Tuesday 21 June 2016

Turnbull abandons the Nationals to save his own skin?


With three weeks to go until the federal election, the two major parties are locking in preference deals to boost their chances in crucial regional and inner-city seats.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced the Liberal Party will preference the Greens last, or behind Labor, in every Lower House seat and in return, Labor has confirmed it will direct its preferences to the Liberal Party over the Nationals in the seats of Murray, O'Connor and Durack.

The deal will help the Liberal candidates fend off an attack from the Nationals in those three seats while also giving a boost to Labor's chances in the seats of Batman, Grayndler and Sydney.

"This is a decision I've made in the national interest," Mr Turnbull said.

Nationals candidates Damien Drum (Murray VIC), Lisa Cole (Durack WA) and John Hassell (O’Connor WA) must be really impressed with Malcolm’s interpretation of “the national interest”.

Anyone else would think his decision to abandon the Nats and try to scupper the Greens was all about the Liberal’s fear of; (a) losing the majority they held in the House of Representatives after September 2013 and (b) finding the Greens with a larger presence in either the lower house or the Senate after 2 July 2016.

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