphy that will give you happiness and fulfillment?

<< …please never ever say progressive politics and the Greens in the same sentence >>

Hahaha. Belly, surely you’re not suggesting that Labor is or could ever be progressive ? ! ? ! ( :>O

Its a hard one for the poor independents.
If they do the right thing, as they see it, for Australia(and their electorates even if they dont like it)and go with Labor they will lose their seats at the next election which Julia has already agreed would be in three years.

If they go with the Libs they will be reducing their power(Tony wont let them tell him what to do)but they will get to keep their seats at the next election which would be sooner rather than later(and a double dissolution)as soon as the greens oblige and reject a bill twice.

A new election now, according to Antony Green, could only be called if the independents refused to support anyone and Labor formed a government only to get numerous bills voted down and lose a no confidence vote then the GG would ask Abbott to have a go and if the same thing happened and all his bills got voted down as well then the GG would call a new election. Could be months. And I doubt anyone would get voted back in after they did all of that.

I predict.
Labor will get in with the independents help and at the cost of a lot of reform to parliament, new pokie laws, a bucketload of pork for the bush and probably most of Labors election promises. Tony Abbott and the rest of the Lib dinosaurs will continue to disgrace themselves with their behavior and rhetoric and soon become irrelevant again. But they wont block supply or deal with that idiot fielding to their credit. The next election in three years will be an easy win for Labor. The Libs wont rise again until they get new blood over the next decade. The faceless men of Labor will be terminated. Most likely with cushy appointments overseas or to the judiciary if any of them are lawyers

I condemn the posts about Labors faceless men as rubbish.
The fact is many here constantly use the battle cry , many of them,of the 1950s, to 1980s.
Those who contributed to Rudd's downfall, other than himself and his gutless followers who did not remind him he was not a God.
Are not faceless, in fact starting with Whitlams reforms before he won his first term no faceless men exists lets not lie, Labor has done much wrong but this?
I could find much mud to throw at my party, why lie,why make it up.
Shorten is a man of power he is the type we need, would you have him not act in the name of his party?
Howe's is no faceless man, from the same stable as Shorten he too is an honest man a man of the future and bound to act in the interests of Labor.
Now the mud, my party after the storm has passed must tell me the full Rudd story.
Why the gutless back down on ETS.
Why we leave conservation to the greens, let them win votes by not passing an ETS.
What are our policy's on boat people, who's ego would not let us say if east timor is out we will look at Noumea, who would not let us see the decaying buildings and show how much it would cost to rebuild in Noumea.
Labor won 2 party preferred, yet some conservatives think they had a clear win, I want my party to act in the interests of the majority and its members with pride and dignity not sleeping with the enemy.

In most situations, if a winner can not be determined then the one in front gets awarded the win.

Libs 73, lab 72, game over. Labor should admit defeat, esspecially considering the huge majority they held prior to the election.

As for giving power to the greens, well, you could kiss goodby to many pleasures of life, like fishing, camping, even boiling the billy.

What's next, gay marriage!

rehctub,
Despite the ramblings of the papers and the like it is 72 seats all. The WA nationals would burn you at the stake for suggesting they are part of the coalition. Beside this what has now happened to the ever complained about green alliance. would that not make labor 73 seats. Then what of Wilkie? 74 seats, Both NSW independents are very favourable to important projects such as the NBN, 76 Seats.
The numbers are leaning labor but that is no sure thing, as for the vote labor won the two party vote and the lib's only have the seat by a handfull of votes. This is no majority nor is it a right to rule. be realistic.