Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

He came from nowhere, stands for nothing, is going nowhere, will get nowhere and the real contest that we deserve is nowhere in sight. How can the Liberal Party got it so wrong?

What, in the modern world, is the accountability of Ministers, should be the accountability of Ministers and where are the origins of that accountability?

Just three days after many people started contacting new immigration minister Chris Evans to raise the issue of the swathe of refugees holed up on Nauru, he declared his hand.

Please feel free to comment on or review the book, correct any errors I've made, and let others know what's happening where you live.

“I’m Julie. I’m a friend of Brendan’s and he’s sent me to save the world for the workers by giving them the same choice they deserve and sticking it right up that red-haired Welsh bint.” From Chapter 2 of the Chronicles of Nadir – Tale the Second – Prince Crispian, as told from the grave by Tom Lewis.

You have come to power at a time of a looming worldwide economic crisis; a time when we desperately need new leadership to deal with the immense problems ahead of us and an end to the deception, denial and neglect that characterised the Howard era. The news is in and it is very bad news indeed.

"As for Rudd I hope he is no dud, indeed! The only highlight of his speech was the mention of Bernie Banton and indirectly through him the role of the unions and the importance of a fair go as a key value for Australians. Unfortunately no mention of the YR@W campaign, or the importance of Greens preferences." Carlos

One of the many things that distressed me about the Howard government was its politicising of the Commonwealth public service, and its subversion of the spoils of office to its own party-political ends. So when Mr Rudd said "I'm very much wedded to the restoration of Westminster and that means the restoration of a continuing independent public service" I was pleased - but how serious was he?

To the average punters in Asia, the perception of Australia has been coloured, if you excuse the pun, by the White Australian Policy (THE WAP) and its remnants. The contemporary Australia might have a hot economical engagement with the Asian region, but politically and socially, there are still nagging questions being asked about Australia. First, has Australia completely jettisoned the WAP? or it is still lurking just beneath the surface. Second, is Australia an Asian country? or a Western country? or an Eurasian country? or none of the above? Sometimes, I think we don’t know the answer to this question ourselves.

The business leaders of 150 global companies have today published a communiqué to world leaders calling for a comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change. The initiative represents an unprecedented coming together of the international business community and includes some of the biggest companies and brands from around the world. The leaders hope that the initiative is likely to have a significant impact on the UN climate negotiations starting next week in Bali, Indonesia.

Farewell to two great Australians - PF Journey's tribute to Bernie Banton and Matt Price.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 30: When Brendan got elected, I thought the Hornet/F1-11 scandal could bring him down. I wonder if Labor will pursue this? See New Defence Minister questions jet fighter purchase and Labor promises air combat review. As I said in this piece, there should be a judicial inquiry into this scandal. But would Labor be game? I don't think so.

How time flies when one is having fun – almost a year since we thought we’d heard the last of Tale the First of The Chronicles of Nadir. Malcolm B Duncan, channelling the late lamented Tom Lewis, tells what really happened after the book finished.

There has been a complete clash between the Liberals' worldview and that of key members of the electorate living in the larger world. In the wake of this a new identity and modification of ideology may be essential for the Liberals to regain credibility and relevance. To stay in denial is to stay clinging to alienation from the electorate. But can they do this?

Australians, finally able to rejoice at the demise of the hated federal Government of John Howard, can count themselves lucky that the Queensland Labor Government's undemocratic local government amalgamations program enacted at the behest of the Property Council of Australia did not fatally undermine Federal Labor's election campaign in Queensland.

The election is decided. The event is over. The Rudd Revolution will hit the ground running, we hear. “For all Australians”, he tells us. Will it be a change of substance to bring equal rights and social justice? Or is it just a 'cupcake revolution'?

John Valder's 2007 election result comment

Hi Margo, now that Maxine has claimed Bennelong, I can pay my tribute to her. Wayne Swan said on the election night that when Maxine decided to challenge Howard, it lifted and energised the whole Party. How true, how true, it certainly energised me.

Hello. Queensland swung hardest. My State. A long time ago I lived in Dawson, next door to the National Party MP, Mr Ray Braithwaite. I rode my horse on journeys with Ray's son. It's gone Labor. Queenslanders believe in a fair go. Yep, my much maligned state said no to Howard, and yes to something fairer.

The question resolves down to this: can Labor peel off one or two Liberal or National Senators to vote with them on each significant issue? That nice Mr Joyce is an obvious candidate, at least on WorkChoices, and on each issue there are others who can be identified as having sympathetic views.

McEwen now called as won by Libs, LaTrobe probably there soon, while Corangamite and Flynn join the doubtfuls.

As you see, tomorrow will bring me that smile that I have been keeping since that night. Because the timing is right now for the old cycle to be broken and ended as our country has learned much. And a song for you.

Election update from the ANU's Democratic Audit of Australia

Rejoice in performing your democratic duty.  Rejoice in people from all sides gathering at polling booths and treating each other with great civility.  Rejoice in a system that works, a system that we can be proud of.

Wipe eyes, and wipe away the sticky haze of what seems the longest and most tedious election campaign on record. Roll over, pick ear wax, but don’t eat it. Wonder if on Sunday morning, big burly criminal types will knock on my door, roaring ‘We’re baaaaaaaaaaack!’, and take me away.

Time for some personal predictions from Webdiarists. What's the majority going to be, for which side, plus any predictions for specific seats? To someone like me who lived through the 1997 UK campaign, this has all the feel of that, including the mixed polls in the last few days, so I'll go with the Newspoll state-by-state 100 Labor, 48 Coalition, 2 other. Over to you

The whole thing is a storm in a teacup. Nobody is suggesting that any of these candidates would be ineligible on election day, or on the day they took up their seats if they should win. This is what the constitutional provision is trying to prevent, and it has succeeded. The actual argument is about minutiae.

"if you look at the specifics of say the Haneef case, the truth is I don't think any us on our side of politics know precisely what's gone on there. Other than something smells. And that's why I'm dead serious, whether we win the election or whether we don’t, that there should be a full judicial inquiry into that matter so we can get to the bottom of what went wrong. It's quite important because that then informs the future debate about the nature of our laws, the implementation of our laws by the relevant agencies, and let's have all those facts on the table. They are not currently on the table. And that's the problem." Kevin Rudd

Let me translate for you the psychological message that the Liberals have been spreading to save a marginal seat.  "Be afraid of the Muslims.  They support terrorism.  Labor supports the Muslim supporters of terrorism.  To protect yourself, vote Liberal"

The same opinion polls which predict that John Howard will lose the election on 24 November also consistently show that Australians still perceive his Government to be competent at handling Australia's defence, or at least more capable than the Labor Opposition. How valid is that perception?