We’ll All Be Rooned!
Well, interest rates haven’t gone up yet, so I guess we’re still waiting for the new world order to kick in, with labour union thugs fronting up at the local fish ‘n’ chips shop or dry cleaner’s to demand small business owners hire drug addicts and dole bludgers. . . .

Yea! Kevin Rudd is the new PM, and not only did Saturday night see the first Labor government in 11 years, but it saw the sitting PM lose his own seat, the first time since 1929. And Sunday saw Howard’s heir apparent, Peter Costello, resign his portfolio, consigning himself to the back bench and political obscurity for the remainder of his career. (I always thought he was a chicken – no bottle to mount a challenge, and now he can’t even take up leadership for three years in opposition; I guess it’s one thing to respond in question time with jeers, sneers, and smears and another thing to have to come up with the questions.) This puts Malcolm Turnbull in an excellent position to position himself to lead the Liberals back into government in three (or six, or more?) years, although he hasn’t had the party support previously. Downer and Abbott, the other potential contenders, seem too demoralized at the moment, and probably aren’t viable, anyway. Downer’s a pathetic joke of a fop, and Abbott’s role as attack dog just makes his viciousness obvious to everyone.

Labor has given us Australia’s first female deputy PM, Julia Gillard, and promises to tackle all the things Howard ignored throughout his reign. Climate change is on the agenda, for one, and we can expect to see an honest effort at reconciliation, too. Will Rudd say “sorry” right away? Probably not, but it’d be pretty cool if he did.