Just a quick edit. North Sydney’s a safe Lib seat, so there was no point voting for the pleasant Mike Bailey, who is a local btw. So I went green, senate and reps. Although Karl K and Janice Newell were a tempting alternative in the senate.
Done. First time in years I haven’t voted Labour. Eolbo and Ms Eolbo have voted Green.
Cracking a good wine tonight to celebrate Howards looming defeat.
Been here for years and never ever seen Hockey before today, at anything. Caught a glimpse as we left - he was talking to the Liberal pamphlet hander-outers.
Seen Bailey - he has been at the Growers Markets walking round and talking to everyone.
Don’t understand the Costello aggro either - he is a charisma-negative space, but that isn’t actually a sin.
He has a plan for his party, he is open that some of his policies differ from those currently held by his party. Is it just cos he doesn’t smile nicely?
Well, the polls closed half an hour ago on the east coast. Should be an interesting night.
I loves me a good election night special.*
*But I’m single these days, so I watch telly instead. 
Roy and HG are calling it on JJJ.
Even better!
And awaaay we go!
Night all
John Howard must be feeling very nervous in Bennelong.
Must be going to concede soon, I’d say.
Wasn’t expecting Howard to actually be ousted from his seat. An unusual development indeed.
I think that one’s going to be a few days.
If Maxine McKew takes Bennelong, the electorate won’t just have driven a stake through the black heart of Howard’s Government (thank you Paul Keating), it will have filled its mouth with garlic, cut off its head and buried its body at the crossroads.
I always fill in the Senate preferences one by one, all 68 of them in Victoria this year. I get great pleasure in marking Fred Nile at 68, but it’s an interesting exercise in moral judgment. Do I rank Family First before or after The Shooter’s Party? How about One Nation in relation to Family First? Who the hell are all the ungrouped and if I place one of them before One Nation am I sure they’re not an equal ratbag? It’s electoral edgemanship!
Reports Howard has telephoned Rudd to concede.
Congratulations Mr Rudd. Don’t fuck up.
That’s interesting. Fred Nile gets only a miniscule vote that gets his party in to the upper house in NSW. I have long said the best way to get a senate seat is to campaign with no platform other than “whatever Nile is for I am against. If he is against it I am for it.” Offer the people the chance to vote for a candidate that makes Nile’s success worthless. I know plenty of gay people who would vote for such a candidate. The Libs and Labs will still get most of the seats but you can vote for someone who would stop Nile’s influence on whoever is in government.
And then you could offer to “pair” with him and both disappear forever.
My sentiments too.
He’s saying all the “right” things in his victory speech.
And… friends… all of the right… pauses (cue applause).
Personally I cheered the downfall of the arrogant and stupid member for Petrie, Teresa Gambaro and the ousting of the unctuous Mal Brough from my own electorate of Longman.
I loathe Kevin Rudd, I loathe him with every fiber of my being. To think of him as the inheritor of Paul Keating, it makes me sick to my stomach.
I have never not voted Labor in my life and I was sore tempted not to this tme. But what was the alternative?
Being introduced on stage at his victory speech by the utterly execrable Anna Bligh (who at least had the decency to assume human form for the occasion) simply confirmed my opinion of him.
So begins the work for Rudd.
Well, congratulations to all of you in Australia! It took far too long to get rid of Little Johnnie, but at last you’ve done it in style. If Maxine beats him in Bennelong, he’ll be taking his retirement package rather earlier than he expected.
I should point out that I voted Labor.
(I disgusted myself and am still scrubbing down)
I’m naturally conservative, but I felt that Workchoices was morally wrong. I posted on another board yesterday (or this one, I forget) that I “wanted Labor to win but couldn’t vote for the thugs”, so I was enjoying the fact that I was living in a strong Labor seat (Watson) and could vote Liberal in that spirit. I was literally in the booth when I decided that was unethical, and if I wanted Labor to win I should vote for them. So I did.
It wasn’t easy.
I absolutely LOATHE McKew. I don’t know what Rudd’s dirty secret is, but he’s so NICE it’s creepy. Bring back Keating.
You and me, Dog! You and me! I am the last Keatingista in Queensland, I think.
The thing about Rudd is that he ain’t in it for nobody but Kevin Rudd. I like my Labor leaders to be more of the “true believer” variety, less of the media scrubbed cypher who will say and do whatever to takes to get elected.