Only one day after the Great Betrayal:
1. There is a dispute about the mining tax and its consideration as part of the tax review the ALP promised the ex-Nats,
2. Tony Windsor has admitted he does not know anything about IT and can’t even used a computer even though he supports the NBN,
3. The Greens and ex-nats have said they will consider supporting Coalition policies against the government,
4. It is likely the NBN will face a blow out with certain high cost low revenue rural areas to be given roll-out preference,
5. A host of blogs, talk back radio and economic commentators have rounded on Treasury and Ken Henry and their bias against the Coalition, and
6. The budget is completely off kilter because of the $10 billion in rural commitments made by Gillard to secure government (some debate about how much of it is new money).
The Coalition is going in hard claiming that the government is illegitimate – Tim Wilson, IPA:
Despite calls for consensus politics, for the next three years Australians should expect a Liberal-led opposition to behave like an animal that’s tasted blood and is hunting down its limping prey.
Textbook politics says that after a second election loss, oppositions descend into factional infighting, regular bouts of leadership speculation and backstabbing between individual MPs. But none of that is likely to occur.
As former Senate leader Nick Minchin said on Monday’s Q&A, ”Tony Abbott is a Liberal hero.”
One can think of many issues to attack the government’s credibility on. Carbon taxation, energy prices, budget deficit, mining tax, etc… then add in some of the more extreme Greens policies and you have fertile ground to hunt down the government.
UPDATE
Changes to Parliamentary orders combined with a minority government provide an opportunity:
“We will not sit around smoking a peace pipe singing Kumbayah,” Mr Pyne said….
“We will be able to ensure a number of the key issues that we’ve been raising will be voted upon. This will test the independence of the independents.”
Mr Pyne cited the example of troubled economic stimulus programs, such as the $16.2 billion Building the Education Revolution.
“We might, for example, choose to move for a judicial inquiry into the school halls debacle and if that is voted through the parliament, then the government will be required to do it,” he said.