So it's the federal election day here in Australia; aka sausage sizzle day - basically it's just a country-wide bbq-fest with polling booths attached.
For the uninitiated, voting is complusory (not for me - you have to be a citizen) and federal elections take place every three years; on the plus side it keeps goverrnments accountable, but on the negative side the country is virtually always in election mode. With the preferential voting system in single member seats in the House of Representatives (lower House), and proportional representation in the Senate (upper House) the ballot paper is, well, a bit complicated....
What can the world expect from the incoming Coalition (Liberal-National) government, led by 'the mad monk' Tony Abbott - Australia's answer to George Bush, just not quite as bright or eloquent?
Australia will slash its foreign aid budget, upset the Indonesians because they are vowing to 'tow back' asylum seeker boats, and will end the carbon tax. Not surprising really, as Tony Abbott described man-made climate change a couple of years ago as "absolute crap". This is the man who will be the Prime Minister of the country that is about to take on the chair of the UN Security Council.
We don't talk about politics around here at the moment.
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