I'm with you Bec. Like Howard, Milburn misread silence as acceptance. It was controlled anger. One of the worst legacies of the Howard years and his 'police state' was the ruthless suppression of dissent.

Rain, Sydney, Australia

Please don't publish 'put-downs' such as writing that Maxine McKew (the probable winner of John Howard's seat of Bennelong) was a "former television newsreader who worked as a BBC secretary". A newsreader?! Ms McKew was, and is, much much more than the 'bimbo' image you seek to project.
Even the most biased Australians would surely not deny - in the basic Australian tradition of a 'fair go' - that Maxine McKew, until she resigned to contest the election, was a respected, extremely able, articulate, vastly experienced and formidable professional television journalist (30 years as a journalist - she's 54 years old) and a probing interviewer on the small screen of people from both sides of politics. Not to mention that Ms McKew - as she probed - was invariably courteous, polite, pleasant, knowledgeable and entirely without any discernible bias. Until she went into politics, I would not have been able to hazard a guess at her political, religious or other views.

JudyS, Adelaide, Australia

Let's just hope that Rudd keeps his word and really does prove himself an economic conservative... I still find it very difficult to see that particular phrase and "Labor" in the same book, let alone on the same page.

Kelli Brough, Perth, Australia

I agree Bec

The reality is that we are a nation not just an economy. And the nation consists of hard working men and women who do not like to see our hard earned working conditions taken away by mean spirited politicians. We don't like to see our young men and women sent off to fight in an unjust war with no end. And we don't like watching our leaders ignore the world experts who say climate change is a real problem.

As for age...I didn't give it a thought.

John Bullen, Victoria, Australia

hear hear Bec

benja, sydney,

The Aussies just got sick of the lies, the meaningless spin, the refusal to accept responsibility and the P.M. always blaming others. They ripped billions out of Public Hospitals and Public Education but blamed the states for the demise of these institutions. It wasn't that the voters wanted Labor it was the Liberals were so out of touch with the voters they drove them to Labor.

Ian Davis
Wanneroo
Western Australia

Ian DAVIS, Wanneroo, Western Australia, Australia

I agree. Milburn must've neglected to ask the opinions of many Australians who were appalled, angered and saddened by some of Howard's during his tenure.

Howard's skill in detecting soft targets and using wedge politics generated much anger in Australian society. In particular, his failure to condemn the racism of Pauline Hanson introduced a level of moral ambiguity that accompanied Howard's government until the end. Just five days before the election, persons associated with the Liberal party were caught distributing fake pamphlets associating Labor with a non-existent muslim extremist group.

John, Sydney, Australia

Milburn didn't detect anger at Howard? Milburn isn't very perceptive, then. The major factor in many people's decision to oust the Liberals was their exploitive and unfair industrial relations reforms. The ages of the two leaders didn't come into the decision at all for most voters. Statements like these are offensive in that they trivialise and denigrate the intellect and motivations of voters in Australia. Climate change, Afghanistan, Iraq and Workchoices were far more prominent in the public consciousness than the age of the candidates.

Bec, Adelaide,