LIVE ELECTION BLOGGING. Entries should be added at every minute or two. You will need to hit “refresh” to see new entries.
12.10am. ABC computer had Swan as Liberal gain earlier tonight, but it’s tightened.
11.54pm. Forgot about Paterson: turned out a narrow Liberal win.
11.46pm. Macarthur’s 58-year reign as a bellwether is now over. It is now officially Eden-Monaro.
11.37pm. 5.2 per cent in Victoria could have yielded Labor nothing, so they should be pleased with Deakin and Corangamite.
11.36pm. ACT: with no Senate boilover, a boring result.
11.36pm. Swing to Liberal in Franklin a measure of Harry Quick’s popularity. I figured the Libs were in trouble when Nick Minchin started tooking it up.
11.35pm. Bass closer than expected, but Labor. Contrary to expectations, Braddon was an easier win for Labor.
11.34pm. Okay, live blogging of ABC call of the board.
11.29pm. I exaggerated about the Coalition blocking majority. The clear loss of SA and Tasmanian Senate seats will leave them one short. But if they take the final seat from the Greens in Victoria, they’ll be able to do it if they can woo Steve Fielding or Nick Xenophon, and will have an absolute majority in both. A long-winded way of saying the Greens most likely will not have the balance of power.
11.28pm. Not much doubt about 3 LIB, 2 ALP and 1 GRN in Western Australia.
11.27pm. Straightforward Tasmanian Senate result: 3 ALP, 2 LIB, 1 GRN.
11.24pm. Greens firming in SA Senate. Looks like 2 ALP, 2 LIB, 1 XEN and 1 GRN.
11.21pm. Greens falling behind in Victorian Senate. Looking more like Labor 3, Coalition 3. That leaves the Coalition with a blocking majority.
11.18pm. No surprises lurking in the NSW Senate count. A clear 3-3 for the majors, with Kerry Nettle losing her seat.
10.56pm. Straightforward contest between Labor and Greens for last Queensland seat, with Labor ahead. Most likely LNP 3, ALP 3; but possible LNP 3, ALP 2, GRN 1.
10.55pm. Pauline Hanson gets enough votes for public funding.
10.50pm. Libs home in Cowan.
10.47pm. Howard pretty much concedes Bennelong. And here I was buying Nick Minchin’s line about postal votes.
10.40pm. Still early Senate figures from Queensland point to a very tight race for the last seat between Labor and the Greens, with the Coalition clear on three. It is worth dwelling on the significance of the Coalition’s performance in the Senate: they will very likely win more seats than Labor, and will have a blocking majority when combined with Family First. There’s a good chance we’ll get a double dissolution during the coming term, if Labor has reason to feel bold.
10.26pm. Taking a step back, I believe we have a strong Senate result for the Coalition, who will only drop seats in South Australia and Tasmania.
10.23pm. Liberal ACT Senate vote fading a little, but not quite enough to trouble them.
10.21pm. Labor pulling further ahead in Hasluck, not going to win Stirling, probably gone in Swan, not quite dead yet in Cowan.
10.19pm. Lineball in Bowman. The Liberals might lose Mal Brough, and keep Andrew Laming. Great.
10.12pm. Big Liberal win in Swan, actually – over half counted, 0.1 per cent margin, 2.1 per cent swing.
10.12pm. ABC calls Swan for the Liberals.
10.10pm. ABC not yet calling Stirling for Liberal, but they probably should be: with over 50 per cent counted, the Liberals lead by 1.2 per cent. Slow count in Hasluck, but still lineball.
10.01pm. Another big loser from the evening: the tally room. Don’t think we’ll be seeing it again.
9.59pm. Greens Senate position in SA improving. They’re struggling to stay ahead of Labor at the second last exclusion. If they stay there they’ll get up on Labor prefs. Otherwise it will be ALP 3, LIB 2, XEN 1
9.55pm. Labor with a narrow lead in Solomon after half the vote counted.
9.54pm. Big Labor win in Flynn also: 10.7 per cent swing, 3.0 per cent margin.
9.53pm. Double-digit swings: Barker, Blair, Calwell, Dawson, Flynn, Forde, Groom, Holt, Leichhardt, Longman, Macarthur (yet not quite enough) and Petrie. Mal Brough conceding in Longman.
9.49pm. Raw AEC figures from Hasluck have Labor 1.25 per cent ahead from 31.6 per cent, ABC has it lineball from 12.6 per cent.
9.45pm. Labor behind in Swan and likely to lose Cowan, but likely to win Hasluck. Liberals looking good in Stirling.
9.43pm. Not much doubt about 3 ALP, 2 LIB, 1 GRN in Tasmania.
9.41pm. Three seats for Coalition in Victoria, two for Labor, close fight for final seat between Labor and Greens with Greens in front.
9.40pm. Not looking good for Kerry Nettle. Likely NSW Senate result 3 ALP, 3 LNP.
9.38pm. Senate result currently pointing to 2 LIB, 2 ALP and Xenophon, with a very close battle between the Liberals and Greens for the last seat.
9.33pm. Twenty-three Labor gains now from ABC, but the Liberals have probably gained Cowan and are ahead in Swan.
9.32pm. ABC computer now calls Flynn for Labor.
9.30pm. Liberals keeping their noses in front in Sturt.
9.29pm. Stirling count into the teens, Liberal ahead but it’s not over yet. Lineball in Hasluck and Swan. Liberals look likely to gain Cowan.
9.26pm. Scratch that on ACT Senate, I’m now told otherwise. Liberal member Gary Humphries to hold.
9.24pm. Close race for ACT Senate.
9.21pm. Labor ahead in Bowman now.
9.18pm. ABC calls Petrie for Labor, meaning big money for me from PortlandBet.
9.17pm. Smith not sounding at all confident about any of the four Perth marginals.
9.16pm. Not looking good for Labor in Stirling, too early to say in Hasluck. Stirling would have more new development/urban infill than Hasluck.
9.14pm. Quite well ahead, actually.
9.13pm. But Labor now ahead in Petrie.
9.12pm. ABC downgrades Dickson to ALP ahead.
9.10pm. I’m told that early indications for the Senate suggest 3 ALP, 3 LNP in NSW, so Kerry Nettle in trouble, and 3 LIB, 2 ALP, 1 GRN in Victoria.
9.09pm. WA no quicker at counting votes than Queensland. Perhaps it’s the heat.
9.06pm. Big result – ABC calls Forde for Labor. Very little of the vote counted though, as far as teh ABC website is concerned.
9.04pm. Labor probably enough ahead in Bennelong that they’re the favourite. Very tight in Petrie.
9.02pm. CLP 0.8 per cent ahead in Solomon with 15.1 per cent counted.
9.01pm. ABC calls for Dickson for Labor, too early I’d suggest: 0.2 per cent ahead, 14.5 per cent counted.
8.56pm. Very impressive Labor win in Leichhardt.
8.55pm. Very first results coming in from WA.
8.53pm. The ABC is explicitly calling 20 seats for Labor, but might be wrong about Bennelong and perhaps one other. The Coalition can still desperately hope for a scenario where everything else goes right and they can win Solomon, Cowan and Swan.
8.52pm. Labor now back ahead in back-and-forth battle for Flynn.
8.50pm. Narrow early CLP lead in Solomon. Labor out of trouble now in Lingiari.
8.50pm. Early, but looking very close in Forde.
8.46pm. ABC’s calls for Labor in Queensland: Blair, Bonner, Dawson, Leichhardt, Longman, Moreton. No significant figures from Herbert. Kerry O’Brien saying Dickson “in trouble”. Interesting early swing to CLP in Lingiari.
8.42pm. ABC calls Blair and Leichhardt for Labor and gives them back Bennelong.
8.40pm. Nationals have pulled ahead in Flynn.
8.34pm. Line-ball in Sturt, but the Liberals should get up in Boothby.
8.32pm. Labor 1.0 per cent ahead in Blair with 14.3 per cent. Still slow count in Queensland.
8.31pm. Ryan not living up to the hype on early figures.
8.30pm. Still lineball in Robertson.
8.29pm. Labor pulls slightly further ahead in Bennelong, but it will be very tight.
8.28pm. Julia Gillard calls it. ABC computer ticks over to 76 for Labor at that very moment.
8.26pm. Count finally building up in Bonner and Moreton, Labor swings of 7.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent.
8.26pm. Nationals looking good in Hinkler – not a huge surprise.
8.24pm. Big swing to Labor in Capricornia – unnecessary for them, but enforces the picture in Flynn and Dawson. Still nothing credible from Leichhardt.
8.23pm. Many crucial seats in Queensland counting agonisingly slowly.
8.19pm. ABC computer calls Bass for Labor.
8.18pm. Labor also hold narrow early lead in Flynn.
8.18pm. Very big early Labor swing in Longman.
8.14pm. Haven’t mentioned Sturt yet: lineball with a third of the vote counted.
8.13pm. ABC computer calls Wentworth for Turnbull.
8.13pm. Kingston now a Labor gain on ABC.
8.10pm. Early 4.0 per cent swing gives Labor a slight early lead in Moreton.
8.09pm. Very early 10.1 per cent swing to Labor in Leichhardt, 0.2 per cent short of the required swing.
8.07pm. Bob Hawke has called the election for Labor, just as he memorably did in 1993.
8.06pm. Big gain for Labor, according to the ABC: Dawson.
8.05pm. ABC has Macarthur as Liberal retain.
8.03pm. Bonner called for Labor, as expected.
8.02pm. Maddeningly slow count in most important Queensland seats.
8.01pm. Bennelong lead continues to narrow. Now line-ball.
8.01pm. Nick Minchin makes well-made but probably exaggerated point about postal votes in Bennelong.
7.59pm. Big early swing to Labor in Blair.
7.57pm. Finally, intelligence from Queensland. Dawson looking very interesting.
7.57pm. Only a slight early swing to Labor in Kingston, but enough for them to win if they maintain it.
7.56pm. Labor lead narrowing Bennelong.
7.55pm. Line-ball in Robertson. Labor back ahead in Bass.
7.50pm. Very slow count so far in Queensland.
7.49pm. Most of the booth vote counted in Bass, and it won’t be decided tonight.
7.45pm. Dobell down for Labor from ABC.
7.42pm. Not looking good for Labor in Boothby.
7.38pm. Sounds like the entire Poll Bludger readership is at the tally room. ABC computer still says “in doubt” in Bennelong, but surely Howard is gone.
7.40pm. Liberals back ahead in Bass.
7.38pm. Nine seats called for Labor by ABC computer so far.
7.37pm. ABC computer calls Eden-Monaro for Labor.
7.36pm. NEWS FLASH: ABC computer calls Bennelong for Labor.
7.35pm. Labor catching up but still behind in Cowper.
7.33pm. Labor now ahead in Bass.
7.32pm. Liberals doing very well in La Trobe and McMillan – areas which also went against Labor at the state election.
7.30pm. No big surprise here, but ABC computer gives Lindsay and Parramatta to Labor.
7.30pm. Couple of outer Sydney seats Liberals were getting excited about aren’t coming in: Hughes and Greenway, anyhow.
7.29pm. Deakin back to Labor gain.
7.28pm. More figures in from Bennelong and Labor lead still holding.
7.28pm. Early results in Sturt suggest it’s tight. Ditto Boothby, but they’re slightly behind.
7.27pm. Still only 6.3 per cent, Labor looking very good in Bennelong.
7.26pm. Very first figures from Queensland coming in.
7.25pm. Labor ahead in Eden-Monaro, but only just.
7.24pm. ALP computer has demoted Deakin from ALP gain to ALP ahead.
7.24pm. Labor now ahead in Robertson.
7.23pm. Have I said ABC computer calls Page for Labor?
7.22pm. Labor slowly catching up in Bass.
7.20pm. Big Labor swings being wasted in seats they already hold.
7.19pm. Early big swing in Lyne has moderated below 5 per cent.
7.18pm. Malcolm Turnbull looking good on the early Wentworth count.
7.17pm. Labor also falling just short in Robertson and Paterson. Let’s just say it will be interesting to see results from Queensland.
7.17pm. Liberals holding on in McMillan.
7.16pm. Swing in Macarthur also falling short at this stage.
7.16pm. No Labor coup in Hughes, by the look of it.
7.15pm. Nationals just slightly ahead in Cowper, but nothing in it. Lower than expected swing to Labor in Dobell.
7.14pm. ABC calls Braddon as Labor gain.
7.09pm. ABC computer calls Deakin for Labor.
7.09pm. ABC computer calls Page for Labor, Gippsland for Nationals.
7.07pm. Liberals pull further ahead in Bass. 10.5 per cent counted. Still close.
7.07pm. Labor swing perhaps picking up a little in Melbourne suburbs.
7.06pm. Corangamite a Labor gain, according to ABC computer.
7.04pm. Paterson count now in double digits, and Labor will need to do a bit better here.
7.04pm. Said McMillan then and meant McEwen. Corrected. Actually a small Liberal swing in McMillan.
7.02pm. Labor just ahead in Corangamite and McEwen, with almost significant number counted. Not looking like it will all be over before Queensland though.
7.01pm. Swing in Bennelong moderating – below 5 per cent now.
7.00pm. Still no sign of a big swing to Labor in Tasmania; they are slightly ahead in Braddon and slightly behind in Bass.
6.59pm. Double digit swing in Page holding up with 5.1 per cent counted.
6.57pm. Early 12.4 per cent swing to Labor in Macarthur.
6.57pm. Swings everywhere in New South Wales, but Tasmania looking a bit sticky.
6.56pm. Bass count starting to build up to almost interesting level of 6 per cent, and Labor swing surprisingly mild. Probably not from Launceston though.
6.55pm. Corangamite swing to Labor sticking at 6-7 per cent, 3.9 per cent counted.
6.48pm. Big early swing in Gilmore, as you all saw. I had a vague feeling about this one. But yeah, still too early to say.
6.46pm. The very early swing in Flinders caught my eye, but the next booth dampened it down. Still too few to mean anything though.
6.46pm. Tally room over-reaction to 0.2 per cent of the booth in Bennelong.
6.45pm. 15 per cent Labor swing in Page from 1.2 per cent counted.
6.45pm. Dean Jaensch observes 90 per cent of booths swings so far are to Labor.
6.44pm. All very small figures, but all seats with results from Victoria show very mild swings to Labor.
6.40pm. Also a big swing to Labor in Lyne – not enough to win, but significant to the Central Coast and North Coast generally. Throw Page and Cowper on that to-watch list.
6.37pm. Antony reckons he spots an 8 per cent swing on the Central Coast. We’ll be hearing a lot more about Dobell, Robertson and Paterson.
6.36pm. Less than 1 per cent counted in McMillan, only 1 per cent swing to Labor.
6.35pm. Overall swing to Labor of 1.2 per cent to Labor in Tasmania, but these are all small rural booths.
6.35pm. Five booths in from Braddon, only 1 per cent, but 4 per cent swing to Labor. These are the rural parts of the electorate.
6.33pm. Early 8.3 per cent swing to Labor in Robertson.
6.32pm. Antony Green says a 5.9 per cent swing to Labor in Eden-Monaro, regardless of what current figures say.
6.31pm. 6.6 per cent swing to Labor in Braddon from 488 votes.
6.20pm. First figures from rural New South Wales dribbling in. Slowly getting act together. Stay tuned.
The world has been watching
http://edition.cnn.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Well,thank you comrades,one and all!!!
And I send a special cheerio to my Queensland friends on this Forum,we came through,did we not!!!!!
I note I picked 85 seats and I think that’ll be it ,mind you I hope for more.LOL!!!!!
To all the Tories,everywhere,eat sh*t and die!!!!
Thx William and Possum for a great election,I never doubted the result.
Back to the piss.
Bascially Michael Kroger spent the night crapping on with comments like
“The postal will favor us”
“Considering the polls the ALP have not won by much”
he basically spun that over and over again, in defence of Possum Goldstein swung by 5% which matched the state swing,
I’m delighted the ALP won, while I would have liked Maxine to have waited until after John ‘Bruce’ Howard had spoken I couldn’t help but cheer for Maxine.
I do hope Bernie was award of Rudd making mention of him, that was very touching
801 – mate, we’ve al beeen watching.
thank god, or whatever it is u thank.
800 – fully agree, I don’t share any sentimentality over the rodent’s exit, he was an mean spirited, twisted little man, let’s not sugarcoat things.
Well that’s blair gone, now howard, bush will go next year, the world is looking up all round!:)
Possum
You predicted 89 yet it looks like labor will only win 88, how could yoi be so wrong, all your modelling all your data, the numbers with the funny squiggles, the calculations that made our eyes glaze over.
Yet everyday we faithfully logged on to look at the trends and the next set of calculations that looked like Einstein on acid, but all we wanted was that the beast was to be slayen and evey day your mystic runes showed it was to be.
But one out, one, where did you go wrong.
Look, this is lovely! Costello won’t be there at the next election – I doubt he’ll be there at Christmas!! Does anyone believe Greg Sheriden that Tony is the future??!!
Sorry,one more thing,having a father who died of mesothelioma,I thought the mention of Bernie Banton was something special as well.
Well done PM,a greatway to start!!!
kina,
no by-elections in Bennelong!
I was watching the ABC and rejoiced when those on the floor did to the Bennelong result.
I am so happy Howard is gone, ecstatic to say the least. But I am still concerned.
I wonder if a Rudd government will be better. I think we are waiting for Gillard.
Re bell weather seats – apart fom 04 when the philanderer got caught out, Parramatta still goes with the party which forms gvt.
well done J Owens – great local member and a dish to boot!
[ Possum
You predicted 89 yet it looks like labor will only win 88 ]
Yeah Possum. Hang your head in shame.
I know AJ, I have sinned – whip me , beat me, call me names!
No-one can answer my question at #689? Sorry if it sounds a little silly – I haven’t really taken an interest in politics until the last year or so.
The next election will over issues not yet comprehended.
But let’s enjoy the moment.
ASh 807 – its Turnbull or bust 4 the libs – a bit moderate and bucked the trend. ANyway, f*ck ’em!
So Debus won Macquarie and has never sat on the opposition benches in his whole career.
Burgey,
lose the “a” from “weather” but, hey, we won!
[Can’t see Costello taking the leadership long term. I think he’ll do a Jim Kennan (Vic State Opp Leader) and lose heart after six months or so. In fact, there may well a whole string of Lib retirements/by-elections on the offing.]
Yeah. Especially when people realise he is a smug f’head who has never had an original idea.
Good nighty all.
Thanks William, thanks Poss.
Well done all – except the coalition – losers!!!!!!
get to bed everyone its very very late and we all slayed the dragon together
this is the sweetest victory of all
Give poss a go here!
I predicted 86 with a MoE of 2.
Gee, sorry.
If Wilkie can hang on then Possum has his 89 seats also I wouldn’t rule the ALP out in McEwan, MacCarthur or La Trobe
Yes its Turnbull for me too. Of course the Tories will be totally unimaginative and select Costello for the leadership, but this will be a great error on their part.
Burgey, my sentiments exactly!!
Costello is finished. Dead Man Walking. Howard could not resist one last twist of the knife.
I was watching the ABC coverage, and Cossie was just launching into the meaty part of an actually quite good, rally the somewhat routed troops type of speech (not as good as the Bomber’s were though).
Then,they cut to Rattus heading out for his concession speech in mid Costello sentence!!!!! Surely JWH knew Cossie was in the middle of his pitch to be a valid opposition leader at the time he left der Fuhrer-Bunker to capitulate???
Is the LNP machine broken to the extent that that they would allow a defeated leader to so badly poison his designated successor’s chances??
Costello’s speech would have made a difference in nowhere but Higgins, and even there they probably ignored him to listen to the great pooh bah say bye bye on the tele.
The country, AND the LNP are so much better off without Howard.
Oh dear. Looks like the Swan River is going to be packed with suicides tomorrow morning:
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/comments/0,21590,22813731-5014058,00.html
I think Wilkie will just hold on in Swan, as a incumbent his postal vote should be higher and he always comes home strong.
Just wondering, has Tony Windsor ever sat an election anywhere, where he didnt actually get a swing to him?
At the moment he’s sitting on a primary of 62, a TPP of 74.5 and a swing to him of 3%
Now there’s a political unit!
I and all your followers expect better next time Poss.
REALITY CHECK LABOR BLOGGERS
You have been in cyberspace playing 2007 election virtual reality
the Election IN REAL TIME WILL OCCUR Sunday 25/11/07
Newspoll reports ” A NARROWING” in the polls to 52 to 48
Australia’ election guru MR Shanahan says Howard leads as best economic manager
Australia’s leading political moderate Piers Ackerman predicts a cliff hanger
Howard rumoured to appoint before the election Governor General Maxine McKew
Howard to annoint POSSUM as an official “saint”
[ #689
djamak Says:
November 25th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Hi guys! First-time poster here. Quick question: Does anyone knows when the individual polling booth results become available for public consumption? ]
I believe they’re available now. Any particular seat you’re after.
How about the GG tipping Christopher Pyne to stand for deputy? The hubris of the man!
Holy smokes CK, and I thought us Queenslanders (although you can now call us The Deliverers! 😉 ) were parochial.
How many are still in doubt? What do you guys think will happen in these seats? Anybody want to make some calls?
AJ – I shall sacrifice a goat to the gods forthwith!
Serious now Poss and William
Thanks very mcuh for the open bloggs where our talks are posted instantly and can get fast responses.
Best of luck on your Phd William and Poss I think you should think of putting out a little book like kukelda with graphs, your wity and biting comments, especially the one about the blogger talking to himself that was an absolute crackup and selected other blogger comments as a momento.
breakfast for me at this Sunday morn at the north Cot cafe, I can’t wait to hear the distressed wailing as I quietly have my marmalade on toast..
Hey, does anyone have the URL for the AEC’s postal votes? I was in the chat room a while back and asanque posted it, but by the time I’d realised that it didn’t work in Firefox, the original post had disappeared.
And Possum, I laughed out loud at the sight of the baseball bat. That was a wonderful touch to end a great contribution to this whole campaign.
A goat???
It’s whale season….
Paul at 691
What makes you think Costello will be the next leader?
He will not want the poison chalice surely and will ensure it goes elsewhere. I think he will let Malcolm pick it up and come soaring through after he next election when the Coalition have lost again.
He will think he can beat Labor at the second election.
There has not been a one term government in recent history.
Über den Krieg ist, haben wir verloren.
Nichts wird je wieder sein.
Zu den Sieger geht, wenn die Beute, sondern lassen Sie dieses Ergebnis zu bekommen Ihren Kopf werden Sie tut mir leid. Das Land ist in der Hand und Mängel irgendwelche Probleme können nicht wieder auf uns.
Noch mindestens Julie Bishop gewonnen.
All i can say is enjoy the night to the Labor supporters i know what its like to win and lose so enjoy winning while you can make the most of it.
I’ll probably pop my head up tomorrow for a chat and to see who’ll be the new Liberal leader.
Serenity Now and if i don’t see you good afternoon good evening and goodnight.
So says Glen aka bull butter aka General Wenck.
Gary
I was going to ask Poss and Wiliam the same, some of those prefernce distributions seem weird, I thought greens should be going 80/20 but it doesn’t seem so.
I am also curiuos why Tucker in the ACT seems to have been written off with only 75% of the vote counted.
Most of the electorates seem to be 75-79% counted and I think a few may still be in play.
I have a vested interest here, I tipped 92 ( as a minimum) and want the bragging rights.
Jenny – I have to thank my better half for that one. She was bored waiting for the election coverage to start so I asked her to make me a “Howardista 5000” baseball bat.
Cracked me up when I saw it
Colin,
I have no doubt that Costello will be the new Leader of the Opposition. However if he makes it to the next election in 2010 or whenever is entirely another matter.
Howard feels so sorry-for, and sure apologize-to Costello that he repeatedly mention Costello should lead the new opposition now that Howard is booted out from his very own electorate (So shamed and humiliated indeed.)
OK- I am back from the Hasluck party where the final results are between a 3% and 4% swing to ALP and an ALP win.
All other three seats were losses to Lib, but on the up side there was a MASSSIVE swing in Canning, which makes the west winnable if KRudd can impress for next time. 4 Lib seats within a few percent and only one ALP seat in that range.
Can I just say that todays referendum on the role of unions in the community and the apropriateness of wall to wall labor governments was an overwhelming YES.
If there are Libs that think the vote was about something else, I have 1km of polling booth bunting authorised by your party that agrees with me- thanks for the mandate!
Yeah Cocks in LaTrobe was on 49.8 TPP with 74% contented, one booth not counted. On the Green preferences It looked good, but Ant Green predicted that The Libs would hold it.
Vani viini vichi- or something like that!!
I got burnt, tired, drunk, blisters but it was all worth it.
841 Colin
Disagree. The next term is a good one to try to win. Whitlam lost. Hawke and Howard has narrow wins at their second go.
With no Coalition party in government anything that goes wrong will be considered to be Labor’s fault.
I do believe that Australia is trending more toward Labor in the longer term at the moment (eg kept a disliked NSW state government, but got rid of a PM with a 51% approval), but the public will still always be ruthless in their voting.