It may have taken 17 days, but in the end it felt a lot longer, as a nation paused to allow a couple of country independents their moments before they launched Julia Gillard into the Lodge.
Rob Oakeshott might have spoken for far too long at yesterday’s historic media conference during a somewhat ordinary performance, but he was right about one thing – mandate will be a dirty word for the life of this parliament.
Neither of the big parties won this election.
Julia Gillard can claim the keys to the Lodge, but she did not retain the title of Prime Minister unaided, and it was only after the Australian people had voted on August 21 that three independents and a newly elected Green voted again in support of Ms Gillard.
The trio of regional independents have reportedly secured billions of dollars of support for regional Australia from Ms Gillard in return for their votes. As regional Australians, we are being told that this is good news for us.
There is no doubt this parliament will be held accountable for all that it does – and does not do. It will be subjected to far more scrutiny than its predecessors.
We congratulate Ms Gillard on her government’s continuance and commend both leaders on their conduct and disposition during what must have been a tense 17 days.
Australia looks to be in for a bumpy ride that may not last long, or the Gillard-led minority government could reshape the face of politics as we know it.
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