Green Party rising in Australia

[marmar]

By Michael Heath


Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian Greens won its first lower house seat in a general election as support for the party surged almost 50 percent, making it a potential power broker for the nation’s next government.

The election is Australia’s closest in almost five decades, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott vowing to fight to form the next government after their parties failed to win a majority.

“It’s clear the Greens will have the balance of power in the Senate,” party leader Bob Brown said late yesterday after Adam Bandt took the seat of Melbourne from Labor. “In the lower house, results also show we’ll bring both the major parties into the 21st century. People have endorsed greater action on climate change.”

The Greens were boosted after Gillard delayed plans to set up a market mechanism to put a price on carbon to tackle global warming in the world’s driest inhabited continent until after 2012. Bandt ended more than a century of Labor control in Melbourne and joins at least three independent lawmakers in the House of Representatives being wooed by Abbott and Gillard as they try to establish a majority.

Labor Punished

“The government has been punished for its denial on climate change,” Bandt told supporters in televised comments as he claimed the district previously held by retiring Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner. “People have delivered a resounding verdict on climate change. We are opening up a new prospect in the parliament to take definitive action.” .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJQTL8ImXa.E&pos=9

[xchrom]

1. Lol! Somebody unrec'd this. That's funny. Nt

[malaise]

2. Not really

Here's a Rec

[HillbillyBob]

4. +1 rec

We need to punish our own government for a variety of reasons.

[TheKentuckian]

3. And another. Message Control don't like no funny ideas getting into anybody's noggins