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The hardest walk

It's typical John Howard - indefatigable right to the end.

P1020304_2 Still, it had to be tough for the outgoing Prime Minister to front up for his daily walk this morning, after the heavy defeat of the night before.

"I'm fine", JWH declared as he left the gates of Kirribilli.

And several wellwishers offered their thanks as Mr Howard marched around Sydney Harbour.

"They don't know what they've done", cried one Howard disciple.

Continue reading "The hardest walk" »

25/11/2007

Vale the Democrats

As we touched on last night the Democrats, as had been predicted, were routed in yesterday's poll.

Both Lyn Allison (Vic) and Andrew Bartlett (Qld) have conceded defeat and Senator Allison will retire from politics when her term ends on June 30 next year.

In Qld, the Greens and Pauline Hanson's United Party polled better than Senator Bartlett.

And while Labor may have swept to power in the House of Representatives, Liberal Senator Nick Minchin points out that they may face the prospect of a hostile Senate.

News around the world

As the world absorbs the massive news that Australia has a new government (I wrote that as a joke originally, but it really is big news in the western world at least), here's a round-up of how international outlets are covering the historic night.

The BBC's correspondent writes that Mr Howard didn't know when to give up.

He calls himself "Lazarus with a triple bypass", but tonight he looked like a weary and slightly punch-drunk heavyweight champ who went for one title defence too many.

Continue reading "News around the world" »

The 'cult of Julia'

Julia_bitofshushOne of the biggest stories from the tallyroom last night has to be the glaringly obvious affection in the crowd for Labor's deputy leader (and guest on the ABC's TV coverage), Julia Gillard.

She got a huge cheer when she arrived on set, and it only got louder as the night wore on, at times drowning out the efforts of Kerry and co to chew the fat on TV. You can see her asking the crowd for a 'bit of shush' in the pic on the right.

And as she left the tallyroom Australia's first female deputy PM was mobbed, in the end being whisked away by AFP officers.

In the National Press Club, in the early hours of this morning, it was called the cult of Julia. Whether it was evidence of a new political phenomenon, or the result of a few too many beers in the public gallery section of the tallyroom (or at the press club for that matter), you saw it first last night on the ABC.

24/11/2007

Changing of the guard

Minchin_gillard So there you have it, a convincing win for Labor when just one year ago there were lambasted from sea to shining sea.

A remarkable turnaround, and a remarkable display of discipline from a party which had been dismissed as a shambles.

There are many challenges facing the new Rudd government: Afghanistan is becoming more and more dangerous for our soldiers, the extent of the US subprime collapse is yet to be realised, water is scarce in many parts of the country and the economy is in danger of overheating.

But tonight at least provides time to reflect on the past 11.5 years, and look back at a political era in Australia which saw the most prolonged period of economic boom and our soldiers involved in two wars.

And then we can all go and and have beer (or two), in the great Australian tradition.

Can do Campbell now the Libs man

Campbell_newman With wall-to-wall Labor governments now installed across the country, the most senior Liberal in office in the country is the Mayor of Brisbane, Campbell Newman.

There's no word yet on what Cr Newman thinks about such an honour...

Jonesy watches on

Alanjones

Alan Jones watches Prime Minister elect Kevin Rudd's acceptance speech.

Early Senate results show Dems disaster

Early results for the Senate shows what many had been predicting - the Democrats look to be on their way to election annihilation.

Senators Andrew Murray and Natasha Stott-Despoja are retiring at this election, which left Andrew Bartlett and Lyn Allison fighting for their seats in Qld and Vic respectively.

In Qld, with just under 23 per cent of the vote counted, the Democrats are polling about 1.9 per cent of the vote, less than Family First (2.41 per cent) and Pauline Hanson's United Party (4.67 per cent).

The Nationals' Ron Boswell is looking like hanging on and the Liberals and the ALP are looking good for the other five seats.

In Vic, in a similar story, but there, over 60 per cent of the vote is counted. The Dems are polling 1.6 per cent of the vote, behind Family First (2.64 per cent) and the Greens (9.84 per cent).

Labor and the Liberals look like claiming all six seats in Victoria.

Howard's defeat

John Howard has conceded defeat. He is currently addressing a large crowd at the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney:

"I accept full responsibility for the Liberal Party campaign and therefore the Coalition's defeat in this campaign."

More stars come out

Here's a Chaser who's about to get punched:

Craig_hef

Continue reading "More stars come out" »

Everyone wants a piece of tonight

Queue This is an extraordinary election, and if you needed more proof, here's a picture of people lining up to get into the tally room at 9.30 at night.

When was the last time this happened?