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Julia’s triumphant return: The story in photographs

David Penberthy

by David Penberthy

09 Sep 01:41pm

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Filed under: Election 2010, Gillard Government, Photography

110 comments

Instead of a conventional piece of writing about today’s triumphant ALP Caucus meeting, we thought we’d cover it through the lenses of News Limited photographers Ray Strange, Kym Smith and Gary Ramage, who were there today chronicling an event which often looked like it would never happen.

Ducking out: Stephen Smith and the man who has pinched his portfolio. Photo: Ray Strange

This first photograph, by Ray Strange, tells much of the story of this bizarre two months in federal politics. In the foreground is Stephen Smith, who served as Foreign Minister in Kevin Rudd’s first and last term as PM. In the middle of the election campaign, when Rudd was accused of leaking damaging Cabinet information and leadership details to Laurie Oakes, Smith magnaminously told Julia Gillard that he was prepared to vacate that portfolio to make way for Kevin Rudd. It’s expected that this will happen when Julia Gillard announces her new ministry on the weekend. Rudd has gone from being the reviled accused leaker to valued senior member of the team.

The next photograph, by Kym Smith, is the moment Julia Gillard arrived at the meeting. By the shape of her smile, she seems to be thinking: “Yikes. We did it.” You can’t quite make out the documents she’s carrying - maybe it’s another list of demands from the independents.

Here we go…Julia Gillard arrives. Photo: Kym Smith

Labor’s Caucus room is decorated with studio portraits of former leaders and here, Gary Ramage pegged off this shot which simply reminds us about all that has changed in the short time since June 24.

Kev was right: she would make prime minister one day. Photo: Gary Ramage

In the foreground of the above shot are a trio of South Australian Left Faction MPs - Senator Anne McEwen, Environment Minister and Senator Penny Wong, who is tipped for promotion in the reshuffle, and Port Adelaide MP Mark Butler, a smart bloke who has performed strongly as parliamentary secrarty for health, and is likely to make it onto the frontbench this term.

One person who might now have a diminished role is NSW Labor Senator Mark Arbib, captured below with a bit of a sheepish look on his face in this photograph by Kym Smith. Arbib was one of the so-called “faceless men” who orchestrated the move against Rudd.

Putting a face to the name…Photo: Kym Smith

Fellow faceless man, Victorian right-winger and Disabilities Minister Bill Shorten, looks a lot happier in this next photograph, again by Ramage. While Shorten is tipped for a promotion - and desperately ambitious to secure one - the PM must be careful that her new-look Cabinet does not look like she’s doling out rewards to the people who rolled Rudd.

Hear hear: Shorten applauds the woman he helped install. Photo: Gary Ramage

Rudd loyalist and retiring Defence Minister John Faulkner is pictured below, sitting next to the man he tried valiantly but fruitlessly to defend. Faulkner is one of a small but significant number of party people who believes Rudd would have won office in his own right, and resisted the shift to Gillard, but still worked loyally for her throughout the campaign. Who knows who he’s texting here. Faulkner carries two phones and was photographed during the campaign with one on each ear, looking like a crazy stockbroker.

Maaate: Faulkner on the couch with the man he tried to save. Photo: Ray Strange

This next one is a bit of a blurry art shot which the Fin Review would put on the front page, if only it were more out of focus.

Rudd looks on as Julia Gillard gets ready to address the troops. Photo: Gary Ramage

This last one has a nice cat-that-got-the-cream quality to it, a beaming Gillard next to Swanny on the couch, who’s having a good time of it all too.

We did it. Photo: Kym Smith

Most commented

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390There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin
336Animal experiments won't cure me from cancer
313Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking
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246A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...
231South Australia. It's the middle bottom bit.
231Craig Thomson speaks. Meanwhile, in Australia...

110 comments

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    • Super D says:

      02:42pm | 09/09/10

      In photo 2 the PM is clearly carrying one of those stage props she likes to use while wowing the audience with an off the cuff speech.

      Fromm the positioning of their hands it looks like Rudd and Faulkner are discretely handcuffed.  Perhaps the ALP still fears he will go postal…

      Reply

    • Emma Buckley Lennox says:

      02:43pm | 09/09/10

      A picture tells a thousand words, spin and backstabbing. Also, Shorten isn’t a senator, he’s the member for maribrynong.

      Reply

    • Sven Gali says:

      03:56pm | 09/09/10

      It certainly does, Emma, so by my count that’s 8,000 happy winners right there.

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      06:06pm | 09/09/10

      Sven Gali :  Winners of what. ?  Labor won nothing. !

    • Sven Gali says:

      06:12pm | 09/09/10

      You haven’t heard, Wayne ?

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      06:34pm | 09/09/10

      Sven Gali :  un-uh . Only thing i heard is who the losers were - the Australian electorate.  Is there something i’ve missed. ?

    • John Mainard Kaynes says:

      11:12pm | 09/09/10

      Sven Wayne is still recovering from the Queensland LNP loss a little while back.  I’m surprised he ‘s on this blog as he usually requires pictures [emoticons] and capital letters to communicate his thoughts.  Another correction Bill [writer turns to expectorate] Shorten is only a parl sec and has already been promoted well beyond his abilities.

    • Christian Real says:

      06:02am | 10/09/10

      Wayne
      Liberals won nothing either, it was a hung parliament

    • Bussbill says:

      06:47am | 10/09/10

      Labor as a political party won the most seats and the most primary votes, the “coalition” is two political parties and under the constitution the “party” with the largest number of seats gets to form govt either on its own or in coalition with minor parties. Simple fact, so liberals get your facts correct please.

    • acotrel says:

      07:24am | 10/09/10

      I used to work in defence manufacturing in Maribyrnong.  Where is it now?

    • Go Julia says:

      08:15am | 10/09/10

      winners are grinners Emma….and secretly Tony is cussin’ I’d reckon, and by the way the majority of the vote argument seems to be out the window ( according to the latest figures)

    • TimB says:

      08:46am | 10/09/10

      Sven Gali, Labor formed government. They didn’t WIN Government.

      A small distinction that is going to have to be drummed repeatedly into the heads of the Left for quite some time I fear.

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      09:32am | 10/09/10

      John Mainard Kaynes :  Well hello to you too John . heh heh heh , i feel i was well compensated with the L.N.P.‘s federal seat wiins in Queensland . 23 out of thirty is a good result Johnno .
      Shorten had to be paid off for his part in the Rudd political assassination and yes , you are correct to assess his abilities being limited but his strength lies in his union affilliations . In reality , the unions are pulling Labor’s strings. ( therin lies Shorten’s power , no brain needed )

    • Sven Gali says:

      09:32am | 10/09/10

      Good luck with your semantic therapy games, TimB, and all of the other supporters of the Coailtion that “unformed”.

      So, let’s see where we’re at on the Kubler-Ross stages. Still squarely in denial, apparently.

      In fairness to Wilson Tuckey, he learnt of his fate some time ago, so it’s no surprise he’s already moved on to anger.

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      09:38am | 10/09/10

      Christian Real :  True , no prize as such , except the majority of conservative seats , the majority of primary votes , and possibly the majority of 2pp votes. ( Tony Abbott , the hero )
      Another personal reward was the Qld. outcome , just think what the Qld. electorate will do to Bligh’s motley crew Christian .

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      09:42am | 10/09/10

      Bussbill :  Do you know what the word Coalition means. ?

    • Bussbill says:

      06:09pm | 10/09/10

      Yes Wayne, coalition is a formal arrangement between two political parties in this case, the LIBERALS and the NATIONALS two different political parties with separate ABN’s etc etc. No matter which way you look at it LABOR polled the most votes and won the most seats as a political party on its own.

    • Nicole says:

      02:52pm | 09/09/10

      In the first and second last photos, Kev’s rubbing his hands together looking like Dr Evil. I think he’s saying to himself ‘Enjoy it while you can Jooolya, I WILL have my revenge’. He looks a little, er, demented.

      Reply

    • GreenGoblin says:

      06:30pm | 09/09/10

      You con servatives must find the pics of a smiling Kevin Rudd hard to take. LOL

    • Joolz says:

      05:27am | 10/09/10

      I like the word maniacal. It could also be applied to the last one.

      In fact, the photo essay is the weirdest collection of ... oh hang on. That’s the subjects.

    • acotrel says:

      07:28am | 10/09/10

      What bad losers you are?  The Labor government is LEGITIMATE, regardless of the poisonous spin of the Liberal Party!

    • Nicole says:

      09:13am | 10/09/10

      @GreenGoblin, quite the opposite. I can’t wait for him to take her down. I’m cheering him on.

      acotrel, legitimate my ass.

      Maniacal…...love it Joolz.

    • simon says:

      09:33am | 10/09/10

      Acotrel, gee you have been brainwashed haven’t you!! This is not a legitimate government, no matter how you might want things to look!!

    • Christian Real says:

      10:54am | 10/09/10

      acotrel
      The Liberals are truely pathetic whingers that can’t accept the fact that their “shining Hero”, Tony “Don’t believe everything I say” Abbott is destined to sit on the Opposition benches for another three years, that is, if there is no Leadership spill between now and the next Federal election.
      Abbott, should be looking over his shoulder because Malcolm Turnbull is awaiting his chance to regain the Leadership,why else would Turnbull decide to return to Parliament and recontest his seat of Wentworth, when he had already resigned and left Parliament after Abbott took over the leadership.

    • Joan says:

      02:11pm | 10/09/10

      A bit of opera here with Kev singing
      ` It should have been me, 
      You know it should have been me,
      Don’t you know it should been me,
      I`ve been faithful to you , Julia Baby,Baby
      You are leaving me stranded.`
      Meanwhile   Gillard turned Green goes retro 70`s hippie ,wild singing the Hair song ` Let the sun shine in, let the sun shine in,  the suuuunnn shine in… Kaftans, beads and joints will be the next thing as Gillard looks for Labor heart and soul

    • Super D says:

      03:33pm | 09/09/10

      That is true, though he may well stand aside before then so that Karl Bitar can fill a casual vacancy.

    • Ben81 says:

      03:02pm | 09/09/10

      Gray skies are gonna clear up,
      Put on a happy face;
      Brush off the clouds and cheer up,
      Put on a happy face.
      Take off the gloomy mask of tragedy,
      It’s not your style;
      You’ll look so good that you’ll be glad
      Ya’ decide to smile!
      Pick out a pleasant outlook,
      Stick out that noble chin;
      Wipe off that “full of doubt” look,
      Slap on a happy grin!
      And spread sunshine all over the place,
      Just put on a happy face!

      /repeat until the next election

      Reply

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      03:03pm | 09/09/10

      Sorry? Wong - promoted? WTF for?

      The woman was a major part of the Copenhagen debacle and hasn’t managed to secuire her home state a single litre of water extra from the Murray.

      If failure is the criterion for promotion in the ALP, then by all means go ahead.

      Reply

    • Mayday says:

      08:19am | 10/09/10

      Tony absolutely agree what the….!
      Penny Wong is the most boring speaker in the whole parliament regardless of the subject matter and does not deserve a promotion based on merit.

    • nosthow says:

      03:21pm | 09/09/10

      Given the problems Labor faced which to be fair were those of their own making this is indeed a triumphant victory for Gillard and Labor. With the Rudd leadership turmoil going on and the backlash of that right into the election campaign, had there been an Opposition with policies and vision Labor would have most likely lost. But we were blessed with the Mad Monk and his motley band and what a blessing that was - a get out of jail free card ! Now of course Gillard can sail full steam ahead and given her abilities to lead and negotiate calmer waters await. Labor is again blessed with the re-election of the Mad Monk to the Liberal leadership today-a gift that keeps on giving -  those poor Coalition souls still believing he was the man who made the difference. When he gets soundly trounced at the next election, again running on dusted off Howard era policies, Coalition supporters may then wake up that the Mad Monk is Labor biggest assett ! We love you Mad Monk.

      Reply

    • Aitch B says:

      06:56pm | 09/09/10

      Enough of the ‘Mad Monk’, Nosthow! We know you’re a very happy rusted on Laborite but name calling ad nauseum is a very poor way of expressing your thoughts. He lost, Julia and the ‘others’ won, so let it rest, man!

      A friend of mine call your heroine Julia ‘bargeass’ last night. Would you be happy if I referred to her that way in the future?

      And no…. I’m not ‘a bit touchy’ over the result. I’m a fatalist…. what happens happens…. time to move on and hope for a good parliamentary term.

    • Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

      09:09pm | 09/09/10

      Nosthow, are you a one joke jerk? ? Calling Mr. Abbott the Mad Monk is old, compare the 2 leaders, Mr Abbott besides his main job is a volunteer fireman & lifesaver that holds family values & Julia is liar (I wont push for leadership) & a back stabber, despite exhaustive searching, I haven’t been able to find ant alturistic acts by Julia

    • Ben81 says:

      10:17pm | 09/09/10

      Come on, you could have slipped at least 3 more “mad monk” references in there!  Seriously though, even you must have thought twice about the “full steam ahead” line there, I’d think mutiny is more likely.

    • Bruce says:

      11:20pm | 09/09/10

      Yep, the illegitimate GreenAlp government with 5 heads can sail full steam ahead with a hole in the side of the ship the size of a football field. They are only a heart beat away from collapse !

    • John Mainard Kaynes says:

      11:26pm | 09/09/10

      George Megalogenis has suggested in one of his recent blogs that a Liberal contact has approached him suggesting a story line how Tony abbott could have lost the unloseable election?  And in the context of rod cameron’s comment this was the Labor worst campaign ever; my own local experience where sitting Labor members for some inexplicable reason didn’t realize the tsunami about to hit or were simply stupid like John Sullivan on the Queensland sunshine coast [a seat simply gifted to the new young LNP member & good on him i say] mind you sitting LNP members didn’t seem to understand what was going on either in view of their lack lustre campaigns [one letter and a PV letter in the entire campaign] makes it a genuine question.  Or perhaps another is “Is tony Abbott only slightly less inept then Lawerence Springborg?”

    • Sal says:

      07:45am | 10/09/10

      Nosthow, which Julia are you talking about?  Real Julia or Fake Julia.

    • nosthow says:

      09:17am | 10/09/10

      @Aitch B - its a free country my dear fellow so as far as I am concerned Abbott is well known in the community as the “Mad Monk”

    • Scarneck says:

      05:40pm | 10/09/10

      @nosthow “the Mad Monk is Labors biggest assett ! We love you Mad Monk.” 100% with you on that one. Can you stop spreading it though. (we want to keep it to ourselves)  I think the term Mad Monk actually came from within his own ranks, you might say,  a term of endearment wink

    • dovif says:

      03:31pm | 09/09/10

      Was that the Real Julia or Fake Julia

      Reply

    • Barry says:

      04:46pm | 09/09/10

      LOL. That gag isn’t overdone at all…

    • Ryan says:

      10:37am | 10/09/10

      @dovif : I dunno, no one knows which one we get for PM.. Although if the BER is anything to go by, both are complete incompetents.

    • Peter Oataway, Hay, NSW says:

      03:41pm | 09/09/10

      Make Bill Shorten Minister for Defence and the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.

      Reply

    • The Badger says:

      06:53pm | 09/09/10

      I think he’d go quite well at that.


      Although I think he’d want to be the “hat”

    • Northern Steve says:

      07:49pm | 09/09/10

      Good idea.  The teacher for Dark Arts only ever sticks around for one year before being done in by someone.

    • Stephen Parker says:

      04:02pm | 09/09/10

      I notice the framed picture of Julia Gillard on the wall is the Womens Day glamour shot. In fact all the shots look like they have been photo-shopped.

      ps where is Bob Brown?

      Reply

    • Brad Coward says:

      04:20pm | 09/09/10

      That photo of Gillard and Swan.  Surely the smiles have been photoshopped ?

      Reply

    • Ask a stupid question says:

      04:25pm | 09/09/10

      I can’t even be bothered explaining.

      Reply

    • Ask a stupid question says:

      04:54pm | 09/09/10

      Sorry. That reply was to Stephen Parker says:04:02pm

      Reply

    • dead to me says:

      05:28pm | 09/09/10

      This is not a triumphant return and this government won’t last the 3 years.

      Reply

    • Sven Gali says:

      05:53pm | 09/09/10

      Yes, it is. And, so what if it doesn’t ?

    • PJK says:

      06:40pm | 09/09/10

      Yes it is…it is probably the sweetest victory of all. The biggest scare for all was just how close we came to having Abbott as PM.

    • Jacob says:

      10:38am | 10/09/10

      Unnless she won an outright majority and gained more seats against Abbott she can’t claim victory. She is a loser and that is how history will remember her.

    • Brain is your new Friend says:

      11:17am | 10/09/10

      A fake government led by a fake PM. It will be a fun 6 months till the Coalition take over smile

    • Bruce says:

      06:30pm | 10/09/10

      The coalition won all the statistics including the most popular leader Tony Abbott, and did not win government due to the two dimwitted independents who did not even take into account the voting profile in their own electorate. Labor only got 13% of the votes in both electorates. No doubt Prime ministers Bigshot and Windsor will be turfed out of their seats at the next election.

    • GreenGoblin says:

      07:09pm | 10/09/10

      @Bruce…I have not seen one poll showing Abbott as the preferred PM. If the two rural independents had sided with the coalition would they still be dimwitted? The TPP vote will go with Labor.  The LNP and ALP both won 72 seats. (according to Tony Crook)  Our system works well, let’s all get on with it.

    • Sven Gali says:

      08:11pm | 10/09/10

      What on earth is a “most popular leader” “statistic”, Bruce ?

      If you mean a poll of “preferred PM”, Abbott has never even come close to Gillard in a single one, and there have been plenty.

      Ever heard of Adam Bandt or Andrew Wilkie, by the way ?

    • Frank De Nile says:

      05:38pm | 09/09/10

      Can I have 10 dollars worth of carbon credits for this piece of polluting blogoshpere.  Otherwise this is going to become an increasingly sordid term of office.

      Reply

    • Rosie says:

      05:55pm | 09/09/10

      What! Standing ovation for our installed PM and leader of a minority Govt! The Labor caucus should have saved the standing ovation for their saviours, Oakeshott & Windsor.

      Right Emma a picture tells a thousand words! There were warning bells in the Labor caucus room that because they were on borrowed time they had to make it work. Poison tipped arrows not only aimed at our PM but to the so called faceless men and off course to our former elected PM, Kevin07.

      It was not the best of starts especially for a leader/PM who has had to drag so much unnecessary political baggage into high office. Her legitimacy as our PM can be questioned because of the way in which she allowed herself to obtain the greatest political prize of all. Julia Gillard will be hoping that the past will become superfluous, irrelevant and oblivious to our moral uprightness.

      In contrast to the Libs caucus room they actually had something to celebrate and be proud of. Their numbers had increased from the last time they met!

      We ain’t seen nothing yet! The show must and will go on!

      Reply

    • Sven Gali says:

      06:11pm | 09/09/10

      Oh yes ! Let’s see the photos of the Liberals please !

      So if the Independents had sided with the Coalition, Rosie, would you also question Abbott’s “legitimacy”, (whatever that’s supposed to mean) ?

      ps. I can’t, but could someone who can be bothered please explain the Westminster system of selecting party leaders, again.

    • Wayne Fehlhaber says:

      06:25pm | 09/09/10

      Rosie :  Well said indeed !  If this rabble cobbled together by 2 Judas M.P’s and the Looney Left led by Brown the Green , lasts 3 months , it would be amazing . The remnants of the failed Rudd/Gillard experiment
      must feel like the condemned prisoner tied at the post awaiting the political bullet.

    • Nicole says:

      06:34pm | 09/09/10

      Sven, can you see the photos of the Liberals? No ! The circus is back, aka Labor, and it’s much more fun to see their photos.
      As for the Coalition siding with the Independents, well it didn’t happen. This outcome is soooooo much better. Pure entertainment, and it’s free!

    • Bruce says:

      11:32pm | 09/09/10

      Sven Gali: Had the Prime Ministers Bigshot and Windsor listened to their electorate maybe things might have been different considering their labor vote in their electorate was somewhere around 13%.  These two traiters to their electorate will have much to answer to the people that voted for them.

    • Sven Gali says:

      09:44am | 10/09/10

      What a pity, Nicole.

      We’d all love to see them all celebrating this “sooooo much better outcome” along with you.

    • Sven Gali says:

      02:07pm | 10/09/10

      I think you’ll find that Julia Gillard is the Prime Minister, Bruce, and that Oakeshott, ( if that’s whom you’re referring to), and Windsor are Independent MPs, and that no less than 100% of “the people that voted for them” voted for them as Independents.

      If any of them had wanted to vote for the Coalition instead, there was nothing to stop them from doing so, and they would have.

    • Nigel Catchlove says:

      06:30pm | 09/09/10

      What she is carrying is a script for her next ‘off the cuff’ speech.

      Reply

    • Andrew says:

      06:36pm | 09/09/10

      Bill Shorten isn’t clapping he’s got his hands apart after just muttering “you’ve got this long Jools”.

      Where’s Jokeshott?

      Reply

    • Rosie says:

      06:36pm | 09/09/10

      Sven Gali

      Simple if it was the nation’s Labor elected PM, Kevin Rudd, the leader of a party that won with a majority to form a Govt in 2007 it would be legitmate in our eyes. It is a fact Gillard knifed the elected PM to grab the greatest political prize. Unlike Kevin Rudd the woman hasn’t been elected in her own right and now is our PM only because she was installed by two men, Oakeshott & Windsor!

      To have a legitimate PM bring back Kevin Rudd!

      Reply

    • Sven Gali says:

      09:51am | 10/09/10

      Can anyone be bothered explaining the Westminster system to Rosie again, (who’s also apparently forgotten about Bandt and Wilkie), because I can’t.

    • Mattb says:

      07:15pm | 10/09/10

      Sorry Sven, couldn’t be bothered, would be pointless anyway, seems like Rosie has some deep seeded issues with the events of the past couple of weeks and probably wouldn’t listen to it anyway. Plus, Rosie only understands ‘stop the boats’ and ‘stop the spending’.........

    • nosthow says:

      07:53pm | 09/09/10

      Nosthows “Sour Grapes Of the Week” award this week goes to the Coalition for hands down hypocracy and outright bad sportsmanship. Done like a ducks dinner by the shrewd Ms Gillard for the right to form government the lightweights of the Coalition and their supporters have collectively spat the dummy big time. Waiting as were Labor for the Independents to crown the victor and finding that they missed out all of a sudden it became an “illegitimate” government. Well girls of the Coalition I have news for you - next week my sweet darlings the Gillard Labor government is being sworn in by the GG and there is nothing you whinging wendys can do about it. The mad Monk did not win - that is the bottom line - he is a loser big time.

      Reply

    • Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

      09:12pm | 09/09/10

      How long before Shorten stabs the stabber in the back? ?

      Reply

    • her says:

      09:12pm | 09/09/10

      Surely the correct interpretation is that the pictures chosen by the journo (out of surely hundreds) speaks a thousand words as to personal construct of the story. Interesting insight into the journo, not the caucus meeting.

      Reply

    • Mee says:

      10:40pm | 09/09/10

      The voters tend to give the incumbent another go.
      That’s one of the reasons Labor has been able to cling to power.  Enough people gave them the benefit of the doubt based on this principle alone.

      Reply

    • Marilyn says:

      02:48am | 10/09/10

      Has anyone noted that Tony Crook has already jumped off the coalition ship stating it ain’t worth supporting the losing team.

      one less for Toney the phoney.

      I think Rudd would have won the election in his own right and Faulkner is right to support him.

      He had policy and plans beyond illegally sending refugees to other countries.

      Reply

    • Crazy says:

      01:35pm | 12/09/10

      Marilyn - Apparently his own party didn’t think so!

    • Guest says:

      05:48am | 10/09/10

      What will be interesting is to see if Gillard moves into the Lodge, she said she would only move in when elected by the Australian people and they havent done that, she did not win the election, She was installed as PM by Independants.  According to her own words this means she cannot move in until she is popularly elected.  Doing dirty deals to get there isn’t part of the bargain, We will see just how callous she can be and whether any of her promises will ever see the light of day.

      Reply

    • thatmosis says:

      06:38am | 10/09/10

      I suppose now she will have the gall to move into the lodge even though she didnt get voted in by the people as she stated for her reason for not doing it sooner. This pretender to the throne is not and will never be a Prime Minister as long as her fat arse points to the ground. The real prime minister (s) are the Union toadies in the background and the Moron independants who cant see the forest for the NBN. 6 months and it will be all over thank god.

      Reply

    • Bussbill says:

      06:42am | 10/09/10

      This whole line that the Liberals keep bringing up about “legitimacy” is a lot of hot air. First of all under the constitution the party with the largest number of seats gets to form govt either on its own if it has 76 or more or with the help of minor parties via formation of an agreement or coalition. The LABOR party had the greatest number of seats and the highest primary vote of the PARTIES. The LIBERALS without the NATIONALS came a distant second. People keep forgetting Abbott is the leader of the LIBERALS and Truss is the leader of the NATIONALS they are two distinct political parties who just happen to have a coalition agreement. So the whole arguement re “legitimacy” is nonsense.

      Reply

    • The Badger says:

      09:40am | 10/09/10

      Bussbill
      These rusty liberals know this.

      They are like beaten fighters trying to get up off the mat after the ref has called the fight off.

      They’re punch drunk partisan junkies who don’t know when they’ve lost.

    • simon says:

      09:46am | 10/09/10

      Bussbill, you seem to forget that the coalition don’t have 2 seperate parties competing for votes in the same electorate (like greens and labor do). It’s either a liberal candidate or a national candidate. They don’t compete for the same seat, so they can’t direct preference to each other. Not like labor and greens that pretend to be seperate parties then direct their preferences to each other. If it wasn’t for this fact both labor and greens would not have a hope. In essence the coalition act like one party, labor and greens (2 supposedly seperate parties) need to gang up on the coalition to gain power!!! Does that help you understand things now!!!

    • Bussbill says:

      06:14pm | 10/09/10

      Simon you need to get your facts correct, there are a number of seats in which the LIBERALS and the NATIONALS compete against each other. Just ask Wilson Tuckey !!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Also when you go and vote the voting slip does not say the COALITION, it has the actual political party being LIBERAL or NATIONAL.

    • Seamus says:

      08:21am | 10/09/10

      “Julia’s triumphant return”.  Hardly the word I would have chosen David.  Tenuous maybe?

      Reply

    • Ron Vincent says:

      08:48am | 10/09/10

      Winners can be grinners. I will be interested to watch the faces of thinking Australians when the PM moves into the Lodge with her boyfriend or will he stay in the hen house erected by the Rudd’s. Will we be the only democracy who has a PM with a live-in defacto? Great example I don’t think. When people start to work out the ramifications of how this will look to visiting dignitaries, especially when entertaining at the Lodge or Kirribilli House, I don’t think the grins will be as broad. You may have to get married PM to legitimize your position.
      Ron

      Reply

    • Rosie says:

      10:18am | 10/09/10

      Ron Vincent - took the words right out of my mouth!

      I say again bring back the nation’s legitimate PM, Kevin Rudd, the PM that was elected into office in 2007, the PM who believes in God, is legally married, didn’t commit adultery and has children. Julia Gillard was never elected outright, if she did she would be governing with a majority and her entrance into the Lodge would have been legitimate. As it now shows she was installed by two fakes Oakeshott & Windsor who we now know was Labor all along. Julia Gillard is an appointed PM by the faceless men and installed by two Labor sympathizers posing as Independents!

      Windsor was out to pay back the differences he had with the Nationals and Oakeshott according to Morris Iemma Oakeshott approached him in 2007 and asked to join his Labor ministry. When reminded Oakeshott said he had no recollection. Selective hearing if you ask me!

    • kc says:

      10:14am | 10/09/10

      I was really put off with Julia’s huge childlike smiles once she was handed the PM role by the indies… acting as if it was some kind of “victory”. I was desperately hoping that whoever ended up as PM would be a true statesman, and treat the honour with humility, resolve, and respect, with regard to the clear message sent by the people. The smiles of Julia and co really said it all - they felt that their “negotiations” with the Independents was something worth celebrating, rather than hard decisions made in the national interest. Not the representation I want!

      Reply

    • Adam says:

      10:58pm | 10/09/10

      her smile bore an uncanny resembalance to that of anna bligh’s on election night 2009 declared with gums blazing that QLD could count on her. i’m of the opinion that both her and gillard were thinking “how the f..k did i win?”

    • Ryan says:

      10:40am | 10/09/10

      I am certainly no Labor supporter and god forbid they actually managed to put forward some candidates that aren’t corrupt and incompetent but to say I was very impressed by Stephen Smith is an understatement. Now to shaft him aside for that clown Kev is obviously good for the opposition but as someone who cares about the future of our country regardless of the incompetent fools we keep voting back into power, please do us a favour and get Stephen Smith somewhere where he can and will make a difference.

      Reply

    • fehowarth says:

      10:58am | 10/09/10

      “Guest”.  You are right; she was installed as you say by the Greens and the independents.  These members were given this power by the people who voted for them. Therefore, Ms. Gillard has support of those who voted, independent, Greens and Labor.  She won by having the support of members in the majority of seats.  Legitimately for either party can only be won by the vote taken on the floor of the lower house. Of course, you know this but choose to twist the facts for your own interest. The number of seats in my mind is still 72 all.  The 2pp vote seems to be going Labor’s way. Mr. Crook has once again said he is sitting on the cross bench.  Mr. Abbott would have to gain the support of votes outside the Coalition if he was to win also.  His legitimately would be the same. Mr. Abbott could not get this support. Therefore, he lost the election.

      Reply

    • Anjuli says:

      11:48am | 10/09/10

      I wonder what Kevin Rudd was really thinking under that false grin ,and shorten well the least said the better ,he just makes me want to puke every time I see him.One of the answers to a question asked on the Millionaire show was, If you can fake sincerity then you have it made.I would say a lot of faking was going on in that room.

      Reply

    • Rick says:

      01:27pm | 10/09/10

      Not the best result for Labor admittedly but Abbott remains one of the best assets he Labor Party has.  The longer he stays at the helm the better - all Fiberal spin to the contrary.  The Liberals got a 1.8% swing to them and have far fewer seats than Labor.  Labor 72/Liberal 44.  Added to them are the Liberal National Party 21 and the National Party 7. The THREE combined gives them 72 seats - exactly the same as Labor.  The WA National is back on the cross benches.  Labor remains - on official figures - the most popular single party in terms of votes and the largest party by a mile in terms of representation in the parliament.  Once the emotions die the conservatives might realise how poor their situation really is.  Although the venom never dies - even in this era of a ‘gentler, kinder polity’. smile

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      02:07pm | 10/09/10

      *sigh*.

      Yet another uninformed person quoting the Liberal only seat figure like it means something significant. I’m not going to try and explain how the Lib/Nat coalition works again, it’s just too painful banging my head repeatedly against that wall.

      But I will target the sillyness that claims “Abbott is the best asset for the Labor party”. With Abbot at the helm, the Coalition had a positive swing. and Labor had a negative swing. If Tony Abbott was an asset for Labor the exact opposite would have happened.

      Tony Abbott is the reason why the Coalition even had a shot this election. Without him, they would have been toast.

    • Ben G says:

      02:57pm | 10/09/10

      Ahh yes, the man who calls the Liberal Party the “Fiberal” party decries the venom of those nasty conservatives.
      If you honestly think Tony Abbott did badly for the Coalition, then your venom sac is wounded and is apparently leaking into your brain. Get to a doctor immediately.

    • Ryan says:

      04:57pm | 10/09/10

      Not too smart these one eyed Labor people!

    • Adam says:

      11:01pm | 10/09/10

      Rick you bastion of intelligence, continue to profess your learned knowledge to us the great unwashed! The Liberal National Party is the Queensland branch of the Liberal Party - why any distinction is made is beyond me.

    • Against the Man says:

      06:56pm | 10/09/10

      Oh Gillard you have let your greed for power portray you in the unkindest light. I pray Rudd grows some testicles and takes you down. The ALP have disgraced this country in its usual fashion.

      Reply

    • devi says:

      02:42pm | 11/09/10

      Can News Ltd talk about anything other than Kevin Rudd?  Lame.

      Reply

    • Ryan says:

      05:02pm | 11/09/10

      Illigitimate government.. nothing more and a lot less.

      Reply

    • Godamighty says:

      08:15am | 12/09/10

      Nup.  This sound bite, sent out for mindless repetition by the drones, is already sussed and flushed. 

      You watch - as a a piece of thoroughly bad judgement, Abbott will be backing away from this line just as fast as his minders will let him.

      As Paul Kelly says…
      “This week’s resolution of the election via support in the House of Representatives testifies to Australia as a classic Westminster-based responsible government model.  You may like or dislike the result, but it is exactly how the system should work.”
      http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/danger-lurks-in-playing-it-safe/story-e6frg6zo-1225917676131

      I rarely agree with most of The Oz staffers, but Kelly has this one gutted, filletted, cold-smoked and on the plate.

      You Libs have coined a total dud. The more you say it, the more it shows up the Libs as devious poor losers.

    • Ryan says:

      10:30pm | 12/09/10

      @Godamighty: yawn I have heard a lot of crap but that last post takes the cake. The facts are there quite simply that this is an illigitimate government not chosen by they people but instead chosen by a bunch who clearly misrepresented their constituents, this is a government that has a pathetic track record and will deliver a worse result this time around, all we can hope for is that they kill less of kids trying to earn a crust this time around.

    • Stewart Henstock says:

      07:56am | 12/09/10

      Gillard still doesn’t have the mandate of the electorate to be PM.
      She didn’t win anything.
      She didn’t get the 76 seats outright which means she’s still a “claytons.”

      Reply

    • Jamie Iomo says:

      06:34am | 08/12/10

      Hi there

      Thanks for writing this blog, loved reading it

      Reply

    • peellElalia says:

      08:21am | 20/06/11

      get <a >registry cleaner</a>  for promotion code

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    • peellElalia says:

      09:50am | 29/06/11

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    • alfiesaden says:

      08:01pm | 04/01/12

      hello - is it just me !! can any one explain why when i type in the bing browser “www.thepunch.com.au”  i get a different site yet whe i type it in google its ok? could this be a bug in my system or is any one else having same probs ?     
      alf

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      05:24pm | 09/03/12

      I wonder how much of this iagengdsement from politics and failures of our institutions has to do with the exhaustion of the dominant ideological narratives of the past century.The pro-market economic reforms of the Hawke/Keating era removed the last vestige of real distinction between the traditional parties of capital and labour.In the euphoria of the era of globalism that began with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of the Washington Consensus, centre left parties sought to reinvent themselves in terms of the Third Way, a concept that never seemed to be anything other than a re-branding exercise.With the economic arguments settled, the Bush administration and its clone here in Australia under Howard sought to build a new frontier through the culture wars and a militant neo-conservatism   but this, like the Third Way, appeared as a top-down construct.In the meantime, the populations of developed western democracies stupified themselves with the drug of easy credit, generated by global capital markets, excess developing world savings and loose monetary policy.There seemed no need for anyone to join a political party because no-one felt passionate about anything anymore, just numbed by their material splendour.Some say the new politics is about sustainability, but the ease with which the forces of reaction killed off the possibility of real action at Copenhagen and here in Australia suggests populations are not scared enough yet to encourage politicians to stick their necks out and advocate policies that encourage deleveraging, reduced consumption and a focus beyond the next day or week.So we are left with shells of institutions. Ninety nine per cent of the population don’t know what the Westminster tradition means, see Labor and Liberal as Pepsi and Coke and get their information on politics from a mass media which treats it as a personal popularity contest.The easy removal of Rudd in the most shadowy of circumstances   with suggestions that he was essentially brought down by Big Capital and the Murdoch media acting through a nervous Labor machine   has failed to elicit any great outrage in the community   despite it being every bit as sinister as the dismissal of Whitlam.This all suggests to me that the mass of the population just does not care. It doesn’t equate what goes on in Canberra with its own circumstances. And you can tweak the electoral processes as much as you like, but people will go on taking more interest in Masterchef than in politics until either the earth fries or their house prices start collapsing and they’re thrown out of work.

      Reply
 
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