Hope the brick wall stays up now we have crossed to the other side!
I was wondering why the ALP has to do a deal with the Libs and the Nats (and not the Greens) and its because of the numbers in the senate:
Members 76
Political groups
Labor (32) Liberal (32) Green (5) National (4) Country Liberal (1) Family First (1) Independent (1)
Any vote has to be a majority, so the ALP needs 38 + 1 = 39 votes in the senate to pass any legislation, unless someone throws a sickie of course. With the Greens they have 37. With Xenophon they have 38. All they need now is to stick a brain in the cavity of Steve Fielding's skull and then they could have 39 votes without the Libs or the Nats. Not gonna happen though. What a hassle! Australia will end up with a defective piece of legislation IMHO. The amount of support being given to the polluters is defeating the whole purpose of the bill. Damn you Fielding! A vote for Family First is a vote for pollution!
Maybe a double dissolution is a better outcome, assuming Labor can win more senate seats, which is not a given anyway.
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