A hung Parliament will cause division and hand an advantage to Australia’s adversaries, Tim Wilson, the federal MP for Goldstein has warned.
“Some candidates even want a hung Parliament because it will empower themselves. Australia simply can’t afford the weakness and division of a hung Parliament right now.”
The name originated in the 1984 film Red Dawn, in which an American high school group defended their town from a Soviet invasion.
One of the likely outcomes of the upcoming federal election on May 21 is a hung Parliament where no political party can achieve a majority to govern outright (a party must win 76 seats), instead, party leaders will be forced to negotiate a coalition with another minor party or independent to cross the benchmark to win government.
A hung Parliament has only occurred once in Australia since World War II. In 2010, both the Coalition and Labor landed 72 seats, four votes short of a majority government. It took another 17 days before Labor leader Julia Gillard won enough support from four crossbenchers after striking deals with them.
“A hung Parliament will sack astray of its strength and undermine decision making,” Wilson said. “Because global economic risks are real, and they’re already impacting the cost of living and interest rates. We need a government with prudent and responsible instincts because without a strong economy, we cannot provide the essential services Australians depend on.”