Libs stay on

[johnnie]

[Jaaks]

Howard claims victory

09oct04

PRIME Minister John Howard tonight claimed victory in the federal election.

"My fellow Australians, can I say first of all that I am truly humbled by this extraordinary expression of confidence in the leadership of this great nation by the coalition," he said.
"In accepting their charge to lead the nation I rededicate myself and all of my colleagues to the service of the Australian people."

Mr Howard greeted wellwishers as he made the long walk to the podium at Sydney's Wentworth Hotel.

With his wife Janette and his children by his side, Mr Howard had to ask the crowd to stop their cheering as he stepped up to claim victory.

He said the nation now stood on the threshold of a new era of great achievement.

"This nation, by reason of the circumstances of history and by reason of its great capacity and the great capacity and dedication of the Australian people, this nation stands on the threshold of a new era of great achievement," he said.

Mr Howard thanked Opposition Leader Mark Latham, whom he said had called him before his speech to concede defeat.

"I do warmly thank him for the gracious things that he said," Mr Howard said.

"Our's is a great democracy, there can only be one winner when an election is held.

"You face that great moment of electoral judgment and electoral truth.

"We are happy, we are joyful that the verdict has been given by the Australian people but never forget the fact that governments are elected to govern not only for the people who voted for them, but also for the people who voted against them."

Mr Howard said the victory was a truly historic achievement for the two coalition parties.

"We have to look back for the 1960s to find an occasion when an incumbent government has increased its majority on two successive occasions," he said.

"That is an extraordinary achievement and when I look around the nation there is a wonderful story to be told of achievement in each of the different states of our nation."

Mr Howard thanked all his colleagues for their loyalty.

"I express my thanks for their loyalty, their co-operation, and their support, particularly during the weeks of this election campaign."


 
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[riaapa]

Howard claims victory

Prime Minister John Howard has thanked the Australian people for his historic fourth federal election victory.

Federal Labor leader Mark Latham conceded defeat after the Howard Government won an increased majority in the federal Parliament.

Mr Howard was greeted with a tumultuous reception when he arrived to address the party faithful at the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney.

He was joined on stage by wife Janette and his children.

"My fellow Australians, can I say first of all I am truly humbled by this extraordinary expression of confidence in the leadership of this great nation by the Coalition," he said.

"The first thing I say to the Australian people in accepting their charge to lead the nation in the years ahead is to re-dedicate myself and all of my colleagues to the service of the Australian people.

"This nation stands on the threshold of great achievements."

He thanked Labor leader Mark Latham for his gracious comments in conceding defeat.

He also paid tribute to deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader John Anderson and Treasurer Peter Costello for his management of the economy.

"One of the reasons we have won is that we have been a united team," he said.

New era

Mr Howard says Australia "stands on the threshold of a new era of great achievement".

"This is a proud nation, a confident nation, a cohesive nation, a united nation, a nation that can achieve anything if it sets its mind to it," he said.

He described Australia as a beacon of hope and tolerance all around the world.

"The rest of the world sees us as a strong, successful nation and tonight the Australian people, by their decision, have declared themselves confident about their future," he said.

"We have a strong economy, we are a nation that is respected around the world because we are prepared to stand up for what we believe in," he said.

"Never forget the fact that governments are elected to govern for the people who voted for them, but also for the people who voted against them," he said.

He says the election result is historic, being the first time since the 1960s that an incumbent government has increased its majority at two consecutive elections.

Latham concedes

Addressing the party faithful in Sydney, Mr Latham congratulated John Howard on his election victory.

"We honour and respect the decision of the Australian people," Mr Latham said.

"We wanted to run a positive campaign."

Mr Latham says his party ran on principle and on beliefs.

He harked back to his working class roots saying he had "always remained true to a place called Green Valley".

He thanked all the Labor candidates and party workers, parliamentary colleagues, national campaign team, staff, family and the Australian people.

"They've done the cause of Labor proud in advancing our policies," he said.

"We made a decision to run a positive campaign. We wanted to put forward hope and opportunity for the Australian people and we'll continue to advance our beliefs and our policies in the Parliament in the coming three years.

"We put forward clear choices to the Australian people. Choices about the future of Medicare, about fair funding for our schools, about opportunity in our TAFE and university systems and in saving the Australian environment and playing a role in the international arena," he said.

He also thanked former prime minister and mentor Gough Whitlam.

"Gough has been a great friend of my family and is loved by Labor supporters all around the country," Mr Latham said.

"We'll continue to advance our policies and our beliefs in the coming Parliament," he said.

"We ran on principle.

"Tonight is not our night, it's not the night we were hoping for. We'll make sure the Government is held to account. Thank you very much and I'll see you again," he said.

(source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1216569.htm )

[riaapa]

Last Update: Saturday, October 9, 2004. 9:12pm (AEST)

Greens smiling, despite Coalition win

The Greens have been among the winners at the federal poll, even though they appear to have lost their only Lower House seat.

The vote for the minor party has risen in every state across Australia, with the party on the brink of securing 1,000,000 votes.

Greens leader Senator Bob Brown paid tribute to the efforts of his party workers in connecting with the Australian people.

"The Greens are a values party. We're new of course and Australians have taken a liking to us despite an extraordinary vilification campaign including from the Prime Minister," he said.

"Australians knew better than that and they've voted Green tonight."

Senator Brown says Christine Milne will win a Senate seat for his party, joining her party leader as a senator for Tasmania.

But the news is not so good for the party's Michael Organ, who holds the New South Wales seat of Cunningham which he won in a by-election in 2002.

Mr Organ led the seat early, but it looks like being a rare gain for Labor.

Senator Brown says the Liberal Party's forestry policy in Tasmania, strongly opposed by his party which instead endorsed Labor's plans, did not help return the Coalition to power.

"The polling in Tasmania was showing, before both [Tasmanian forest industry] packages came out, that the Liberals would pick up three seats.

"They've only got two seats, the vote has not improved on that, in fact it's gone backwards, and there has been a strengthening of the vote for the Greens," he said.

Senator Brown says the Greens will be sad to see John Howard returned as Prime Minister.

"That's not the Australia that we Greens are working to see," he said.

"It'll be commiserations to Labor in that case and I think commiserations to the country."

(source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1216665.htm )