Horse trading with fatty Palmer
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:24 pm
Prime Minister Tony Abbott faces three years of horse trading to get his legislation through the Senate following a Western Australian poll that featured a swing of about 5 per cent against both major parties.
The Greens’ Scott Ludlam and the Palmer United Party’s Dio Wang will head to Canberra, while the Coalition looks set to claim three Senate seats and Labor just one.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott played down the 5 per cent hit to the Liberal vote, arguing it was typical of a byelection, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said his party remained hopeful Senator Louise Pratt could still claim the sixth and final seat.
With 68 per cent of the vote counted on Sunday, election analyst Antony Green predicted the Liberals' David Johnston, Michaelia Cash and Linda Reynolds would secure three Senate seats, Labor's Joe Bullock would claim one, while Senator Ludlam and Mr Wang would get places, too.
Ms Reynolds was on track to hang on and pip Senator Pratt for the final spot on the ticket, with postal votes expected to favour the conservatives.
The Liberal Party suffered a 5.49 per cent swing against it on first preferences and Labor a 4.83 per cent swing as polarised voters flocked to Senator Ludlam, who secured a 6.39 per cent swing, and Mr Wang, who secured a 7.48 per cent swing.
On current projections, Mr Wang will become the third senator elected for the Palmer United Party and hand its eccentric leader, Clive Palmer, a large say in the Senate balance of power after July 1.
On current results, the Coalition government is on track to hold 33 seats in the 76-member chamber. This means if the 35 Labor and Greens senators team up to oppose laws – as they have flagged they will on the government’s planned repeal of the carbon and mining taxes and proposed industrial relations changes – the Coalition will need to secure support from six of the eight Senate crossbenchers.
Mr Palmer has three senators, as well as an ally in the Motoring Enthusiast Party and has indicated he will support the repeal of the carbon and mining taxes. But it is unclear what he will do on other legislation and two of the four remaining crossbench senators from the Democratic Labour Party, Family First, independent Nick Xenophon and Liberal Democratic Party will all want to have a say in the fate of each piece of legislation.
In Japan on Sunday, Mr Abbott said the result would only increase his resolve to scrap the carbon and mining taxes.
He said there was nothing in Saturday’s vote "to suggest that the voters have suddenly decided they love the carbon or mining tax".
Asked if he would move for a double dissolution on the carbon tax, Mr Abbott said he expected the new Senate to respect the government’s mandate.
"This government is absolutely committed to eliminating the carbon tax and the mining tax," he said.
Mr Shorten said his party had been up against it in the "unusual" election.
"There is a lot of counting to go and we’re extremely hopeful Louise will be re-elected."
Labor insiders were furious with Mr Bullock on Sunday after a recording emerged in the final days of the campaign in which he criticised Senator Pratt and the ALP, praised Mr Abbott and admitted he did not always vote for the party.
Senator Ludlam put the strong swing to his party down to a highly visible grassroots campaign and contrasted it to Mr Palmer’s approach of pumping millions of dollars into TV advertising
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/ ... z2y9RatNPU
