Australia has a new Government!

nyapa, RN · Nov 24, 2007

kevin rudd ..........you said you'd withdraw our troops if you won government.
i'm holding you to that commitment!

that makes two. i'm pleased there is change, but by the same token all parties are capable of lying, and who knows what is in store for australia. what will be, will be, and i hope its good...

Levin · Nov 24, 2007

Howard looks like he has lost his seat.

Well he did say he wanted to make history.

Only the second PrimeMinister EVER to lose his seat while still PM.

Levin

Grace Oz · Nov 25, 2007

I don't know if maybe I missed seeing, but I didn't see ANY Australian flags anywhere in that room where Rudd gave his acceptance speech! The backdrop he stood in front of on stage had white stars on a blue background, but NO union jack in the corner.

I hope this new AUSTRALIAN government is not thinking of getting rid of the AUSTRALIAN flag!

The flag my grandfather, father, husband, and now my son, served/is serving under!

It's one thing to take a country forward. It's another thing entirely to reject and forget it's past, it's history, it's legacy. And no, I'm NOT a monachist! I'm a proud AUSTRALIAN!

The weeks and months ahead will be very interesting in our country.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2007

Well, I'm glad Labour won.

But Grace - there's a flag controversy? Or did his lack of one just annoy you?

talaxandra · Nov 25, 2007

He also promised to 'revise' WorkChoices (unlike the Greens, who said they'd dismantle it). I'm cautiously optimistic...

I was very impressed with the dignity and professioanlism of Mr Howard's concession, and Mr Rudd's acceptance speeches.

Grace Oz · Nov 25, 2007

Well, I'm glad Labour won.
But Grace - there's a flag controversy? Or did his lack of one just annoy you?

Yes Sue, there's been attempts in the past to change our flag.

I guess I was just surprised to not see any flags in that room where he made his speech. There may have been, but I didn't see any on TV.

I'm somewhat passionate about our flag flying. We have one here at the house flying ALL the time.

One of the things which impressed me, and which I loved during our trip up/over last year, was how American's have their flag flying practically everywhere! The pride was very evident.

If they ever try to change our flag, I'll personally take to the streets and join each and every protest going!

Grace Oz · Nov 25, 2007

He also promised to 'revise' WorkChoices (unlike the Greens, who said they'd dismantle it). I'm cautiously optimistic...
I was very impressed with the dignity and professioanlism of Mr Howard's concession, and Mr Rudd's acceptance speeches.

As I say, the coming weeks and months are going to be interesting.

Yes, the dignity on both sides was evident and appreciated.

See old Costello has pulled the plug. I sort of thought he might.

And, Alexander Downer has made noises about coming home and going into state politics. :uhoh3:

talaxandra · Nov 25, 2007

At today's press conference there were two Aussie flags (and a nasty beige curtain) behind Mr Rudd :)

gwenith, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2007

I see this not only as a BIG referendum on "work choices" but also a statement about the intervention into Aboriginal communities - one of the biggest swings was Mal Brough's seat.

A LOT of people I talked to were uncomforatble with the intervention - just too patronising - while we all admit there are definite problems that need to be addressed - that just seemed so badly thought out.

We had some local issues that came into play here as well to push the big change but mostly I see this as the average person redressing the balance of power back to the worker.

nyapa, RN · Nov 25, 2007

I don't want to get onto that subject without my head getting bitten off. Suffice to say, I feel we as nurses have lost the trust of many of our indigenous ppls; good ppl.

I was really angry at Howard et al towards the end. But I felt so sorry for him when he lost his seat. He was devastated. But he was graceful.

But I don't trust either party. It's a new era; lets see what the future brings...

Aussie flag? Is that topic going to come back? Are they going to start talking about a republic again, and changing the constitution? Speaking of which, will the preamble John Howard recommended re: recognition of the first Aussies still be added under Labor?

BTW, 'Labor' should have a(n) 'u' in it. I hate bad spelling...

uk_nurse · Nov 25, 2007

I hope your labour government is better than ours. Rudd wants to get rid of our queen from your country. I hope he does well for nurses. Our labour government has made the NHS worse, patients suffer.