Australian PM contenders promise no early polls
The contenders to become Australia's next prime minister each promised yesterday to govern for a full term if three key independent lawmakers support their competing parties to form an administration after indecisive elections.
The independents are likely to decide whether Julia Gillard's Labor Party or opposition leader Tony Abbott's Liberal Party-led coalition forms a government after elections failed to give any party a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives for the first time in 70 years.
Independents Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Bob Katter opened negotiations with the two leaders on Wednesday and presented each with wish lists including a demand for a pledge to govern for the full three years. A prime minister might be tempted to call early elections as soon as opinion polls showed a chance of winning a majority.
Julia qualified her pledge, saying that a by-election due to a government lawmaker becoming sick could be enough to bring down a minority administration.
"If I was the incoming prime minister, out of this process, to the extent that I could control it, my guarantee to go full term is unequivocal," Julia told reporters.
Conservative opposition leader Abbott said he told the independents "there would be no election prior to August 2013, should I become prime minister."
The independents say their top demand is for details of how much the competing election promises would cost the nation in areas including telecommunications, health and education.
Julia said she was inclined to release what costings were available, and was seeking advice from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. But as caretaker prime minister, she would also need Abbott's authority to release such budget information. Abbott said he wanted to see Julia's advice before agreeing.
Abbott has not agreed to the independents' request that he submit his election promises to the Treasury Department to be officially costed. But he said the independents were welcome to see calculations by a private accounting firm commissioned by his party.
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