We need some reality here, the ALP crafted its own down fall.
Rudd thought he could be a dictator.
He time and again was asked to be inclusive and would not.
SOME in my party did no wrong in dumping him, but should have given us the reasons and more time to take it on board.
Gillard if she is able will govern well, but I never will trust her.
Labor/Liberals did not win this election.
Threats and reminders of their roots are likely to see those who won, the three ex Nats win, but not Australia.
A third of greens policy's I share.
A third frighten me.
I trust Bob Brown less than Gillard.
Without the protest vote to the greens Labor would govern now? even if they do strange and sometimes silly deals will be needed.
Let get in to the house have a DD in 3 months and let the winners take the prize we can not deal with minority's in things majority's do not want.
Abbott?given the chance Tony will tread on his bottom lip in power and be a one termer too.
How many greens knew in protesting, in more than one seat conservatives never even had to go to preferences ALP voters smugly saying cop this mug put Abbott in this position.
Much that hurts about Labor but if greens did not become a parking zone for unthinking Labor do any of you doubt Abbott could not have done this well
C J Morgan you must not confuse my honestly held view Australian did not want a hung Parliament with hate.

My exegesis in this thread was that we elected a set of people to do a job - the fact that we did not elect sufficient labor or coalition members to form a government does not take away from the fact that the individual candidates have a responsibility to do the job entrusted to them. This is not a particularly new idea look at Edmund Burke's speech at the declaration of the Bristol Poll in November 1774 http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch13s7.html ! He made similar remarks that we are now getting from Oakshot.
The comments that have been made about the three parties tend to ignore one overwhelming reality that the policies promoted are really variations on a theme. Why is the idea of picking the most capable people to form a ministry so repugnant? Are there such fundamental ideological differences that they could not work together? I know sufficient members of parliament (from all sides of politics) to be convinced it is workable but the real obstacle is that it would damage the Labor and Liberal brands.

Dear Belly,

I disagree that those of us who may have voted Labor, and who transferred out vote to the Greens were "unthinking" - quite the reverse, actually. The point is that we did "think" - and in doing so we found the shifting sands of Labor policy to be unacceptable. As I said in an earlier post, it all comes down to principle.
Perhaps Labor might absorb the fact that many of us moved left towards the Greens because we don't see much "left" in Labor these days.

Why don't you be honest, if any one of the parties was intelligent and honest, and had any allegiance to the Australian people, it would have rompted home in the election, however I don't think that either of them is worth giving one skerick of thought. If they were paid what they are worth, they wouldn't be able to even have a cup of tea or a beer. They haven't any conscience either have they.

Hasbeen <" Anyone in an isolated home must be prepared to defend themselves, & the belief in the neighborhood, that you are well armed, & willing to use your arms is the first line of defence."

Gee Hasbeen, which awful neighbourhood do you live in?
I live in a country area where guns are mainly used on farms or at gun clubs.
We moved to the country for a safer lifestyle for my family- and it is certainly safer than when I lived in the city.

Cornflower, I finally found what Bob Katter actually said about guns, while he was being interviewed on TV. He sat in what looked like a living room while he was being interviewed, and my husband commented on the rack of rifles on the wall behind him.

I can't remember the actual program, but it was reported what he said
at the Australian website on the 23rd of August 2010 -
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/bob-katter-wants-to-deal-the-cards-for-rural-australia/story-fn59niix-1225908603672

"I was a weapons instructor in the army reserve, own a stack of rifles as my grandaddy did and my great-grandaddy before him.
"If you come and see my house, it's built like a fortress. You retreat through one set of locked doors and another set of locked doors and there's a siren and three locks on the door and every bed has a rifle, so if we're out and the kids are at home, they can protect themselves. To leave my wife and kids unprotected because I'm away is absolutely appalling. I believe in it as an article of religious faith."

Scary stuff coming from a man who seems to have some sort of say in what happens in Australian Politics, wouldn't you say?

I wounder how many Greens/Labor or any other Lefty's are truly of the left?
Not the private school left not the working class left the true post ww2 left.
I grew up in that world.
Small country towns hungry days and nights ,close to starvation at times.
A different Australia, one that excluded me, my working class, oh yes we had classes then.
Bowral, Mittagong,rich mens country in 1955,you nearly had to hold your hat over your heart to talk to them.
They called England home and still I think of them as fools.
In 1955 a town of Mrs Buckets.
My childhood hoping for a communist take over was not a dream it was a night mare.
A little older much wiser I wanted Socialism via my ALP.
I was just as wrong, we have socialism as much as we need , both party's support it.
Health welfare education so much better than America.
But Labor did not wander into Liberal paddocks without reasons.
We followed mainstream voters no government can be elected by a rump a small group who can not understand this basic.
Socialism is not going ever,to rule, voters know understand and want governments to act for every one.
NO government can please every one but understand the bell curve is just as real in politics you fail if it is not balanced.
My record on predictions is tainted this however is true.
Once Australians find out just how radical greens are the party will need new leadership and direction or fall into the same deep hole as Democrats one nation, the small body of Family first is in the same hole, once in you never come out.