Hung Parliament: Overview : SBS Insight

Overview

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It's a hung parliament and four Independents and a Green will be critical in determining who forms government.

Two of the key players, Andrew Wilkie and Adam Bandt, are on Insight tonight.

Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Bob Katter have withdrawn from the program, saying they will be attending meetings with the Government at the time of broadcast.

The four independents and one Green state their priority is the formation of a stable government. Tonight we test that claim.

How will stable government be delivered?

Or are we looking down the barrel of a new election?

You be the judge.

That's INSIGHT Tuesday August 31 at 730pm.

Meet the Guests

Andrew Wilkie

Andrew Wilkie has claimed victory in the southern Tasmanian seat of Denison as an Independent MP. He is a former intelligence analyst who quit in 2003 after blowing the whistle on what he claimed was a lack of intelligence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. As a former member of the Greens, he unsuccessfully ran against John Howard in his seat of Bennelong and the Tasmanian Senate.

Adam Bandt

Adam is the first Greens candidate to enter the House of Representatives. Bandt won the seat of Melbourne which has been held by Labor since 1904. The industrial lawyer was once a partner at Slater and Gordon, the same law firm where Prime Minister Julia Gillard once worked. In 2007, Adam Bandt passed the Liberal candidate during preference counting, pushing into second place to come within a close margin of Lindsay Tanner, who resigned at the recent election.

Clover Moore

Clover Moore is a member of the NSW state parliament and the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney. In 1991, as a second-term MP, Clover was one of four independents who held the balance of power in NSW. As a price for their support, the Liberal government agreed to reform parliamentary process including adopting fixed four year terms.

John Hatton

John Hatton is a former member of the NSW Parliament and was an independent member for the seat of South Coast from 1973 to 1995. As a member of Parliament, he made allegations of police corruption which led to the establishment of the Wood Royal Commission. In 1991, he shared the balance of power with Clover Moore, Tony Windsor and Peter Macdonald. John says holding the balance of power was a huge burden and responsibility.

Bruce Baird

Bruce Baird has served as a member of both the Federal and NSW Parliaments. Between 1988 and 1995, Bruce was the State's Minister for Transport in the Liberal Government. In 1991, his party governed the state with four independents, including the then state member Tony Windsor holding the balance of power.