Was it just me, or does anyone else think it somewhat ironic that Tuesday was National Endangered Species Day?
Bob Katter may have exercised all the considerable political acumen he normally hides beneath the broad brim of his north Queensland cowboy's hat in choosing not to back Julia Gillard.
Katter is a survivor, albeit a maverick one who has adopted a take no prisoners approach to all that he does.
Katter's priorities are Queensland first, second and third, and he says the public humiliation that was the political execution of fellow Queenslander Kevin Rudd just a few months ago cut him to the quick, at least that's what he said on Tuesday.
Katter is nothing if he is not unorthodox, and his public condemnation of Labor, but support of Kevin Rudd is a bit like having a bet each way.
Very clever man that Katter - probably not an endangered species.
But did he know what the other independents were thinking before he revealed his hand much earlier in the day?
And is that why Rob Oakeshott had 77-73 crossed out to 76-74 on his papers as he fronted the national media for his not so brief but nonetheless painful 15 minutes of self-indulgence.
For a man who has called for greater transparency and less bulldust in the next parliament, Oakeshott deserved a standing ovation for his hypocrisy during Tuesday's extraordinary press conference.
Oakeshott will have won no friends and a lot of enemies for his actions and his support of Labor. One needs only look to the Port Macquarie News, (a sister paper to the Bendigo Advertiser) to see that the lanky independent has given rise to a tidal wave of anger, frustration and disbelief among at least some of his constituents.
Makes me wonder whether Mr Oakeshott could actually be an endangered species himself after Tuesday's effort.
Seems like there are plenty of people in the idyllic electorate of Lyne who think he is.
Tony Windsor, on the other hand, was more to the point in outlining his modus operandi for the next three years. That's if we actually make it to the next three years.
Blunt almost, but not surprising given Windsor's pedigree and political maturity.
The Northern Daily Leader, another sister paper to the Bendigo Addy, is Tony Windsor's local paper. The Tamworth-based daily has been more forgiving of Windsor, going so far as to publicly back the former state MP and commend him for his support of Labor in an editorial published online late Tuesday.
So perhaps Windsor is not endangered either, but I suspect his support of Labor will cost him a considerable number of votes next time around.
But given his margin, it will take more than a few disgruntled voters to unseat the unflappable Mr Windsor.
One of the more interesting comments to emerge from the 17 day political standoff was a claim that the three independent amigos had been able to secure far more for regional communities than the National Party has in coalition. Whilst this might be a bit of an exaggeration, and perhaps a tad unfair, it also raises a point - or three.
The electorates of Kennedy, Lyne and New England were once all solid National Party seats.
Former National Party leader Ian Sinclair practically owned New England for a staggering 35 years as a federal MP. I grew up in this magnificent part of the world, although in those days the federation seat of Gwydir still existed. Gwydir has gone, and the redistribution of New England would probably make it even more a National Party seat except for the fact that Tony Windsor is the incumbent.
Over on the mid-north coast of NSW, Rob Oakeshott has been the federal member for Lyne for just two years, having won the seat in a byelection forced by the retirement of another former Nationals leader, Mark Vaile on September 6, 2008.
And way up north in the seat of Kennedy, Bob Katter is, well, Bob Katter. Something none of us should forget is that Kennedy has been a Labor seat for a considerable part of its 109-year history. In fact, there's been four Labor representatives and just three conservative MPs for the massive electorate.
The Katter family has held sway over Kennedy for all but three of the past 44 years. Bob Katter's father, Bob Senior, held the seat from 1966 - 1990. The ALP's hold on the seat was brief, with Bob junior winning the seat back in 1993.
The August 21 election may well (finally) be over, but this week's election of a minority Labor government signals a new chapter for Australian politics that promises to be as unpredictable as the events of the past 17 or so days.
Let the games begin.
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