Australians come to their senses – March 24th will be remembered as the day they collectively said “we’re tired of this sh**” Commenter “truthseeker” writes in comments:
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Anthony,
You may want to refer to Jo Nova’s latest post about the results of a state election down under.
Now for all of you nice people from the USA who may not think state elections are that big a deal if you do not live in that state, please remember that we only have 6 states and 2 territories, not 50 like you guys. We just had an election in Queensland, one of our most economically important states, especially for mineral wealth representing about a quarter of the population. Before the election the Labour (think Democrat) held a small majority in the 89 seat Lower House (House of Representatives).
With over 70% of the vote counted, the results are;
Liberal / National Party coalition (think Republicans – sort of) – 78 seats
Labour (think Democrat) – 7 seats
KAP (new party – think TEA party with less logic and more strangeness) – 2 seats
Independents – 2 seats.
A mini-van will have more seats than the previously incumbent Labour party in the new parliament.
I have one word for this … OUCH!
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Jo Nova writes:
Those devastating Queensland Election Results: Voters hate lies and the Carbon Tax
UPDATE: Is this a record? Has there ever been a loss this bad in Australian history? Conservatives likely to win 74 seats of an 89 seat parliament.
Labor was reduced to only 11 seats in 1974, and on latest counting tonight appeared set to retain only nine seats. Some analysts put the figure even lower, at seven. This would mean Labor falling short of official party status and relying on the incoming LNP government to grant it party offices, staff and resources. The Queensland Greens failed to win a seat and suffered a fall in support. [The Australian]
This is thread for all those who want to comment on this election. According to Bolt, things are not just bad, they’re seriously awful for the Labor Party. Newspoll says LNP (conservatives) 55%, Labor 26%. Channel Nines polls says Labor could be left with less than 10 seats!
The ABC’s election predictor at 8:26 has LNP on 67 seats, Labor on four, others five, doubtful 15. Absolutely catastrophic for Labor. The current leader of the Labor Party in Queensland is Anna Bligh facing a 13% swing against her, and will need preferences just to stay in Parliament.
March 24, 2012, will be remembered as the day the electorate delivered a decisive, devastating blow to an incumbent Labor government. Courier Mail
For non-Australians, Australia has seven states (technically 5 states and 2 territories), and in 2007 all the States and the Federal Government were Labor. Currently Liberal (meaning conservative) governments have won NSW, WA, and Vic and now look like taking a landslide in Queensland. These are the four largest states.
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Andrew Bolt has this update:
Queensland election – and why it spells death to Gillard
Andrew Bolt March 24 2012 (5:52pm)
Here is the bottom line from the rout of Labor in today’s Queensland election – the line that spells doom for Julia Gillard, too.
Premier Anna Bligh, 2008:
I will not kick (Queensland households) when they are down and I will not abolish the petrol subsidy.
Three months after the 2009 election:
THE Bligh government will scrap its 8.35 cent per litre fuel subsidy and hold a multi-billion dollar fire sale of State-owned assets to offset a plunge in revenues during the global financial crisis.
And that was already that, as the next Galaxy poll showed, two months later:
There has been a dramatic swing to the Opposition, with a 59-41 lead on a two-party-preferred basis – a 10 point swing from the March 21 state election… And Ms Bligh’s popularity rating has hit an all-time low for a Queensland premier at 33 per cent.
Remind you of anyone?:
Anna Bligh broke a pre-election promise, and hiked up people’s bills. She immediately lost the public’s trust and never regained it, although got a brief sugar hit during the 2011 floods.
Julia Gillard broke a pre-election promise, and is already hiking up people’s bills. She immediately lost the public’s trust and never regained it.
The analogy still not close enough?
Sky News exit polls show voters were most concerned about the Cost of Living (69 per cent), followed by Delivery of State Services (63 per cent), Carbon Tax (44 per cent)
How do you think Gillard will do in Queensland next year?
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The clock on Gillard’s political career is now ticking…
HOLY CRAP-POLA!
We’ve seen this BEFORE, where Aussieland and England PRECEED the USA in what happens politically.
Hum, can we say a clean haired, Olympian in the WH? And there being a lot of KEY-STONEs laid for recovery? YEAAAAAA!
Max
A question for those in Australia: to what extent did dissatisfaction with climate/energy policy play a role in the defeat? Were there other major economic issues or was energy/environment the battle-ground issue?
Sing tiraloo, sing tiralay,
Labor power is far away.
Thank God Australians are waking up from their zombi like state. It’s amazing what government caused price increases and bully boy tactics will do, even the most ardent Labor/ALP/Socialist supporters are getting royally P***ed off. Enough of them pop their heads out of the sand to say that’s it mate your gone!
I think breaking promises (public promises) made solemnly during the election must have been a large factor. Unpopularity of the federal government (prop: J. Gillard) helped as well. Carbon taxes maybe. Extra taxes on mining (a Robin Hood tax that will surely backfire).
The other factor was the extraordinarily negative campaigning by Anna Bligh and the Queensland Labour Party. What were they thinking?
Andrew, in one of those strange twists of history, they actually spell it the Labor party in Australia (and it has to do with an American-born former prime minister or some such.)
Not only did Gillard break a direct promise, but she proves herself to be a ruthless ideologue that will stop at absolutely nothing to put her political agenda into practice. By all appearance, I believe she enjoys causing harm to others.
We are similarly burdened here in the USA.
I’m heartened. We more retiring types always admired Aussie take-no-guff orneriness and edgy willfulness. I bumped into quite a few naughty downunder sprites in Europe during the 60s hitchhiker invasion. Crocodile Dundee (a bit of Scottish orneriness also in his genes) was a hit because we all believed the character. I had despaired at how well you all were behaving yourselves these last few decades. Give ’em, er, heck!
Tea Party isn’t that strange. Where did you get that idea from? It’s more about personal responsibility and demand accountable from federal gov’t (smaller gov’t, cut wasteful spending, less corruption). You may want to take another look at U.S. Constitution… That’s what we demand that they follow the rules and leave us alone (we the people)… We have much more common sense, that’s for sure.
More from the “I was a sleeping giant, now I’m awake” front:
India has barred its airlines from complying with the European Union carbon tax scheme, joining China in resistance to plans that have caused a backlash among the EU’s trade partners.
The European Union imposed a carbon levy on air travel with effect from January 1, but no airline will face a bill until 2013 after this year’s carbon emissions have been tallied.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told parliament on Thursday that “the imposition of carbon tax does not arise” because Indian airlines would simply refuse to hand over their emissions data.
“Though the European Union has directed Indian carriers to submit emission details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government,” he said.
India’s resolution to boycott the scheme follows China’s decision last month to prevent its airlines from complying with the EU directive.
The two Asian giants have attacked the EU scheme, calling it a unilateral trade levy disguised as an attempt to fight climate change.
There’s only one appropriate response (especially considering where OZ is):
conservatives don’t poll….
….they hang up
What are the chances that when James Cameron gets to the bottom of the Challenger Deep and looks out the porthole he will see Julia G’s reelection chances?
bubbagyro says:
March 24, 2012 at 10:47 am
More from the “I was a sleeping giant, now I’m awake” front:
India has barred its airlines from complying with the European Union carbon tax scheme, joining China in resistance to plans that have caused a backlash among the EU’s trade partners.
The European Union imposed a carbon levy on air travel with effect from January 1, but no airline will face a bill until 2013 after this year’s carbon emissions have been tallied.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told parliament on Thursday that “the imposition of carbon tax does not arise” because Indian airlines would simply refuse to hand over their emissions data.
“Though the European Union has directed Indian carriers to submit emission details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government,” he said.
India’s resolution to boycott the scheme follows China’s decision last month to prevent its airlines from complying with the EU directive.
The two Asian giants have attacked the EU scheme, calling it a unilateral trade levy disguised as an attempt to fight climate change.
China is doing more than boycotting the scheme, it has put any orders for new Airbus aircraft on hold:
“GENEVA (AP) — The head of Airbus says up to 2,000 jobs are at risk because Chinese airlines have frozen orders for 55 jets worth $14 billion in protest at the European Union’s emissions trading plan.
Airbus CEO Tom Enders says the move jeapordizes 1,000 jobs at the company in Europe and another 1,000 in its supply chain. Enders spoke Thursday at an airline industry meeting in Geneva.
The EU introduced the trading system at the start of the year as part of European efforts to reduce global warming. Airlines flying to or from Europe must obtain certificates for carbon dioxide emissions. The United States, China, Russia, India and many other countries are opposed and say the bloc cannot impose taxes on flights outside its own airspace.”
http://news.yahoo.com/airbus-2-000-jobs-risk-over-china-order-152350748.html
and
““Aircraft sales are different from selling wine or cars, you can’t switch the sales button from off to on from one day to another. A red traffic light in aircraft sales can destroy years of sales efforts and damage-repair will take years,” said Rainer Ohler, head of Airbus public affairs and communications.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/03/china-halts-10-more-airbus-orders-trade.html
The Brussels European Commission bureaucrats are hoping to put pressure on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a UN Agency, to put in place a global emissions trading scheme for aircraft operators. It would appear to have backfired but they cannot afford to lose face and back down. Airbus cannot afford the argument.
What are the odds that when James Cameron gets to the bottom of the Challenger Deep and looks out the porthole he’ll see Julia G’s reelection chances?
And this is how climate change regulations will be implemented in NSW (the Australian state south of Queensland)
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/fighting-on-the-beaches-as-council-orders-retreat-from-climate-change-threat/story-e6frg6nf-1226308725029
Nerd says:
March 24, 2012 at 10:39 am
Well said, Nerd. Sooooo many people have the wrong idea about what the Tea Party is all about. The majority of people I have talked to about it think they are a bunch of whacko loners, militia types, and racist and/or anti-government types. It stems from the coverage from most of the MSM in this country. They find a couple people at a Tea Party rally who fit that whacko label and interview them exclusively to misrepresent the ideology of the movement to America. Much like the entire GoreBullWarming movement, once rational, critically thinking people look into it they realize what each side is really about.
The climate is a changin’ in more ways than one. Let us all hope we are soon out of this co2 (funding scam / tax) insanity.
This is not the first mutiny against a member of the family Bligh in or near the Antipodes. The first caused the loss of the Bounty and this one seems to be due to the loss of bounty. Good on yer mates. Now sink the lifeboat.
Great news — let’s hope this is the start of some major shakeups of the pompous, complacent “watermelon” elites worldwide!
Beautiful! Especially fine for Australia which has (until recently) suffered from the Greenest of all the Green tyrannies in the English-speaking world.
But it doesn’t predict anything about future US results. Our two “parties” have rigged the system so nothing can change. Remember what happened the last time R owned all the branches from 2002 through 2007? Nothing. It was exactly the same as having Teddy Kennedy as absolute emperor.
Richard Sharpe says on March 24, 2012 at 10:34 am
Hmmmm, make that “Anthony, in one of those …”
REPLY: Just going with the commenter’s spelling…I figured he’d know better than I being a resident of Oz – Anthony
Nerd: I agree with you the Tea Party isn’t strange. I am not sure the author of this post does either. He says KAP is stranger than the Tea Party and less logical. Personally I think most political movements are stranger and far less logical than the Tea Party.
Until yesterday Obama considered Australia to be one of America’s strongest allies and thought it really punched above it’s weight.