SillyDog701

[Mandrake]

This is truly a great day for Australia.

Coalition to dump flawed internet filter.

With the Liberal/National coalition and the Greens both opposing the ISP filter there's no way it'll pass the senate even if Labor is re-elected.

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[Antony]

I never believed it would work. Also, the government is still opposing the firewall in China, while promoting the great benefit of the purposed Australian version.

Surprisingly, Don is more into this topic than I am.

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[Antony]

According to Gizmodo report, Senator Conroy (almost) concedes the failing of internet filter.
When asked by Ramli:

On filtering, the issue is dead in the Senate regardless of who wins thanks to the Opposition, the Greens and Senator Nick Xenophon vowing to vote against it. Is there any way you would bring mandatory filtering in without a vote in the Senate?

Conroy replied:

Genuinely, I don’t believe we can, I don’t think there’s a backdoor way we could do it. I think the only way we could do it is through Parliament.

The Australian federal election is this Saturday, 21 August 2010. Voting is compulsory for all eligible people, unless the eligible is overseas at the time (can still choose to vote).

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[Mandrake]

It's excellent news that even Minister Conroy concedes it'll be hard to bring it in now!

With the election on Saturday I'm certainly hoping for a change of government, anyone who tries to force this sort of censorship on people has to go.

FWIW, I'll be voting for the Liberal Party in the house of representatives with the Greens as my second choice. In the senate I'll 'vote below the line' and number every box. I'll put parties like the Secular Party, The Greens and The Sex Party up the top and parties like Family First, Christian Democratic Party and Labor will all be right down the bottom.

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[Antony]

On the internet related 'election promises' from two major parties:
Labor said that they would build the National Broadband Network (NBN) infrastructure. Liberal Party made it clear that they won't do so.

As for the latest polls, very close to call.

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[Antony]

For those who follow Australian election, we still don't have the new government yet as neither Labor or Liberal (Coalition) have enough seats to form a government by its own. The result: hung government which means whoever gets the independent will be the new government.

According to this news report, the National Broadband Network (NBN) is shaping up to be a crucial factor requested by independents.

Julia Gillard (current Prime Minister, Labor) has assured the independents that her policies - particularly the promised $43 billion NBN and extra spending on education and health - would provide tangible benefits to their electorates, especially those in rural and regional areas.

Mr Tony Abbott (Liberal leader) indicated he was prepared to alter his election promises - including on his proposed broadband plans - in an effort to be "pragmatic" and win over the Independent MPs. Before the election date, he said NBN would not happen during his term.

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[Mandrake]

It's very interesting seeing the hung parliament. The prediction is that Labor will take 72 seats, the Coalition will take 73, the Greens have secured a seat and there are four independents. As Antony mentioned the NBN is proving a crucial factor, as has the controversial mining tax.

The NBN is certainly a futuristic proposal, but also an extremely expensive one. If the internet filter wasn't 'attached' to the NBN as it currently stands, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

I'm not an economist, so I don't fully understand the implications of the mining tax. I understand that, in principal, the mining companies that are extremely profitable will pay a 30% on their profits. The question is simple really, can you do this without harming the mining companies, the investment in Australia and the jobs that the mining sector creates? If the answer is yes, then by all means tax them. If answer is no, then it's a bad idea and it needs to be shelved.

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[Antony]

After 17 days since the election, we finally have a new government - Labor. A minority government.


Labor has 76 seats (includes 3 from Independent, 1 from Greens), and Coalition has 74 seats (including one Independent). Labor won, however interesting facts: Coalition (Liberal + Nationals) won the primary vote, the two-party preferred vote, and the seat count.

Sounds familiar to year 2000 US Election? Mr Al Gore won more votes (country-wide), and more electoral votes if not counting Florida... after a number of recounts, Mr George W. Bush had 547 more votes in Florida.

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