Karma Election Konnection

SATURDAY's Australian Federal Election sweeps aside a conservative government in what must go down as a karma election.The Liberal-National Party won the 1904 election on the back of a largely fraudulent fear campaign that interest rates would rise sharply under a Labor Government.It was fraudulent because who was in political power was way down the list of determining the level of interest rates.Half a dozen interest rate rises since the 2004 conservative victory hurt the incumbent government severely. Karma Konnection #1.IN 2004, the Coalition won control of both houses of Parliament: the House of Representatives and the Senate, considered a house of review.Even Conservative voters expressed their concerns about the control of the Senate rather than having a balance of power, through the Greens, the Democrats and independents.Prime Minister John Howard was one who relished control of both houses.He introduced draconian workplace industrial relations changes in the form of WorkChoices.He had not discussed the legislation during his election campaign and he would never been able to introduce the legislation in a hung senate.Most Australians hated the new legislation which took away income and conditions from workers to give bosses more profits and control over their employees.Howard, a political opportunist its of the highest calibre, has made similar misjudgements in the past and been able to recant near an election.But because this massive piece of legislation had passed through both houses and was implemented in all its complicated glory, it could not be unravelled.The fortune of Coalition control of the Senate became the misfortune of an electoral nightmare as Australians took their revenge against WorkChoices. Karma Konnection #2.Cunning was one of the hallmarks of a the Coalition government and one its strategies was to make members from previously marginal seats Ministers.Examples of these in the State of Queensland were Family and Community Services Minister Mal Brough, Queenslander Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton, while Theresa Gambaro was a parliamentary secretary.Brough and Gambaro are gone and Dutton will probably go too.In New South Wales Special Minister for State Gary Nairn and Roads Minister Jim Lloydlost their seats.These people were appointed mainly for short term electoral gain of retaining semi-marginal seats.The loss of their seats will hinder the long-term operation of the Coalition in opposition when it has to retrain people for its front bench. Karma Konnection #3.Look out the window: something might be blowing in the wind.