Prime minister elect Tony Abbott at the commonwealth offices in the Sydney CBD late yesterday. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: TheAustralian
TONY Abbott's flagship policies face a difficult passage despite his decisive victory in the federal election, with Labor and Greens rejecting his claim to a mandate and a fractured Senate preparing to challenge his reforms.
With up to seven minor party candidates on track to seize seats in the Senate - some having secured as few as 1900 votes, or 0.02 per cent of the national count - the Coalition faces a new challenge to implement promises including the repeal of the carbon tax and the introduction of a paid parental leave scheme.
Although many of the new senators appear more inclined to support the Coalition's plans than the current Labor-Greens bloc, Mr Abbott will be forced to negotiate his legislative agenda with a range of little-understood parties that will change the make-up of the Senate next year.
As Mr Abbott flagged that repealing the carbon tax and proceeding with changes to border protection policies were at the top of his agenda, Labor and the Greens, which will hold the balance of power in the Senate until July, rejected Coalition claims of a mandate from voters.
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Labor deputy leader Anthony Albanese and fellow future leadership contender Bill Shorten toughened their stand against a repeal of the scheme; Greens leader Christine Milne also rejected the change, making it clear the Coalition could not get its way in the Senate.
The stance forces Mr Abbott to seek support from a new group of up to eight cross-bench senators who will take their seats in July, including wild-card parties that could gain influence over legislation despite winning only a fraction of the popular vote.
While minor parties have held the Senate's balance of power in past, the election appears set to put more independents on the cros*****enches than ever before, adding new uncertainty to every part of the Coalition's agenda.
At stake is not only the carbon tax but also Mr Abbott's vow to scrap the mining tax and save billions of dollars by amending superannuation laws that Labor and the Greens want to keep in place. In another danger to the Coalition agenda, parties including the Liberal Democrats and Family First reject Mr Abbott's signature PPL scheme and want it heavily amended or dropped.
The outcome sparked new calls for changes to voting rules as "micro" candidates, such as Wayne Dropulich, a former gridiron player and candidate for the Australian Sports Party, could win power in the Senate despite gaining as few as 1908 primary votes in the counting so far. While the election outcome is yet to be finalised, the Coalition could emerge with 33 seats in the upper house compared with 25 for Labor and up to 10 for the Greens in a chamber of 76.
Clive Palmer, set to win the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax, has candidates on track to gain two Senate seats while there could be one each from the Liberal Democrats, Family First, the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party and the Australian Sports Party. They would join South Australian independent Nick Xenophon, who won convincingly, and John Madigan from the Democratic Labor Party, who continues his six-year term from the last election.
Senator Xenophon, who supports action on climate change, backed the right of cros*****ench members to veto Mr Abbott's plans despite his claims to a mandate. "People vote differently in the Senate for a reason - to have checks and balances on the government," he told The Australian. The Coalition could gain the repeal of the carbon tax after next July if it holds 33 seats and gains the support of two from the PUP and one each from the Liberal Democrats, Family First, DLP, the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party and the Australian Sports Party.
Some within the new government said it would be better to deal with independents than with Labor and the Greens. "It gives us a chance to negotiate one-on-one rather than have blanket 'no' to key parts of our agenda," said one Liberal.
The Liberal Democrats candidate for the Senate in NSW, David Leyonhjelm, who appears likely to win a seat, said yesterday that he could support the removal of the carbon tax but not the Coalition's alternative plan to pay to cut greenhouse emissions.
"We are a libertarian party and that means we support small government, low taxes and less government intrusion," Mr Leyonhjelm told The Australian.
