Hi Paul,

The people have spoken. It's called democracy -
which some seem to have forgotten.

We've had a variety of Liberal leaders from
Little Johnny Howard, to the Mad Monk, to Mr
Harbourside Mansion, to ScoMo or the Liar From
The Shire, or Scotty From Marketing. However
the new bloke is the only one with the nick-name
of a vegetable. Mr Potato Head.

As Tanya Plibersek said he would actually make a
great character in the Harry Potter stories.
His bald head and often expressionless face as well
as his serious demeanour would add that extra authenticity.
Not sure though if that's enough to get him to The
Lodge.

Hi Foxy,

Some said it was a shame that Liberal "moderates" such as Zimmerman, Wilson, Sharma and Frydenberg were defeated, and the party will shift more to the right under Dutton, that is true. Reminder, when push came to shove these so called "moderates" were voting with the likes of Barnyard Joy and Mad Caravan, they go what they deserved.

Hi Paul,

I agree. It's hard to tell who the moderates are in
the Liberal Party. Most of them do vote along party lines.
I used to admire James Paterson once - until I learned
of his stance on certain issues. But I guess that's true
of us all. We can all be progressive on many issues and yet
very conservative on others. Views can and do change for
most of us - though not for us all.

Still in this election the people have spoken. Loud and clear.

I watched a bit of the news a few minutes ago and was very
heartened to hear our PM not regarding Peter Dutton as an
enemy. Our PM feels that they can work together and collaborate.
Which came as a very pleasant surprise. Hopefully this whos
that changes will be made in more ways than one as far as
politics in Canberra goes.

Hi Foxy,

Don't forget the Nationals, in the Coalition its often a case of the tail (Nationals) wagging the dog (Liberals) on many issues. The Nationals are not supporters of going further on climate change, fossil fuels, voice to parliament, Dutton leads mostly dry Liberals on many issues as well, ICAC, foreign policy, China, Pacific aid etc. The Labor Party have a strong mandate to govern, the good thing is the Senate with the Greens and the Jacqui Lambie Network, Labor will have a pathway through with their legislation.

Foxy,

Considering that Tanya Plibersek is married to a convicted drug dealer, her judgement is questionable in the best of circumstances. However, she did redeem herself with a grovelling apology.

Secondly, the point of being in a particular party is to form a voting block and as such Labor MPs have voted against their party far more seldom than coalition MPs.

Pauliar,

With less than 1/3 of voters voting for Labor and even with preferences Labor getting less than 52% of the 2pp Labor has the mandate to govern, but calling it a strong mandate would be an exaggeration.

shadowminister,

Tanya Plibersek's judgement has never been brought into
question. And certainly not as far as her husband is
concerned. Regarding her statement's about Peter Dutton
they were not meant to be taken seriously and she has
apologised for them. They were not done with malice.

However, your comments are malicious.

I am shocked at your bringing up this particular
matter. Especially as her husband is such an inspirational figure
having turned his life around after battling with addiction.
I can only hope and assume that you are not aware of all the facts
concerning Tanya Plibersek's husband. And what an inspiration
he is.

Here are the facts - Michael Coutts-Trotter, 56, was thrown in
jail in 1984 for conspiracy to import heroin from Thailand after
becoming hooked on the drug as a teenager. Mr Coutts-Trotter served
3 years.

Since that time he's worked his way up the ladder to become one
of the country's most respected public service officers. He
and Tanya Plibersek now have 3 children after marrying in 2000.

Liberal Premier of NSW Dominic Perrottet has appointed Mr Coutts-
Trotter as his right-hand man - as the new Secretary of the
NSW Deptartment of Premier and Cabinet - after the former
Department of Communities and Justice Head made a remarkable
turn around in his life going from a prison cell to the
state's top public servant.