Australia Has A Government
After more than two weeks of negotiations the political deals have been made that will continue the Labor Party’s tenuous hold on the reins of the government, according to the ABC – Labor day: Gillard retains grip on power
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she will pump almost $10 billion into regional programs after today scraping back into power with the support of two key independents.
Ms Gillard has pledged to work tirelessly for the Australian people and says she will try and find common ground with the Coalition as Labor heads into its second term in government.
Two independents today broke the political deadlock by giving their votes to Ms Gillard in a Labor minority Government. She has advised Governor-General Quentin Bryce of the developments.
One of the more important points in the negotiations, apparently, was the desire of the independents to have a government that would last for three years. Comments seem to indicate that they felt the Coalition would call early elections to consolidate their power [and eliminate the need for the independents].
The next major event will no doubt be the meeting of the Labor Party and the election of a leader. After this election I’m not sure that Ms Gillard is an automatic selection for the job. This is the sort of thing that makes the parliamentary system more interesting than the US system and keeps people involved.
2 comments
Yeah. Big whoop.
So… where’s my damned high-speed, cheep broadband then? Meeah! I’ll probably be 6 feet under by the time that ever happens (if) and *if* it does, it will be massively over budget, will only work properly on Sunday nights with a full moon, no rain, and the ambient temp between 20C & 22C, after you’ve sacrificed a chicken. And of course, it”ll be run by Telstra, one of the very few companies that make the Gov look kinda honest and somewhat competent, efficient and intelligent. (Which, to put it in some perspective for you Yank’s, is like comparing The Dweeb (Gates) with Daffy Duck). 😈 😛
It’ll never happen.
Well, you could be paying $100US/month for DSL which is available when CenturyLink remembers they are supposed to be an ISP. Most of that bill is for a land-line telephone that I don’t want or need, but is required to get DSL.
The price from the cable provider is the same, again because you have to pay for a lot of crap you don’t want or use to get the Internet access.
I use the DSL because the cable is buried and harder for the drunks to hit than the poles the cable is strung on, and it is still there after hurricanes, unlike the cable.
At least you have serious discussions about broadband; all we get is comments in passing.
If you are more than ten miles outside a major population center in the US you can forget competition, service, or availability.