EPTSpecifically dealing with the situation in Parliament; some backstory would also be nice.
People from Australia
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Rainmaker5
United States1027 Posts
Specifically dealing with the situation in Parliament; some backstory would also be nice. | ||
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jello_biafra
United Kingdom6639 Posts
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11209560 | ||
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Ludrik
Australia523 Posts
In the senate the greens hold the "balance of power" which means they have the power to block any legislation they like. A few months before the election the labor party decided to scrap their emissions trading bill. After this they're popularity plummeted and the labor party scrapped Kevin rudd as their leader appointing Julia Gillard as our Prime Minister. If it wasn't for this debacle they would have comfortably won the election. | ||
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Matt44au
Australia26 Posts
What's happened here is that neither Labor nor the Coalition won enough spots to get to 76. They were locked up at 72-73 respectively. This means that both sides had to court those independent/minor party candidates who won seats. They had to get assurances from the independents to vote with them on budget bills and no-confidence motions - the two requirements for a government to be allowed to form. The independents made their decisions and it ended up 4 of them aligned themselves with Labor, 1 with the Coalition, which means that Labor has the 76 votes it needs to govern. Hopefully that clears it up. | ||
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ibutoss
Australia341 Posts
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dthree
Australia150 Posts
They can basically wake up one day and decide they no longer like how labor is going and side with coalition for a 'vote of no-confidence' which would basically 'dissolve' parliament (another election yay!) and seats are up for grabs again. Hope that helps | ||
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RisingTide
Australia769 Posts
On September 09 2010 17:45 dthree wrote: The only problem now is that labor still don't have a majority government (whereby they have 76 seats) they have formed a 'minority' government with the independents (people affiliated with no party) basically saying "Okay we will just vote for whatever you propose". The problem here is that the independents have no expected loyalty to labor nor do they HAVE to vote for labors policy to pass through the lower house. They can basically wake up one day and decide they no longer like how labor is going and side with coalition for a 'vote of no-confidence' which would basically 'dissolve' parliament (another election yay!) and seats are up for grabs again. Hope that helps However unless something catastrophic happens, this is unlikely, as it would mean risking their own seats prematurely. Edit: It's worth noting that several of the independent members used to be part of the Lib-Nat coalition, and have gone against their own ex-party. | ||
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Matt44au
Australia26 Posts
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iPlaY.NettleS
Australia4383 Posts
The system that is currently in place is unworkable , nothing will get through. | ||
Kiante
Australia7069 Posts
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Subversive
Australia2229 Posts
On September 09 2010 18:04 iPlaY.NettleS wrote: It will work itself out within 12-18 months when theres a double dissolution election and the liberal party wins enough seats to govern outright. The system that is currently in place is unworkable , nothing will get through. This isn't correct. First, there is no certainty that there will ever need to be a double dissolution as the independants and the Green candidate have vowed not to block supply. Secondly, the system is not unworkable, minority governments the world over manage to be effective. The question becomes whether a Labor Government can manage the different interests of the Parliament to pass legislation. And thirdly, it is normal during a period of minority government that the party that manages to continue to govern will win the next general election. In addition to this point, there is also the fact that the Coalition has just had 4 terms in power over 11 years whereas Labor has governed for only 1. Politics is a cycle, with governments usually lasting between 3 and 4 terms. 2 and 5 term governments are extremely rare. After 2 terms, Labor will be in a very strong position to win the next general election. Your hopes and opinion that a Coalition Government will form at the next general election is not what the OP was asking for. + Show Spoiler + On September 09 2010 17:25 Matt44au wrote: Basically, we have 150 spots (seats) in parliament. Each seat has a constituency that votes for it, and usually goes to either the Labor or Liberal/National coalition (conservative - I know, it's weird) party. That means, in order for legislation to pass, they need to hold 76 spots at least (so that whenever a vote is called, they are always going to have the most votes). Usually a couple of spots don't go to one of the two major parties, to independent candidates. This normally doesn't mean anything, since parties tend to get majorities on their own. What's happened here is that neither Labor nor the Coalition won enough spots to get to 76. They were locked up at 72-73 respectively. This means that both sides had to court those independent/minor party candidates who won seats. They had to get assurances from the independents to vote with them on budget bills and no-confidence motions - the two requirements for a government to be allowed to form. The independents made their decisions and it ended up 4 of them aligned themselves with Labor, 1 with the Coalition, which means that Labor has the 76 votes it needs to govern. Hopefully that clears it up. Nice post, just wanted to add that the independent, Bob Katter, who decided not to back Labor is not supporting the Coalition. He is simply remaining independent. | ||
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iPlaY.NettleS
Australia4383 Posts
It's quite likely the government will break down , Labor is backflipping as usual it's just a question of whether those independents have a backbone to stand up to them or not. | ||
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vek
Australia936 Posts
Really the 2 major parties had horrible campaigns, they changed stances on so many issues multiple times no one really knew who was standing for what. The outcome is accurate and things will be fine. I voted for Greens so I'm happy. The major parties offered nothing for me. Speaking of elections, I hope something is done about Myki in the upcoming state election for Victoria... Massive waste of money for an awful system that barely works. | ||
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haduken
Australia8267 Posts
Brumby's head will roll. | ||
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Matt44au
Australia26 Posts
On September 09 2010 20:43 Subversive wrote: Nice post, just wanted to add that the independent, Bob Katter, who decided not to back Labor is not supporting the Coalition. He is simply remaining independent. Oh, I didn't know he'd stayed entirely independent. Haven't read the news closely in the past few days because of uni, haha. | ||
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