Tony Abbott - Leader of the Opposition!

[redandblack]

Oh dear, the Liberals are in the hands of the troglodytes.

Nick Minchin will be remembered as the man who destroyed the Liberal Party.

Not good for Australian politics, to say the least.

[redandblack]

Abbott wins by one vote and Julie Bishop, Turnbull's deputy, votes for Abbott!

That's loyalty for you.

What a mess.

[CK]

Will be harder for the press to keep up with him on the morning walk, I'd suggest. Physical fitness is a major hobby.

[Gingernuts]

Bye bye Liberals.

One vote. Just shows you that the party is split right down the middle.

[Leaping Lindner]

Unelectable would be a gross understatement. I'd be getting use to the seats on other side of the house if I were the libs they are going to be there for a very long time.

[cripple]

now KRudd has a legitimate reason for that silly smirk on his face. liberals are gooooone

[wycbloods]

Bye bye Liberals.

One vote. Just shows you that the party is split right down the middle.

I agree how can you vote for them when they themselves are not clear on what a major policy stance should be.

I think they may be in opposition for a while to come.

[shoe boy]

Tony Abbott how low can you go?

[silicone skyline]

Just another stale face to lead the Liberals.

At least Hockey has a bit of go about him.

[Squawk]

I think the Libs found themselves in a very difficult position, which Labor/Rudd/Wong exploited to probably even better potential than they ever thought they could.

They went to the election with a promise to tackle climate change and overhaul work choices. They won.

The ETS has not been well explained however and the impact for households is still a bit of an unknown. It is businesses that are most worried and they have been hounding Liberal pollies to take a tough stance in opposition.

Turnbull gave his word to tackle the problem on behalf of the party. It is not so much that the party has deserted Turnbull, but that individual pollies are shi-t scared of losing their own electoral support and self-preservation has kicked in.

This exercise has been a political windfall for Labor. Rudd has achieved his aim of getting rid of Turnbull AND split the party. His biggest disappointment is that he has not been here to see it unfold with his own eyes.

As for the Libs, they have to make it clear that their division has been in relation to a single issue only (notwithstanding that Turnbull has been in strife since Utegate and the ETS has provided the means to an end for some).

There is a message in this for Labor though - they cannot actually afford to ignore the fact that the Libs were being besieged by their supporters on the ETS issue. That indicates that notwithstanding their mandate to tackle climate change, they could fall in to their own trap if they fail to ensure that climate change is tackled responsibly and that householders (who are only responsible for 3.5% of carbon emissions) do not bear the brunt of fixing the problems. They must continue to listen to the people - regardless of their ideology - or ignore them at their potential peril. Realistically, it would be hard to think of a better govt Minister to have on this issue than the measured Penny Wong, but whilst she can handle the policy, the govt also has to handle the political implications of policy decisions and right now, there are still a lot of people who want climate change addressed but have next to no understanding of the ETS of the implications for them as individuals.

[Bum Crack]

Just another stale face to lead the Liberals.

At least Hockey has a bit of go about him.

Good bloke is Joe. I know his lookalike and he is a legend down these parts

[Dogwatcher]

A legend?

[dedja]

The Flat Earthers will be happy.

[Sojourner]

Doubt Abbott will still be there by the time the next election is called somehow!

[Hondo]

Surely that's only an iterim step? They couldn't possibly go to an election with Abbott as leader surely?

Maybe Peter Costello will step back into the ring.

[GWW]

Abbott and Costello leadership combination, can't wait for that one.

[fish]

...they could fall in to their own trap if they fail to ensure that climate change is tackled responsibly and that householders (who are only responsible for 3.5% of carbon emissions) do not bear the brunt of fixing the problems.

Us householders are responsible for much more than 3.5%, through our consumption of the many products that emit greenhouse gases during their production, transport, use and disposal - electricity, fuel, manufactured goods, food and other agricultural products etc.

[blueandwhite]

The "Mad Monk" has done it.
He has stepped out of the shadows and pages of the Da Vinci Code in his role as Silas the self flaggelator and into the leadership of his Party. Minchin ,Tuckey and the other Opus Dei "flat earthers" have got their man. Abbotts' great mate Cardinal George Pell will be ecstatic.

The liberals have ensured they will be in opposition for a very long time.

[aceman]

Tony Abbott how low can you go?

Has a smirk not dissimilar to that of the other 'wanker' Peter Costello!

[Gozu]

Unelectable. There go all the female votes with even the wives of Liberal MP's supposedly saying they wouldn't even vote for Abbott!