Ruddslide - Labor wins ( Howard loses election and seat in Australia)

[Swagman]

Source: The Age

Labor wins

* Lindsay falls to Labor
* Maxine McKew wins Bennelong ( John Howard loses seat)
* Labor to win Deakin, Corangamite
* Swings to Labor in Braddon and Bass

Counting in the federal election shows a swing to Labor of more than 6% — enough to secure the 16 seats it needs to form government.

Labor now appears to have secured 78 seats, the number it needed to defeat the Coalition.

At 8.30pm, counting showed a 6.12% swing towards Labor on a two-party preferred basis.

Deputy Labor leader Julia Gillard says it looks clear that Labor has won the federal election.

'Labor is going to form government'

"I'd say on the numbers we're seeing tonight Labor is going to form government,'' Ms Gillard told ABC TV, over the cheers of Labor supporters.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-new...

[Fridays Child]

1. Good riddance to Howard!

eom

[Rosa Luxemburg]

112. Good riddance to Howard

yes yes yes

[Progressive Friend]

2. Congratulations to the Aussies here!

[Hieronymus]

3. Wonderful news. Buh bye, John Howard.

[Andrushka]

4. Security detail

arriving at Wentworth now, apparently. Johnny to be there soon, I expect!!

(are we all here now?!)

[Nutmegger]

5. I should be tired, but I'm not!

Good riddance to bad trash!

[Hieronymus]

6. BBC says that Labor has declared victory.... link below

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7109692.stm

[Kaotac]

7. Actually..

It's too close to call Howards seat yet..
42% Howard
44% McKew
14% Greens
according to Skynews.

But yeah, the lower house is a landslide.

[Matilda]

8. McKew isn't claiming it yet.

But Labor has won, although Howard hasn't yet conceded.

Howard losing Bennelong will be the icing on the cake.

[cyclezealot]

71. I like it when Green are in coalition

The LIberal parties tend to sell us out, if not kept in check.

[xchrom]

9. recommending a thing of beauty.

[anakie]

10. Hooray!!!!

he's gone.

[fbahrami]

11. what?!

if Howard knew anything he'd be fixing the votes like in other democratic elections

[Kaotac]

13. He can't

He can't fix things in Australia, even though he's tried by reducing the time people can enrol to vote after the election is called.

[Demeter]

47. How Has Australia Defeated the Fixers of Elections, Please?

Inquiring minds want to know (desperately!)

[Cha]

101. Me first thought! No

cagey voter suppression? Hmmmm?!

[Blashyrkh]

115. One reason. Paper ballots.

When I walked into the polling place yesterday morning, my name was checked off the roll and I was handed two ballot papers (one for House of Reps, one for Senate). I then used a pencil to physically write numbers next to the candidates in order of preference. Then I was watched putting those into the ballot boxes.

And that is standard, mandatory across the country. No electronic machines at all. NO hanging chads. No touch screens. It's hard to manipulate a big pile of paper.

[Matilda]

12. Howard has phoned Rudd and conceded defeat!!

On his way to the Wentworth Hotel to make a statement to the nation.

Oh, how I'm looking forward to this.

[Kaotac]

14. Oh how squeaky that voice must have been!

Now hopefully there will be some electoral reform in regards to spending tax dollars on Gov't propaganda, having the Election Comission set the election gate instead of the PM and having the AEC have control of debates..

Haha Johnny.. NaNaNaNa NaNaNaNa, Hey Hey Hey... Goodbye!
Would say it's time to pack your stuff and get out of the house.. But since it was all paid for with taxes, that would be stealing.

[Andrushka]

15. Get the champas ready!

For everyone who wants to see the man's concession: http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007 /

Live streaming TV. Fantastic stuff.

This is going to be delicious (the beer I have waiting and the speech!)

Still smiling after the Greens getting a senate seat in Victoria. Superb effort.

[ShaneGR]

16. Here's a link to the governments official election tally

http://vtr.aec.gov.au/

[rooboy]

17. I'll give Howard credit for one thing...

to last as long in Australian federal politics at the leadership level the way he has is one hell of an achievement. From memory, his career as a senior member of the party in parliament goes all the way back to when Gerald Ford was president.

You have to be incredibly shrewd and resilient to last that long.

[Matilda]

19. Unfortunately - for all of us - he didn't know when it was time to go.

He could have gone two years ago, on top, but hubris got the better of
him.

"Be careful what you wish for" - he got control of both Houses, and
over-reached himself. 2004 was really the beginning of the end for him.

[rooboy]

36. Yep, he went back to his ideological ideas of the 70's...

and it was a real Shakespearean tragedy for him in a way. One comment I read yesterday said it well... Howard's slogan was "go for growth" - all it focussed on was the economy and demonstrated that he'd forgotten the people. I was gobsmacked when a few weeks ago Howard bragged that the economy had grown but wages hadn't - at that moment he told the average Australian that he didn't give a shit about them.

[and-justice-for-all]

18. Congrats Aussies!!!!

[Andrushka]

20. And here he comes!

Buh buh, Johnny!

[Dem_in_Oz]

21. From a DUer in Sydney....

Happy Days! What a slapdown!

Hopefully a harbinger of the US in '08!

[Andrushka]

22. Good riddance

[Swagman]

23. going going..gone

Berlusconi..gone
Blair..gone
Howard..gone
Bush..going

[Flanker]

32. Don't forget Aznar

Too bad Bush cannot run again and he will be able to delude himself that term limits did him in.

[TankLV]

64. Wouldn't that be gone, gone, going? tee hee hee...

[depakid]

24. Listening to that fuckwit's concession speech right now

Live on ABC.

As bi a jerk as ever. 11 long years- and unimaginable damage later.

[Kaotac]

25. Buh bye Squeaky.

Wonder who that wanker was that kept screaming 'love you John'

[cal04]

26. Rudd romps to historic win

Congratulations Kevin Rudd!
Ruddslide!!!
http://www.theage.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-new...
Kevin Rudd has won a historic landslide victory after a national swing of 5.7% gave Labor a likely majority of 25 seats.

With 53.9% of voters propelling Labor into government, Mr Rudd can claim an even greater victory than that of Bob Hawke, who took the prime ministership in 1983 with 53.2% of the vote.

He is only the third Labor leader in 60 years to win government from Opposition.

However, with Queensland an hour behind the south-eastern states because it does not have daylight saving, Mr Rudd was not expected to formally claim victory until late last night.

IT'S LABOR IN A RUDD-SLIDE

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/

[Andrushka]

28. Hey cal04!

Nice to catch up on a non-Malloy thread! Just called family in Aus and there are some HUGE parties on tonight, I can tell you - my brother is at one of them!

Actually, just listening to a station from my hometown there and a girl said that if you were the sort of person that never had much "luck" (if you know what I mean), then tonight was the night to "get lucky"!!

[cal04]

46. hey Andrushka

Congratulations!!!
Tell your family we're celebrating with them

[ralps]

82. Hi Andrushka!, Congratulations to you & all Australians!

[Andrushka]

110. G'day ralps!

Oh, happy day!!!

[Cha]

103. RuddSlide Slim and The

New Horizon!

[grasswire]

27. congratulations, Swagman

Many happy returns of the day to you all down under. We can only hope for the same here in the U.S., soon.

I'm cheering for you all.

[Kaotac]

29. Can't you just see it?

Bush sitting all alone crying out "Hello... Is there anybody out there..?"
All he has now is the French man... And we all know how Republicans feel about the French.

[Iceburg]

34. You are forgetting ...

Barnie, and Steve Harper.

[ishtar66]

52. Bush's buddy in Canada...Stephen Harper

In their arrogance the Conservatives in Canada will create their own downfall. Meanwhile the scandals of his minority government continue to mount:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.2007...

Can you imagine what they would have done if they had a majority win in Canada?

[Clintonista2]

88. KHAAAAN! Haha I love how that backfired on Harper

he thought he was stealing away an opposition MP, and he ended up taking a scandal off the Libs' shoulders.

[KingOfLostSouls]

30. NA NA NA NA!!! NA NA NA NA!! HEY HEY HEY!!!

GOODBYE!!!!

[Hand]

97. Dang! Ya beat me to it! nt

[LeftishBrit]

31. GREAT NEWS!

[Andrushka]

33. Another Green senator

Scott Ludlam in WA - excellent! They have picked up 3 new seats today (and for those who are not familiar with the senate, that is a great result and they now well and truly hold balance of power).

Green candidates as yet have won any lower house seats, but they had a very good showing all round. Their time will surely come for the House of Reps. I am so proud of them, a huge shift to the progressive left.

[dbt]

35. CONGRATULATIONS to our Great Friends in Australia!

Time for some serious hell-raisin' Down Under--where EXIT POLLS CAN BE TRUSTED! Who knew?

slainte!

[avrdream]

107. That was something I commented on very early -

that the exit polls could probably be trusted here, unlike during the last Presidential elections in the States (which I could have SWORN declared Kerry the winnder).

This morning they are giving Labor 85 of the 150 seats - a clear majority. I really like Kevin Rudd and his very firey Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

[dbt]

121. Cheers, avrdream!

Exit polls work in all the world, except for benighted bu$h-O-Murka. And all the well-coiffed airheads at all the anchor desks cannot explain to us why this should be so.

But Australia walks free tonight and all I can say is HELL YES!



Yes, the polls here declared a Kerry win. Fat lot of good that did us in face of the Corporations that somehow wanted bu$h.

[Andrushka]

37. Rudd speech

Just gave special mention to working with allies, named US at top of other (un-named) nations.

Perhaps feeling that he should be seen as not "pro-China/anti-US" as the Murdoch scumbag press have tried to paint him?

[depakid]

39. It is impressive that the man speaks Mandarin

Bush can't even speak his own language!

[boricua79]

38. congratulations!

now let's see if they will make substantive changes to the status quo in Australia.

[Gman]

40. Didn't Howard know about Diebold?

good riddance. Now try him for war crimes.

[Violet_Crumble]

41. I'm feeling pretty happy about it..

..especially the icing on the cake that Howard's lost his seat. I really didn't think there was much chance of that happening....

Now that we've seen the end of Work'Choices' and AWA's, I have a lot more faith that my kidlet will get a fair go when she enters the workforce in a few years time...

[Matilda]

43. I admit I thought Maxin McKew was crazy to challenge Howard

in Bennelong.

But her instincts were right, and it's wonderful to see.

Howard virtually acknowledged his defeat tonight when he referred to the
end of his political career.

Makes you wonder - as a man who has had no other goal in life but to be
Prime Minister, what the hell is he going to do now?

[Amonester]

75. How about: "Go to The Hague." first? Then to jail...

If only "International Law" justice was like it should...

[Zhade]

137. Congrats, friend, this is great news!

[Matilda]

42. The Green vote is up in many city areas,

although as always, they haven't polled well in rural areas. Strange,
because if anybody needed to listen to the Greens, it's the country
people.

In Tassie especially, the Green vote was very high, and I'm assuming it's
because of opposition to the pulp mill - if that's correct, perhaps
Labor will have to reconsider its support for Gunns once the dust has
settled.

[Matilda]

44. Aussies - do you feel as I do?

On the day we helped the U.S. invade Iraq, I felt ashamed of being
Australian, for the first time in my life. I've hated John Howard since
that day, because it's not an emotion I'd ever felt before.

That feeling has been consolidated through the years with our
victimisation of foreign-born nationals and minorities in our society.

Now that we've got rid of the little toad, I hope I will be able once
again to hold my head up, and be proud of my country.

I hope Prime Minister Rudd will justify my feeling.

[no safe haven]

51. It's been a long wait, hasn't it

Ever since that terrible night in 1996 and all that has followed since with the Howard gang. Starting with Peter Reith sending in the dogs on the waterfront, breaking up unions, GST, cutting benefits to the most vulnerable in our society, colluding with bushco in the Iraq war lies, lapdog to bushco on just about everything, shunning Kyoto, WorkChoices, children overboard fiasco, immigration detention camps, Aboriginal intervention, and many many more despicable acts that made me ashamed to be Australian also.

This time at least the good citizens weren't fooled by the usual bribes and pork barrelling and did the right thing and opted for a return to a 'fair go'. What good is a strong economy when we suffer from a paucity of spirit? The strong turnout for the Greens has given this old Aussie a shred of hope that we'll get back on the right track and regain some of the compassion that has been stripped away during the Howard years.

Oh, and HOO-fucking-RAY, good riddance Johnny. Glad to see the last of you.

[Matilda]

59. Howard was the most mean-spirited and divisive PM in my memory.

And how glad I am that I can now use the past tense with him!

I don't feel the least bit sorry for him, even when I heard the slight
break in his voice form time to time in his concession speech tonight.
He is an ugly little man in every sense of the word, and I'm glad to
see the back of him.

And I can only wonder at the mentality of those people who still support
him - they're all trolls.

[no safe haven]

68. Not sorry in the slightest at his tears

I've been crying for 11 years! But that concession speech was music to my ears. Best speech he's ever made.

What did you make of Janette tonight? Did she seem doped up to the gills to you? Grinning like an idiot. I wonder if she'll take all that nasty furniture she bought (with our money) for Kirribilli House with her?

I don't expect Howard supporters to be gracious in defeat in the least. Nick Minchin on ABC was being such a patronising arsehole to Julia, lots of backhanded compliments and was barely civil. The divisiveness of the Libs will live on, I fear.

[Andrushka]

69. I hear you, Matilda

Felt the same way, especially in the last three years vis-a-vis the environment and Iraq.

I now cross my fingers that at least some of the damage can be reversed.

[Jennifer C]

83. Yes, Matilda.

I am proud again to be an Australian. I felt so utterly revolted and ashamed to be an Australian because of Howard's disgusting ways and the damage his government has done home and abroad. I had been clutching tightly to my dual passport, however, tonight is a beautiful night to be an Aussie, and I will never forget this amazing Labor victory. I finally have hope again for our country, for the world, for human rights, and for common decency. Will be watching Prime Minister Rudd closely though, hope he delivers!

[ohio2007]

45. When will they attack Japan ?

Australian party hits whalers (Labor promises to send out the navy)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Matilda]

50. I hope that Prime Minister Rudd will order the Navy out very smartly.

I also think he will move quickly to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, so that
Australia can have a voice at the Bali talks next month. And that will
leave Bush right out in the cold on climate change.

[depakid]

60. Can Kyoto be ratified with a hostile Senate?

See, e.g.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/r...

[Matilda]

62. In this case I think it can.

Australia actually signed an agreement to Kyoto, but then Howard failed
to ratify that agreement. I also think it's something that doesn't
need to be put before the parliament as a Bill, because it's a UN
Protocol, and comes under different guidelines.

There's also the fact that there are some in the Coalition who are not,
and never were, totally sympathetic to Howard's thinking, but they shut
their mouths because they were cowed into submission - Howard didn't
tolerate dissent in any form. In the past year, some of these Liberal
"wets" as they are called, did challenge Howard on some issues, and
under a different leader, they may now have the courage to come into the
open and follow their consciences. We can only hope.

[depakid]

66. Julia Gillard made some statements about work choices

and it didn't sound like the Coalition would go along- it would be nice if a few would cross over.

I actually have a question about the new Australian Senate in the Oz forum. Seems to me that there may be a "problem" there because of this bonehead play back in 2004:

http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2004/results/se...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but unlike the USA, a tie vote in the Senate defeats a lower house measure (no tie breaker).

If the Liberals vote in a bloc, and the Greens and the "no pokie" independent go with labor- doesn't that leave the fundy with the balance of power?

[LeftishBrit]

99. Interesting that they are called 'wets' because that word comes directly from Thatcher!

She called the more liberal members of her party 'wets' in a disparaging way, and like Howard did not tolerate dissent and sacked anyone who disagreed with her. As a result, her Cabinet ministers toward the end of her tenure were not noted for either their IQs or any presence of a spine - so long as they could utter the word "Yes", that was enough!

It's interesting that the Australian RW-ers are obviously still influenced by Maggie the Evil One, to the point of using her terminology.

[saigon68]

125. Soon I hope

Get those thugs back to the inland sea where they can strip mine their own water for what ever

[Zorra]

48. Yay! Congratulations, Australia!

A great day for Australia, and for the whole world.

Another planet killing fascist gone.

[cal04]

49. Kevin Rudd claims victory in federal election

http://www.smh.com.au/news/federal-election-2007-news/k...

A jubilant Kevin Rudd has claimed victory for Labor in the federal election after voters turfed out the 11-year-old coalition government.

Mr Rudd paid tribute to outgoing prime minister John Howard for his service to public life.

(snip)
Mr Rudd promised to keep true to all Australians.

"I say tonight to the nation, I will never take their sacred trust for granted,'' the new prime minister said.

"I understand that this is a great privilege and I will do everything to honour the trust that has been extended to me.''




Kevin Rudd addresses the nation at Suncorp stadium in Brisbane.

[marmar]

53. Aznar, Blair, Berlusconi, the Polish prez, Howard....the Bush ally body count keeps growing....

You'd think they'd all get the picture by now.

[Honeycombe8]

54. Yaaaaaay! Now when is UK's Brown's election? nt

[mogster]

55. Another of Bush' cronies goes

Aussies,

[TheCowsCameHome]

56. "Heh, heh, where'd my friend John go? heh, heh"

[Arugula Latte]

127. This calls for an updated take on an ol' classic as sung by Bush:

Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He screwed a lot of people, and it seems the old they hang on
I just pulled my head out of my ass for a second, and he's gone

I thought I saw him walkin' up over the dung hill
With Aznar, Berlesconi, and Blair

[Joanne98]

57. YAY!

[Hawaii Hiker]

58. Way to go Australia!!

[0007]

61. Something good has finally happened. There is a god after all!! nt.

[Matilda]

63. All we need now is for the Greens to get a couple more Senate members.

We probably won't know that for a couple of weeks, but that's my hope.

[Robbien]

70. Over at the National Review

They aren't too upset and are saying that Rudd has moved the Labor party over to the right (conservative). Is that true? Is Labor in Australia a bit like our DLC centrists here?

[skipos]

74. And in 2006, they were claiming that Dems won because they ran as conservatives. Yeah right.

During the election: "Dem X is a scary out of touch liberal."
When the Dem wins the election: "Dem X only won because they ran as a conservative."

Howard was a total Bushbot. The NR can pretend they don't care, but they do.

[aquart]

65. Congratulations, Australia!

What a lovely thing to see first thing in the morning!

[KingFlorez]

67. Glad to hear that

Good for Australia

[Faygo Kid]

72. Another Bush poodle bites the dust - may our nation also throw the bums out

Thanks, Aussies. Goodbye to Iraq and hello to the fight against global warming.

Tan me hide when I'm dead, Fred.

[bikebloke]

73. Waaay to go, mates!

I'm sure a friend/colleague down there is happy.

Does that leave but one poodle yap-yap-yapping? Scare-kozy.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

76. The right wing is gone! About time! The entire world needs to do this. nt

[L0oniX]

77. Bush is the 3rd rail for other countries leaders ...good riddance

[whistle]

78. Are all of the neocons in Australia weeping giant tears right now?

...Congratulation to Labour who can begin a new era for Australians bringing much needed infrastructure development to the entire country, forming jobs and fair trade agreements with their neighbors. All the best for Australian Labour and a prosperous and sensible future for the people of Australia.

[Zynx]

79. Man the polls were pretty much dead nuts on this one.

[Kajsa]

80. YES! I'm so happy for Australia!

To all our great Aussie friends,

Congratulations!

[go west young man]

81. Congrats to all our Aussie friends!

Apparently "Chasers War On Terror" has paid off! Good on ya mates!

[Jackpine Radical]

84. As below, so above.

(Well, "down under," not "below," and "in Thiscountry," not "above"--but ya know what I mean.)

[usregimechange]

85. Rudd will sign Kyoto, leave US as the only Indust nation to not sign

Rudd has named global warming as his top priority, and his signing of the Kyoto Protocol will leave the U.S. as the only industrialized country not to have joined it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21945113/

[MikeNearMcChord]

86. So it looks like Howard is going a-Waltzing Matilda

like the rest of the Bush-poodles. Good job Aussies, I hope there will be some new justice for the Aboriginals with this new government.

[loser_user]

109. Sadly no changes in sight for Aboriginals

Someone else here in another Rudd thread posted this about how Rudd feels towards the Aboriginals...

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php...

[Violet_Crumble]

117. I think relying on a conservative pundit's opinion isn't a good idea...

There will be changes, and if given a choice between a bitter Andrew Bolt and ALP policy, I'd run with ALP policy every time

http://www.alp.org.au/platform/chapter_13.php#13aborigi...

[Aussie leftie]

135. Andrew Bolt is the equivalent of Bill O'Reilly

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

87. Is this a strong rejection of the neocons, Bush, Blair and the Iraq adventure?

Sorry, but I'm not very familiar with the issues involved in this Australian election. But wasn't the Iraq war and Australia's official government support of it one of the main issues?

[canetoad]

89. Nope, barely got a mention.

As I see it, the main issues were:

- Industrial relations
- Environment
- Peter Costello's smirk

[Hand]

90. Yay Aussies!

Next one down has to be Steve ("The Ape") Harper here in Canada!

[jeff30997]

91. Good riddance dammit!

I hope we'll do the same over here with Harper the Mini Bush!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

92. Congratulations on dumping your right-wing troglodyte!

[KillCapitalism]

93. I'm glad Australia turned left!!!

Especially after France went Fascist.

[greyghost]

94. Congrats my Aussie friends...

a strong move in the "right" direction!

[codjh9]

95. Yeehah! From what I've read, Howard was almost the Australian Bush.

[NastyRiffraff]

96. Congrats to all the wonderful Aussies here!

I'm cheering with you.

BTW, here's a video of Kevin Rudd, blasting Howard in Parliament about his statement about Obama and the Democratic party being the choice of the terrorists.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/02/12/kevin-rudd-att... /

Our Democrats in Congress could take a clue from him.

[Hand]

98. A picture is worth a thousand words!

Rudd...




Howard...

[Cha]

100. Thank you, Swagman!

Are you Stoked?! Welcome to DU, even though you've been here a year..I'm so happy you Aussies gave howard the ol' heave ho. Another bushit laprat bites the dust.

[Faygo Kid]

102. Goodbye, Howard. Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.

Another war criminal bites the dust.

I pray all of us here live long enough to see Bush out of office and doing a perp walk.

[humbled_opinion]

104. The message is Clear

Not only America but the world is tired of Bush's failed Iraqi policies and its time to get all coalition troops out of Iraq now....

People of the world unite and elect those leaders that will bring their troops out of that country and stop the agression.


America must vote for Obama or Edwards they are the only top tier candidates clear on their Iraq stand.

Hillary is Bushlite.

[Barrett808]

105. Aznar, Berlusconi, Blair, Howard...

Yet more than a year left in the Bush junta's "term". A long, long year.

[TheMadMonk]

106. Let's wait and see how Rudd rewards the unions before getting too cocky.

A return to the days of the closed shop would be an absolute disaster in my opinion.

I did/do not like a lot of what Howard did, but nor do I think he is as evil as he is being painted. A ruthless bastard for sure, but also a pragmatic one.

And I also suspect that at least some of what he did was down to George and Co. having him well and truly by the short and curlies. As one (only one) other person has noted Howard was an incredibly astute politician and yet his behaviour over the past couple years has been inexplicably politically suicidal. Why?

[Ken Burch]

123. What I don't understand about Howard is this:

The man had known for almost a year that he was likely to see his party voted out of office if he led it through another election. Why didn't Howard just stand down say, on his eleventh anniversary in power and hand over the leadership to somebody else? That way, he'd have retired undefeated.

[TheMadMonk]

124. Becasue George had him by the short and curlies. nt

[Ken Burch]

131. How was it in Bush's interest to have Howard go down in flames?

n/t.

[TheMadMonk]

136. It wouldn't be. But when has Bush demonstrated anything resembling....

...actual intelligence.

And then again, Rudd came out of his meeting with Bush a few weeks ago, a little less belligerent than he went in, IIRC. What was said?

[no safe haven]

126. Closed shops are no more

The Labor Accord put an end to union militancy, so-called, during the 1980s, and wages were fixed by a central authority under Labor, in the interests of industrial peace. Howard threw this out and brought in Australian Workplace Agreements between employers and employees, basically deregulating the labour market. This is what Australians rebelled against this past election and why Howard is now out of a job.

Suicidal behaviour? Maybe. Hubris I think is the best way to put it. He wanted to better his hero, Robert Menzies, in being the longest running prime minister in Australian history, but didn't make it. Instead he'll be remembered for being the second PM to lose his seat. Funny how these things work out. And George had him by the short and curlies too - kiss of death. He lost a lot of respect when he kowtowed to Washington.

[TheMadMonk]

130. Trouble is, Hawke was a Union Leader.

Rudd is their creation.

[Ken Burch]

132. Hopefully, union militancy will return.

Militant unions are the only kind worth having.

[sandrakae]

108. Good, because he was nothing but a nasty fucking Bush lover.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Andrushka]

111. Howard still looking to lose his own seat

...and I love it!

[Yuugal]

113. Way to go Aussies!

Wish we had a workers party here.......

[Andrushka]

122. Well, not quite

If you are talking about the Labour Party. Maybe when they formed, but they are far from the "worker's party." Socialist Alliance is the worker's party, but as they are about as likely to get in as Giuliani is at the next presidential elections in the US, the Labour Party with Greens holding balance of power will do!

[rodeodance]

114. yahoo=-------smart Aussies!!

[Blashyrkh]

116. And the closest to the female Prime Minister we've ever been. Actually...

we'll have one (albeit acting but that counts damnit) when Rudd makes his first overseas jaunt.

[Cobalt-60]

118. Good News from Down Under

Another fascist enabler shitcanned!

[Kaotac]

119. No doubt there's a 7 figure position waiting for him..

Wonder if he'll be working for Halliburton in Australia or maybe an oil company.. I really doubt he's just going to retire.

I wonder how much stuff Janet tried to steal from Kiribilli.

[nam78_two]

120. Good riddance to John Howard

Congratulations Aussies..I don't know enough about your politics to know how good your Labor Party is, but I figure anyone/thing has to be an improvement over Howard.

[Arugula Latte]

128. Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

Oi! Oi! Oi!

[951-Riverside]

129. Oi! Oi! Oi!

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

[Matilda]

133. When will we have a referendum on a Republic?

That's something that wasn't talked about during the campaign, but I hope it's no later than the
next election.

And if Turnbull does lead the Libs, I'd expect him to support it, given his track record.

[hatrack]

134. Awesome news!

A big to DUers Down Under!