As Turnbull’s Early Federal Election Fails, Australian Citizens are Left Wondering Who Their Prime Minister Is

The nation of Australia is left hanging, literally, as the double-dissolution Turnbull single handily gambled for, backfired this week. The calling of an early federal election some 10 weeks ago, has left the lucky country wondering who their next prime minister will be.

As Australia faces a more-likely-than-not situation of a hung parliament; the two-party preferred Coalition and Labour parties must now eat humble pie and serenade the independents who won their seats in the House of Representatives. The historic vote, which has seen at this stage, 4 Independents and 1 Greens voted in (nicknamed the gang of 5) is just the icing. At least 3 of the Independents have publically declared that they will not do deals with either party when Turnbull’s Coalition and Shorten’s Labour parties attempt to win over the crossbenchers to form a minority government.

A hung parliament and forming minority government in Australia is this, according to Parliament of Australia:

“The Commonwealth Constitution does not provide a mechanism for resolving a hung parliament. Rather, unwritten conventions work to resolve the situation. It has been noted that, if after an election no party emerges with an absolute majority in the House of Representatives, ‘the incumbent Prime Minister, as the last person to hold the confidence of the House, has the right to remain in office and test his or her support on the floor of the House’”

The Senate has also witnessed public backlash as the likes of journalist Derryn Hinch, Pauline Hanson and Nick Xenophon were voted into Senate positions. In short, the public has spoken with compulsory vote in hand that they are tired of the two-party preferred system, which continually fails the average Australian citizen.

There are 13 key seats undecided as this article is published. Australia faces a probable week in limbo. According to outspoken liberal supporters within the media, the ‘triple A’ credit rating is likely to suffer, along with the continuing budget deficit and instability shadowing the nation. Other well-respected yet controversial journalists, such as Andrew Bolt, have called for an immediate resignation of Malcolm Turnbull, even if he manages to maintain his prime ministership.

The short of it is: Malcolm Turnbull has failed. His million dollar arrogance is in tatters. Yet, it seems the Coalition still undermines the ‘little people’ on his behalf. They don’t know any better; they’re idiotic; how dare they vote this way and allow so many independents into parliament – it will ruin the nation. It will ruin our deals, is what they should say…

It is the undercurrent tones of experts and members of parliament, who on public television on the initial night of counting the vote, masked insults hurled at the stupidity of the public voting “out of protest” against the two-party preferred. Not once did they ponder the reasons why.

Yes, Australia voted against the Coalition and Labour. The people spoke out; moving away from the norm. They, the governments’ of Australia have been put on notice that the backdoor deals will no longer be tolerated; their juvenile behaviour, no longer acceptable. The Aussie citizen has woken to the mockery of what their ‘democratic’ parliament has become.

If Turnbull’s party, the Coalition, retains its power, it will need to deal with 10 crossbenchers in the Senate to pass any key reforms – no simple feat. And Turnbull maintains “I remain quietly confident that a majority Coalition government will be returned at this election when the counting is completed.”

At the end of the day, minor parties have claimed a whopping 23 percent of the national vote.

On the basis of the new motley Senate – which was a Turnbull focus of the earlier double dissolution to clear it out – has only become a raging migraine for the future ruling government. Yet, with the news of up to 2-3 senate seats belonging to One Nation, or the seat for Derryn Hinch; mainstream media are now quick to lay blame on incorrect advice given at polling booths on how to fill out the forms.  

The possibility of accepting the vote in grace – that the people have simply given their final warning, and contemplated this themselves, appears incomprehensible to those slowly losing power.

Malcolm Turnbull’s face. While outspoken journalists’ called for an immediate resignation of the former(?) Prime minister, the precarious position of a historic election is only taking shape now, and slowly.

Sources: Nine news, Parliament of Australia, The Hearld Sun, The Age.

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