Summary
Politically, the day is winding down with flags nailed to masts and whispers of concession in the way Labor MPs spoke and tentative (or in the case of Christopher Pyne outright) declarations of victory on the Coalition side.
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Bill Shorten has conceded the Coalition is likely to “scrape through” but has predicted a return to the polls within a year. Shorten was re-elected leader of the Labor party unopposed in a spill which is required after an election under the party’s rules. Anthony Albanese was the one who moved a motion of confidence in him and it was passed unanimously.
- Cathy McGowan stayed consistent in her approach and after a meeting with Malcolm Turnbull said she would guarantee confidence and supply to the government of the day but would deal with legislation on a case by case basis
As an independent, I stand by my principles of no deals. And a deal is when you agree to do something in exchange for something else.
- Malcolm Turnbull appeared in a brief streetwalk and made a statement to media after his meeting with McGowan in which he again attacked Labor’s Medicare campaign
Clearly there were swings against us, there was a swing against us nationally but swings against us in a number of seats, obviously we’ve lost a number of seats. We are heeding that. I do have to say again, that, and I don’t think any of you would argue with this, the Labor party ran a shockingly dishonest campaign on Medicare.
- Before all this though Christopher Pyne had already declared victory telling Channel Nine the Liberal Party was “an election winning machine”.
The take out is that unless something drastic happens over the weekend the Coalition are well on track to retain government. They have Independents who have guaranteed them supply and confidence and as Andrew Wilkie said it is “not conceivable” Shorten will become prime minister.
It is, however, conceivable that the blog rest for a while, perhaps for the entire weekend depending on how events unfold. Until next time political nerds and nerdettes.
Updated
The drawn-out count is not just a drag for politicians and pundits alike, it’s actually affecting work on the international stage. The defence minister, Marise Payne, missing a Nato meeting in Poland today because of the uncertainty, Fairfax Media reports.
Engagement in Afghanistan was discussed at the meeting and the Australian government announced troops will remain until at least next year.
Senator Payne’s spokesman confirmed that she had planned to attend the Warsaw meeting, subject to the election outcome and caretaker provisions, and in consultation with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
Updated
Below is a great gif showing the growth in Greens votes in Melbourne from 2004 to 2016 – look at those little green people spread. I also thought the clear divide between Labor and Coalition voters was interestingly stark too.
The greens are spreading - booths won by 1st preference. @mrcjohnston @myriamrobin @michellegriff @mickresearch pic.twitter.com/VMierL942m
— Tim Wardrop (@timwardrop) July 7, 2016
Updated
Meanwhile, the Labor caucus meeting where the leadership is being spilled carries on. Still waiting for the result, although it is expected nobody will challenge Shorten.
Nick Xenophon is talking on Sky at the moment. He says Christopher Pyne’s claim that the Coalition has won “lacks humility”.
Pyne though is trumpeting his foresight
Antony Green predicts 77 seats for the Coalition. As I said this morning on @TheTodayShow. That's majority government. #ausvotes #auspol
— Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) July 8, 2016
A Coalition victory is very likely, Malcolm Turnbull is saying it, key independents are saying it, even Bill Shorten is saying it.
So what exactly has Turnbull got himself in for? Kristina Keneally and I recorded a podcast discussing the result and who could end up as the Speaker, which will be an important question in a hung parliament or slim majority government.
You can listen below or find it in iTunes.
Updated
Malcolm Turnbull has given a brief press conference, answering just one question after giving a statement on the “thoroughly independent” Cathy McGowan.
We’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve always had a good relationship ... she recognises the importance of a stable parliament and she can provide support, consistent with what she’s done in the past by supporting the government. That’s my government, on matters of supply and confidence.
Turnbull is asked why the Coalition did quite well in Victoria and uses the opportunity to attack the Medicare campaign.
I won’t run a commentary on it other than to say clearly there were swings against us in – there was a swing against us nationally but swings against us in a number of seats, obviously we’ve lost a number of seats. We are heeding that. I do have to say again, that, and I don’t think any of you would argue with this, the Labor party ran a shockingly dishonest campaign on Medicare.
There are lessons to be learned for all concerned. We are taking very careful note of the outcome, we respect the judgment of the people. This election is not really about Michael or me or any of the members and candidates. It’s about the Australian people. We are determined to bring people together to ensure the 45th parliament is stable, productive and governing and legislating in the national interest.
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We have a photo from the meeting between Cathy McGowan and Malcolm Turnbull earlier today.
McGowan has already said she is not going to do any deals, but one wonders if the Wangaratta hospital is going to get the funding Sophie Mirabella says it lost when she did not win Indi in 2013.
Met w/ @TurnbullMalcolm agreed to continue supporting Gov of the day, proudly maintaining my independence #indivotes pic.twitter.com/OvxcjMWrmw
— Cathy McGowan (@Indigocathy) July 8, 2016
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Cathy McGowan will guarantee supply and confidence
Independent Cathy McGowan has met with Malcolm Turnbull this morning and in an announcement consistent with her previous position she says she will guarantee supply and confidence to whichever party forms government.
She will vote on legislation on a case-by-case basis.
I appreciate how important it is for this current situation to be resolved in a timely manner. The country wants stable and settled government to enable everybody to get on with their lives and business. As an Independent, I stand by my principles of no deals. And a deal is when you agree to do something in exchange for something else.
I will continue to work with the government of the day and I will continue to consider each piece of legislation on merits, both according to my conscience and the needs of my electorate and the country.
She calls her discussion with Turnbull “solid” and said her preference is not to go back to an election.
We talked about professionalism in politics and how important it is for people to be able to trust each other and that’s certainly what I bring as an Independent, an open, trusting willingness to work with the government of the day to do the business of the country that needs to be done.
Updated
Bill Shorten also used his pre-Labor caucus meeting speech to defend the campaign on Medicare, a key platform. He calls Malcolm Turnbull’s election night speech an “extraordinary outburst” and the Liberals are blaming the Australian people for their “disastrous” campaign.
The Liberals think that a massive swing against them was a matter of perception alone, that somehow there weren’t enough negative Liberal TV ads and everything would have been right. They think it’s a problem with their message, their image.
Mr Turnbull is not a person of substance. For him it is always just a matter of style. But Saturday cannot be put down by our opponents to a failure of communication alone. It wasn’t that the Liberals didn’t talk about Medicare, it was what they were doing to Medicare.
Freezing the GP rebate so that 14.5 million Australians will have to pay more to see their doctor. Raising the price of medicine by cutting the PBS, imposing new up front fees and charges for blood tests, mammograms, x-rays, diagnostic imaging. At every turn, undermining and hollowing out Medicare as we know it, pushing the price of healthcare back on to families and individuals.
And then when these fresh offences added to their 40-year history of attacking and undermining Medicare, we know when the Liberal Party set up a taskforce to investigate privatising parts of Medicare, then we are entitled to query their motive, to question the outcome and to stand up for Australians.
Updated
Bill Shorten: Coalition will likely win
It’s likely in coming days that the Liberals will scrape over the line but the combination of a PM with no authority, a Government with no direction and a Liberal party at war with itself, will see Australians back at the polls within the year.
We will fight for our positive plans in the 45th Parliament, we will respect the judgement of the people and be true to our policies and propositions upon which we sought the support, which we received. But we will be campaign-ready from this day onwards.
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Shorten speaks to issues of diversity and division, and acknowledges that there are swathes of voters not supporting either major party.
Grappling with the uncertainty of a transforming economy, a society where old norms and institutions seem less permanent than they once did and undoubtedly there are Australians who do feel left out, excluded, alienated from a political process which does not seem to speak to the issues in their lives. In such a climate, it’s easy for the extremists, for the people with the simple solutions to emerge and thrive, to foster division, to blame minorities, to demonise difference to appeal to the dark angels of our national character. This is not the Labor way.
He seems among other things to be making reference to the election of Pauline Hanson and ensuing debate of how to handle her.
Bill Shorten addresses caucus
Unlike our opponents we fought this election as team the results of your hard work and there for all to see.
Bill Shorten gives the media a nudge before talking about an election fought on “Labor issues”.
Our wise friends in the media told us we were wasting out time talking about Labor issues. We should be proud standing up for jobs, education, health and schools are considered Labor issues.
We should be proud that standing up for Australian jobs and apprenticeships is considered a Labor issue. We should be proud that education, schools, university and TAFE is considered a Labor issue.
We should be proud building a first class fibre NBN, taking real action on climate change, a royal commission into the banks and delivering marriage equality that these are considered Labor issues.
Then to big cheers:
I’m particularly proud that saving Medicare is seen as a Labor issue.
Updated
Bill Shorten is making public remarks at a caucus meeting where the leadership will be spilled (as party rules dictate).
He is going through key seats that were won acknowledging the new, and in some cases returned, MPs to cheers. As noted beside me it is kind of like a school awards ceremony where a whole roll of names have to be clapped and the enthusiasm starts to flag halfway through.
When Anne Aly is mentioned, who ran in the Western Australia seat of Cowan where counting is still going, it gets a big cheer. He goes through formalities of thanking the leadership group.
What we’ve accomplished we’ve accomplished together.
Updated
Bill Shorten is entering the Labor caucus meeting in Canberra to a standing ovation from his party. The party rules that the party leadership can be opened after a loss, however it is expected he will be endorsed at the meeting to remain on as leader.
A little more from the prime minister’s press conference in Melbourne earlier:
Australians have voted, we respect their decision. There are many lessons in that election for all of us, but for us, for the Liberal Party, we’re taking those lessons to heart very seriously and we respect the votes that have been cast and one way that we show that respect is by waiting for the counting to be completed or, you know, completed to the point where the decision is plain.
On his meeting with Independent Cathy McGowan he says:
I’ll be having discussions with all of the cross-benchers and looking forward to that and the aim is to ensure that we have a good, open working relationship and a constructive parliament that is perhaps, if not united on every measure, at least united in the determination to serve the Australian people in a very constructive and positive way over the next three years.
Lots of posts around this morning showing how close the two party vote between the Coalition and Labor party is nationally – it is obviously constantly varying but only a handful of votes in it. Margins of eight and 14 votes have been common all morning.
Eight votes in it.
— Anna Vidot (@AnnaVidot) July 7, 2016
Eight.
Nationally. #ausvotes #auswaits pic.twitter.com/yo7apA8Zyv
People are a bit overexcited about it. It does not mean the election will be won or lost on five votes. We do not after all operate under a direct election system. So five votes in one seat – say a safe seat – can mean something very different in another.
The count also excludes 14 seats where the leading candidate are not Coalition or Labor so the votes for major parties in those seats are not counted.
@AnnaVidot @davidlipson And it's completely wrong
— Antony Green (@AntonyGreenABC) July 8, 2016
While the closeness of the two party vote nationally is interesting and worthy of note, the election is going to come down to the swing in key seats and perhaps some independents. It is not going to come down to eight, or 14, or five votes.
Updated
I have had a quick dive below the line and I think dear reader raises a good point. How will Christopher Pyne go managing government business in a hung parliament?
It is possible he has the discipline and sense of humour to keep the cats in line most of the time. ‘Tis true though, not an enviable job (but remember the adage, worst day in government better than best day in opposition...)
The progressive response to the resuscitation of Pauline Hanson to the Senate has been messy. There has been many more attempts at nuance than when she was last in parliament, but it is messy nonetheless.
One of the popular lines is that people should not be dismissive of Hanson as “just another racist” but try to understand the people who have elected her and why. Many people have tried to go beyond her racism to find what else (anything else!) she stands for and work with that, and the response to the responses from parts of the left has been “why should we tolerate a racist?”
John Howard has even joined the fray warning that dissing her only makes her stronger.
Obviously, we still do not know how to take her.
Jeff Sparrow says it is not elitist to reject Hanson.
Fortunately, we don’t have to choose between embracing elitism to fight Hanson or embracing Hanson to fight elitism. It’s perfectly possible to reject both One Nation and the anti-democratic snobs – to embrace instead a progressive mass-based politics.
Those who call for limitations on popular participation generally assume that the populace is incorrigibly bigoted. But that’s not necessarily the case at all – as a recent poll for the Australia Institute demonstrates. That survey revealed that 63% of respondents believed that refugees should be resettled within Australia.
In the event of a tie...
1) We have no Prime Minister.
— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) July 7, 2016
2) Taylor Swift is in the country.
3) You know what must be done, Australia.
Dominic Knight is very enthusiastic about the prospect of a second election. As the counting stretches out and the future fill with uncertainty, his solution: let’s have a do over!
This might sound like an exhausting prospect, and after a horrifyingly long campaign, it is. But if our footballers can pick themselves up at the end of a punishing season for a grand final replay, then so can our politicians. And with another election, at least there’s no prospect of Collingwood winning.
Now we cross to Guardian Australia psephologist Ben Raue who has our latest seat count:
At the moment we have called 72 seats for the Coalition, 66 for Labor and 5 for others. We believe that Gilmore is almost certain to go to the Liberal party and Cowan (where Anne Aly faced a tough campaign) to go to Labor.
If Gilmore and Cowan go as expected, that leaves the Coalition three seats short of a majority, with five seats left in play.
These five are:
- Capricornia – Labor leads by 476
- Flynn – Labor leads by 646
- Forde – LNP leads by 687
- Herbert – Labor leads by 449
- Hindmarsh – Labor leads by 68
These are the possible outcomes:
- Labor wins all five – 73 Coalition, 72 Labor, 5 others
- Labor wins four – 74 Coalition, 71 Labor, 5 others
- Labor wins three – 75 Coalition, 70 Labor, 5 others
- Coalition wins three – 76 Coalition, 69 Labor, 5 others
- Coalition wins four – 77 Coalition, 68 Labor, 5 others
- Coalition wins five – 78 Coalition, 67 Labor, 5 others
For a breakdown of what would happen in each scenario Raue has expanded here.
Updated
Fascinating movements in Tasmania where two senators could be elected ahead of their party colleagues thanks to below the line voting.
Labor senator Lisa Singh and Liberal senator Richard Colbeck were both dropped down on their parties’ tickets to sixth and fifth respectively. These positions made it quite unlikely they would reelected to the Senate.
Both moves were controversial and their supporters voted below the line so they could vote for them and then put their colleagues in a different order, according to the Daily Mercury.
From the Mercury:
Polling analyst Kevin Bonham said that as well as seat balance there was a question of which major party candidates were elected.
“At present Catryna Bilyk is under threat from Singh in the event that Labor only win four, while David Bushby is under threat from Colbeck if the Liberals only win four,” he said.
Tasmania traditionally had high below the line voting rates, a situation exacerbated by below the line voter rebellions against the preselection demotions.
'Not conceivable' that Bill Shorten will become prime minister
Christopher Pyne’s colleagues may not be as emphatic about victory as he is but the view is certainly consolidating that Malcolm Turnbull will remain prime minister.
Andrew Wilkie has released a statement saying “there is no conceivable way Bill Shorten will be in a position to form government”.
Wilkie will not vote against supply or confidence in the (likely Coalition) government.
To be absolutely clear, I remain steadfast that I will not enter into any deal with any party in order to help them form government. But nor will I be destructive, especially at a time like this when more than ever the country needs level heads and certainty.
My focus now turns to doing what I can to help settle the situation down and foster stable government. To that end I repeat my position that I will continue to vote on parliamentary business on its merits, and consequently not support a vote against budget supply or confidence in the government unless clearly warranted, for example in a case of malfeasance.
On that note, I’m handing back over to political-blog machine Bridie Jabour to bring you the rest of the political fun. Melissa Davey signing off from Melbourne, where Malcolm Turnbull is touring electorates and has plans to meet with Independent Cathy McGowan.
.@TurnbullMalcolm has responded to @cpyne calling the election by saying the minister is naturally optimistic https://t.co/pxgSk5VHz2
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 8, 2016
Updated
'Christopher is entitled to his view that I am PM'
Turnbull is giving a press conference in Melbourne, where he has been asked if Christopher Pyne has jumped the gun by claiming victory already:
Christopher is a very confident colleague of mine and he’s entitled to express his naturally optimistic view that I’m the prime minister.
Updated
Labor is holding its first caucus meeting since the election today. It’s expected Bill Shorten will be endorsed as ongoing leader of the party.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has told reporters Shorten has the party’s support:
Is Mr Shorten the man to lead the party for the next three years?
Yes.
Are you conceding?
Conceding the election?
Yes.
There’s still lot of tight seats. Obviously Malcolm Turnbull as the incumbent prime minister has the opportunity to form government and that’s the convention and the way it should be. That gives him the opportunity to form government. Whether majority or minority, I think he’s got difficult times ahead.
Don’t you think it will be seen as a concession by meeting to discuss Bill Shorten’s leadership?
No, quite the contrary. I think we’re showing the stability, the unity of purpose we’ve shown for the last three years and we intend for that to continue.
Updated
On the Today Show this morning, a positively gloating Christopher Pyne described the Liberal party as “an electorate winning machine”.
We’ve won again. That’s our sixth victory out of eight in the last 20 years. You’d say that we are an election-winning machine in the Liberal party. Labor has won one election out of the last eight. There has been one hung parliament.
Reaction from Labor's @tanya_plibersek to @cpyne's declaration the Coalition is an "election-winning machine" pic.twitter.com/z0oyumBh4r
— Anna Henderson (@annajhenderson) July 7, 2016
Another sporadic cut to Turnbull, where he is still in the cafe, now talking about women engineers.
It’s still very blokey. And that’s one of the big issues... not nearly enough women. It’s one of our election policies... supporting programs that encourages girls and young women to study science and engineering. Quantitative disciplines. It’s quite underdone.
Updated
More brief and riveting scenes from Turnbull’s electorate tour of Chisholm thanks to Sky News. Someone is presenting Turnbull with some baked goods at what looks to be a cafe in Oakleigh.
“So this is what kept the campaign going,” Turnbull says. Laughter.
Someone offers him coffee.
Updated
The ABC and Sky just broadcast some very brief live coverage of the prime minister doing a street walk in Oakleigh, 15 km south-east of Melbourne, where the Liberal’s Julia Banks will replace retiring Labor MP Anna Burke following a swing against Labor in the electorate of Chisholm.
Turnbull is told Oakleigh is “the epicentre of Greek culture in Melbourne”.
You’re OK with the Greek, prime minister?
Turnbull: “I can read a bit and speak a bit if I prepare, but I can read a bit of Greek. I studied Greek many years ago.”
Malcolm Turnbull greets new member for Chisholm Julia Banks in Oakleigh #ausvotes @abcnewsMelb @abcnews pic.twitter.com/kkIXp3gTbQ
— Guy Stayner (@GuyStayner) July 7, 2016
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Meanwhile, an update from those hardworking folks at the Australian Electoral Commission.
An update on what's happening today and moving forward is available at https://t.co/1McL1EwHak #ausvotes #auspol pic.twitter.com/Cczkhf388q
— AEC (@AusElectoralCom) July 7, 2016
Good morning, Melissa Davey with you from Melbourne, where Turnbull is meeting with independent MP Cathy McGowan, who retained the electorate of Indi. I’m sure there will be details from that meeting later on, but what McGowan has consistently said is that she won’t be doing any deals with the new government. So it will be interesting to see what kind of commitment, if any, he gets from her.
Turnbull taking conciliatory approach to crossbench, says Coalition has a lot in common with McGowan, Katter + knows Xenophon well #ausvotes
— Jane Norman (@janeenorman) July 5, 2016
I am stepping away from the blog machine for about half an hour and will hand over to my fine colleague Melissa Davey. I’ll be back before you can say “woebetiding”.
Woebetidings is the word of the day, thanks Paul Keating. All the latest #politicslive with @bkjabour https://t.co/0mO6V9C8YL
— Gabrielle Chan (@gabriellechan) July 7, 2016
Updated
There are EIGHT VOTES separating the two parties in the national 2PP count right now. pic.twitter.com/Mw0ogzYBZI
— ten thousand dads (@mckinnon_a) July 7, 2016
Nick Xenophon has been on ABC radio this morning talking “fibs” and the Labor party’s Medicare campaign.
Xenophon is of the view political advertising should be answerable to stricter standards and singled out the Labor’s ads about Medicare and a claim he was planning to introduce a bill on penalty rates.
He has called their campaign “shocking”.
Essentially if a corporation or an individual can be taken to task under consumer laws ... for telling fibs, so should politicians.
Updated
Indeed.
Today we are all election winning machines.
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 7, 2016
After flying to Queensland yesterday to meet Bob Katter, Malcolm Turnbull will see Indi independent Cathy McGowan today in Melbourne.
McGowan has already said she will not enter a formal deal with either party in the event of a hung parliament but will judge each piece of legislation as it comes. That does not mean she would not participate in a confidence vote though.
Updated
Antony Green: Malcolm Turnbull will remain PM
ABC psephologist Antony Green has echoed Christopher Pyne, he is not quite as emphatic though.
Malcolm Turnbull will continue as prime minister, that’s not in question at all.
Green says the Coalition is ahead in most of the key marginals and it is possible they could get as many as 77 seats, although a hung parliament is still a distinct possibility.
Asked specifically if he agrees with Pyne, Green says:
Malcolm Turnbull is the prime minister, will continue as prime minister so in that sense they’ve won, it’s just a question of whether they will have a majority or not.
It also looks as if One Nation will have three Senate seats. Pauline Hanson has won in Queensland and Greens says One Nation is “well placed” for a seat in both Western Australia and New South Wales.
It would be remarkable for them not to win in either of those states.
Back to the Chilcot report, this from the former secretary of the defence department:
No Mr Howard, hindsight is not needed. Some of us knew at the time, said so, and were called "doddering daiquiri diplomats" for our pains.
— Paul Barratt (@phbarratt) July 7, 2016
Peter Slipper has also given his two cents, with a core question:
Should Parliament have to consent before we go to war or should the decision effectively be one for the PM of the day? #auspol
— Peter Slipper (@PNSlipper) July 7, 2016
Updated
As the Labor caucus prepares to meet to spill the leadership – a kind of formality post-election – the most likely challenger, Anthony Albanese, has been doing multiple media appearances to assure there will be only one candidate: Bill Shorten.
Bill Shorten will continue to be in charge of making the calls on behalf of the local caucus.
Albo said on Radio National he “certainly is not conceding defeat” in the federal election, but if Labor was in opposition in a hung parliament it would not be as obstructive as Tony Abbott.
We’ve always been constructive, we will continue to be constructive about issues that matter, we will continue to hold the government to account.
We’re entitled to pursue the agenda that we put forward to the Australian people at the election.
But, a shot across the bow:
We’re not prepared to just adopt the Coalition position given that they don’t really have a mandate.
Updated
Tanya Plibersek has tipped her hat to Christopher Pyne – sort of.
You can’t fault Christopher for front, he’s certainly got that in spades.
Her comments were in response to Pyne saying the Liberal Party is an election winning machine.
However, Plibersek conceded it’s not that Pyne is completely wrong in declaring victory.
We’ve got to let the AEC complete its work but if I were a betting person, it is more likely that the Turnbull government – as a very unstable, minority government – will be returned.
Which is terrible, we’re very disappointed but considering how close we came this is a pretty great result.
An update on the numbers from the AEC:
After almost a week of counting in the Australian election, just 485 votes separates the 2 major parties #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/AoZCq1ti4y
— Simon Cullen (@Simon_Cullen) July 7, 2016
Updated
Good morning
As we accept our new reality of a parliament suspended in time by constant election campaigning and endless seat counting, some people are giving us a peek into their reality – Christopher Pyne has been out and about to tell us what a wonderful campaign the Coalition has run and declaring victory.
We have won again. That’s our sixth victory out of eight in the last 20 years. You have to say that we are an election-winning machine in the Liberal party,” he told Channel Nine.
Pyne seems slightly out of step with his colleagues who have been complaining about how unfair (and effective) Labor’s campaigning was on Medicare.
Mathias Cormann was asked if the Liberal party was indeed the fabulous campaigning organisation Pyne says it is.
On Sky News:
My good friend Christopher is the eternal optimist.
We also have another 1990s throwback – hello Pauline! – as Paul Keating emerged to give John Howard a kick in the shins.
After the Chilcot Inquiry found all options were not exhausted before going to war with Iraq, Howard held a press conference to defend his legacy to which Keating has responded by telling him to “hang his head in shame”.
Could you imagine the woebetidings of Howard and the Liberal Party, had it been [Bob] Hawke or I who had committed Australia to such an un-mandated assault on another country?” Keating said in a statement.
“We would never have heard the end of it. The Liberals would have been wringing their hands for decades.
“The incompetent management of Iraq following the invasion, fractured that country and with it, Syria and the region around it, casting millions adrift from their lives and homes. A sea of refugees. Yet Howard has no shame of it. And no responsibility.
Howard has visited on Australia the whole spectre of terrorism, through his craven and ill-judged support of the United States and its invasion.”
The Labor party will be meeting to spill the leadership as the rules dictate – Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek both say Bill Shorten will be the only candidate.
Updated
The smiling Christopher Pyne has to be admired for his gall if nothing else. If he stays on as Coalition manager of Reps business he won't be smiling for much longer! Herding cats would be easier.