So what happens now? what if.....The indos start a sneak invasion? .....the french start newc testing of the coast of nz ? .. whos going to call the shots?
Australia... you were indicisive but now your not so sure.
Just dont ask B Brown what to do!!! 
i'd say the libs have it in the bag depending on the final count. 
i can't see the 3 country independants supporting labor because of the greens connection plus all 3 are saying they want stable goverment and that to me is code for "not" gillard.
they are just playing both sides at the moment to get the very best deal for their electorate they can.
very very smart politics.
time will tell i guess.
Just saw Bob Catto , One of the" 3 Independants " having a rant on ABC news.
I got a sense that If this is as good as it gets , Australia is screwed
Maybe the idea of Queensland secesseding is not so silly
Yep you dont have to worry about workchoices anymore when the cost of living goes thru the roof because of uncontrolled imigration
If Kevin was still PM ALP would have won... nobody in their right mind wants
This selection was really just a vote against the back stabber.
The bewdy of the Greens (potentially) having the BoP is that more will be likely to be achieved.
How'szat
As I see it both the majors (I tend to think of them as minors - as far as intellect and maturity goes) will need to do some pretty hefty deals with the Greens to get their own sway on things..
PLUS - and this is the kicker - when it comes time to pass a policy (e.g. on environmental or no other option to learn ethical/moral codes than from creepy blokes in dresses in our school systems), the majors can let that through to the keeper but keep their own subscribers happy by stating "Well we didn't want to but the tree huggers made us."
WIN WIN 
Getting Tony the phony nice guy is def NOT a WIN though.
$$$ on Tony losing it and showing the real deal sooner, rather than later.
Says a lot that even Tony Phony's own colleagues have not stopped commending his 'control' and 'restraint' during the election run-up.
They know what lurks just beneath the surface obviously.
EDIT:
Agree that Kev would have got the ALP accross the line too. If so, the Libs have not won the election - rather ALP have lost it. Talk about re-loading to blow ya other foot off!
IMO Julia would be a far more competant PM, minister and diplomatic operator tho. Phoney Tony has an extremely limited skill base (acknowledged by the Libs) and is a better internal political creature than manager as such.
Holy frijoles Nebbs! I am a bit embarrassed to be thought of as am agent for change.
Listening to Bob on Sat night was uplifting from a feeling of helplessness at the state of the results. What a bloke. Bent, straight or corrugated - we need more pollies like him on all sides of politics.
I think its time for everyone to take a deep breath and stand back...... your team did not win!!!!
The people have spoken and our future is now in the hands of the three independents and they will determine the outcome. No amount of we won this or they lost that is going to change the fact that neither side won.
At the risk of injecting some facts into this thread - from the AEC's website as of now:
House of Reps Two Party Preferred results:
Australian Labor Party 5,060,285
Liberal/National Coalition 4,929,004
Historically, it wouldn't be the first time a party got the majority of votes but didn't win office. And the seat count could go 73/73. I don't see how any side can claim a victory, or that the "other side" lost.
Hopefully in the end we get a good result for the Australian voters.
But I tell you what convinced me (a swinging voter) that the conservatives were a dishonest bunch that would resort to any means to regain power was the "Ute Gate" issue.
The people responsible for that little fiasco on the conservative side, Abott included as he was a shadow minister, should be done for treason, and removed from office permanently. 
There can be any spin what so ever put on that little effort, but in the end, if it barks like a hyena, looks like a hyena, then its probably a hyena
Gestalt, Some other guy is correct as per The AEC figures the two party preferred numbers are correct. also your assertion that " if the labor party had got the majority of the votes they would be in" is incorrect . A majority of votes is incidental to winning an election.The number of seats is the thing. Oh, and the Building the education revolution question. You asked where the complaint figure came from . The BER review interim report released by the government about 2 weeks ago said the complaints figure from schools principals and or school governing bodies was aprox 2.73%. It included complaints ranging from poor work, overpriced buildings, wrong location of buildings, even wrong colours. I'm not saying that 98 % of the schools are compleley happy but 2.73% is not A RORT. It just goes to show you that when the Herald Sun/Today tonight/ACA get their teeth into it the truth comes off second best.
I forgot, Gestalt, Please don't tell me the liberals have a creditable policy on global warming that is a complete and utter. the conservative parties are full of deniers, that's how and why Turnbull was removed(assassinated,knifed,stabbed.....?) for Abbott. Do you really think reducing emissions is high on his list of priorities. The suggestion that Abbott, Minchin, and the the Nationals care about the environment and global warming is utterly wrong.
Maybe next time Laurie should run...
@ gorgo
well if the rest of the states stayed at home then the conservatives would of got into power so i guess the system does work.
you are saying that the people voted, the result was 50/50 but someone should get a majority because some of the states are labor. it makes very liitle sense and not democratic. regardless of distribution of results the result is that it's 50/50.
and on your last point. rather than blame the voters of QLD and WA how about you level the result at the feet of the politicians.
or those that did donkey votes, or the preferential system or whatever. it doesn't matter in the end.
@ logman
and again, your being semantic. labor did not get the majority of votes which is why it's 50/50 that's the way it works and as you said incidental. so all of the rubbish about labor getting the majority of votes/states or whatever is a moot point. as is the libs line that they got the majority of the primary vote, which they did. it doesn't work that way.
your point about the schools debacle. the "interim" report is points out that they visited 110 schools across 5 states and goes on to say. off the top of my head there were 8000 schools or something in total. not a large percentage.
Over 400 projects are now entered however there are very small sample sizes for certain project types and some education authorities. This causes early output volatility and restricts definitive conclusions. Results at this stage may indicate a trend but the current sample size is inadequate to make conclusive findings. The November 2010 report will have a significantly larger sample size
and allow for robust conclusions.
plus one of the finding of the anao report from the auditor general was
"While designed to give effect to the objective of the stimulus package, the approach adopted by the department has reduced the capacity of school systems to take account of system priorities and the differing needs of schools in their systems, within the Australian Governmentfs policy parameters for the program. Additionally, some of the administrative arrangements put in place by the department were unduly complicated and time]consuming for Education Authorities"
will be interesting to see what the final report says.
