[ZenGum]

Australian politics is actually quite interesting now. I would never have expected it.

The house of reps, where government is formed, has 151 members, so 76 is a majority.
We have Labor with prob.72 seats.
The Liberal/National coalition with prob 72 or 73.
One Green who has announced preference for Labor.
Four independents:
One right wing country bloke who left the Nationals because they were too much into economic rationalism, and who wears a really big hat.
One centrist country bloke who left the Nationals because they were not socially progressive enough, and supports boat people/refugees.
One former National who left when they de-selected him for no apparent reason, and took the seat off their new candidate.

These three are policy-wise more inclined to the Liberal / National coalition, but not in all cases, and political-interest wise, are bitter enemies of the Nationals, who are in coalition with the Liberals.

And one left-independent, former labor-member, former greens member, former military, but new to parliament, and calling for immediate support for the logging industry.

Either major party will need the support of at least three of these four to form a government.

Meanwhile, in the upper house, the balance of power will be held by the greens (who prefer labor) but not until new senators take their seats in the middle of next year. (I don't get the delay, but never mind). Until then a Family First (i.e. religious interest party) senator says he will block all bills from a Labor government.

In this context the four independents (mostly the three ex-nationals) are behaving brilliantly; calm, reasonable, politely asking the two major parties to summarise their policies, have them properly costed by treasury, and give reasons why they should be next government. They're actually asking the questions that the major parties avoided during the campaign.

The election was, mostly by chance, a very accurate expression of our political feelings. We didn't like Gillard, we didn't like Abbot, we refuse to elect either of them. Now a few genuine representatives are grilling them for the answers they should have provided before. Brilliant.