Winners are grinners
JULIA Gillard became Australia's first elected female Prime Minister, after two independents confirmed they would support a Labor-led Government.
JULIA Gillard became Australia’s first elected female Prime Minister, after two independents confirmed they would support a Labor-led Government.
Rob Oakeshott, MP for Lyne, and Tony Windsor, MP for New England, announced they would support Gillard’s Government on financial issues and would vote down motions of no confidence against Labor.
The pair followed Greens MP Adam Bandt and Dennison MP Andrew Wilkie, who earlier said they would stand with the ALP. Kennedy MP Bob Katter announced on Tuesday lunchtime he would support the Coalition.
This gives the ALP the 76 seats it needs to form a minority government.
“This won’t be a weak parliament, this will be a strong parliament,” Oakeshott said, asking voters to stop thinking about politics in terms of parties. “The cultural shift we’ve got to make in this Government is that political parties no longer have dominance.”
Gillard will now lead Labor to a second term of Government. She will again have two Jewish MPs sitting on her side of the chamber — Melbourne Ports MP Michael Danby and Isaacs MP Mark Dreyfus.
Josh Frydenberg will sit on the opposition benches during his first term in Canberra.
“Certainly, I’ve learned some lessons and the Government’s learned some lessons,” Gillard said, referring to the ALP’s trouncing at the polls 17 days ago.
“Labor is prepared. Labor is prepared to deliver stable and effective government for the next three years,” she said. “In remarkable times, there is opportunity.”
She added that a cabinet would hopefully be named by early next week, and could include Oakeshott.
NAOMI LEVIN
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