According to, "The Age," Saturday, 18th September 2010,

ELECTION HOW IT ENDED

2-Party Preferred

Total Votes Share of Vote
Labor 6,216,439 50.1%
Coalition 6,185,943 49.9%

With the count now virtually complete, the Australian
Electoral Commission reports that after preferences,
Labor won 50.12 per cent of the two-party vote and
the Coalition 49.88 per cent.

After more than 12 million votes had been counted and
re-checked, just 30,000 votes separated the two sides
in the closest election Australia has seen.

Nonetheless, according to, "The Age," Labor emerged
with its nose in front, boosting its claim to be the
legitimate election winner.

As the newspaper tells us this time the virtual dead
heat in votes was matched by a virtual dead-heat in
seats with Labor ultimately scrambling together
76 MPs to support it, while 74 supported a Coalition
government.

The final count includes the eight seats where the final
contest was not between Labor and Coalition but involved
the Greens, independents or West Australian Nationals.

As Mr Madigan, a Ballarat blacksmith summed up,
"All parties have good people in them and they
all have some good policies...We'll judge people on
merit and their policy on merit."

You're talking about the LNP of Queensland, which was a merger 2 years ago of the dominant Queensland branch of the National party with the minority Queensland branch of the Liberal party. I went back and re- read my posts and in a post on the previous page I made an error by accidentally putting the word "not" when describing the Qld. Nationals as not a branch of the Liberals- - - - - they of course ARE a part of the Liberals as they merged to form one Party. What I meant to write was "the National party there is a division of the Liberal party - - - - or more correctly the LNP is a division of the Liberal party. Sorry for the confusion, one can make mistakes when typing fast.

In my voting results figures I separated the LNP results and the National Party of Australia results; I've always been fully aware of the difference between the two, and closely followed the Queensland merger as it was happening.

However, I'm referring to the National Party of Australia when I say the Nationals are a separate political party. The National party is quite simply NOT a branch or division of the Liberal party, which is what I've been saying. They have their own internal processes and their own separate leader Warren Truss.

The facts are that there is a "coalition" in opposition. The coalition consists of a separate Liberal party and a separate National Party of Australia. As I've been saying, the National Party of Australia is not a branch of the Liberal party. It's in a coalition partnership with the Liberals.

Also, I have not been adding minor party votes together, that's factually incorrect. I've been showing the official voting results for the Liberals, Greens, the LNP, Labor and Nationals. These are all major political parties, not minor parties. They all vitally affected the outcome of the election. I also showed the two party preferred results. The figures I presented are 100% factually correct, and no amount of spin can alter that.

My post above was in reply to Graham Y's last post on the previous page.

Labor from about mid February lost its way.
We fell for the 24 hour news cycle, putting some thing out to feed the chooks.
We failed in not keeping our promises,I privately think it may have been Gillard who stopped the ETS and broke a commitment.
OH yes greens voted us down, could have passed it with government defectors but thats another story.
We failed to enforce the law in the pink bats scandal.
We should be seeing contractors in prison.
It as used against us.
In the strangest way if you understand,the schools program was aped, not every one not even most but thefts took place.
But it is weird,, strange,, those who contracted and some times stole are from middle class conservative voting backgrounds!
We owned this election, once A DD victory was there for the taking.
RUDD? who knew I did not believe the nasty controlling nature of the man, unlike those who say I am an insider I am just a foot soldier, and walk away from those conversations.
Yet Abbott did not win, he did very well, against the odds? hardly the ALP leaks pushed us into their hands.
11 billion black hole and such saw them drop it.
NOW we see Conservatives slandering 50% of Australians ,bitterly shafting the ALP am indeed me, for? telling the truth you lost get over it think about this chance.

It hasbeen 70 years from the last hung Parliament.
That one saw a mid term swap, this one may too.
The reality is both sides must every Day Parliament sits and every other day sell its self.
If it gets too warlike conservatives will want an election before the greens get balance of power.
Labor may well with the greens want a DD election at that time.
Greens want a great deal they cannot have, if Labor can stand firm votes will return, remember this is our worst result in years.
In negotiating before sides got picked Abbott made promises.
He never had any intentions of keeping.
Right now Turnbull is the way to government for his side not Abbott.
Right now Conservatives must stop thinking their great result was victory or forever constant open warlike confrontation will cripple them.
May I ask my conservative sparring partners to tell me the faults in Australian Liberalism?
Jockey you are a breath of fresh air but should know GY was a Liberal and in QLD and both you and he have some claims to your views on the new party , I agree liberals are a lump in the back of the QLD boat seats and 2pp win your point.

Belly,

Labor's "rainbow coalition" has an Achilles heel, and that is Rob Oakeshott.

Both the electorates of Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott are deeply conservative, and there is unhappiness about their supporting Labor. Tony Windsor, an astute campaigner of a couple of decades has built up considerable political capital for his electorate, but realising how quickly that can dissipate, has deliberately kept sufficient distance from the Labor party to retain his independent status.

Rob Oakeshott has done anything but remain impartial. His attempt at self aggrandisement and attempts to get involved with the labor cabinet have ripped away the fig leaf of independence. There is a rapidly growing movement within his electorate for him to change sides, and with the growing dissatisfaction within his electorate, largely self inflicted, and stirred up by the local coalition branch, his support is swiftly eroding.

There will come a point in the not so distant future when it will be apparent to all that his re election chances are shrinking to zero and if he is dumped at the next election, his future is grim. At this point only an alliance with the coalition can save him.

At this point, the 75 - 75 split will suck all the oxygen from the Gillard government.