AUSTRALIA 21 Aug 2010 Federal election date set

The federal election for the bicameral parliament sees new Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the head of the Labour Party's bid to stay in power. There has been a massive surge in people wanting to have a say in the 2010 election, with tens of thousands of people added to the electoral roll since registration opened. The economy is expected to be the pivotal issue for voters.

The rush to join the roll ahead of the deadline was so fierce that it crashed the  Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website for an hour.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd is credited with keeping Australia out of the global recession and for low unemployment, but when several polls showed Labour falling behind the opposition Coalition in several states, his job security was threatened. Gillard swept to power in June  when Rudd, whose popularity had crumbled from record highs, stood aside from a parliamentary Labour party vote to avoid a humiliating defeat.

The jobless rate continues to tumble -- to 5.3 per cent in March from 5.8 per cent in October, and economists say it could slide below 5 per cent before the end of 2010. Surveys show health is a top voter concern as rising costs are outstripping government support.

Australia has compulsory voting, and a de facto two-party system between the Australian Labour Party and the Coalition; comprised of the Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia and Country Liberal Party. The system uses full-preference instant-runoff voting in the lower house and single transferable vote group voting tickets in the upper house. Following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general.

The bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than five representatives) UPDATED Jul 2010

RELATED READING:

Rush of enrolments amid election fever (SMH 20 Jul 2010)
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/rush-of-enrolments-amid-election-fever-20100719-10ho1.html

Labour in trouble in Victoria and NSW (ABC 27 Apr 2010)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/27/2883206.htm

Australian Electoral Commission
http://www.aec.gov.au/index.htm

Australia Faces ‘Inflationary’ Jobless Rate Earlier (Bloomberg 8 Apr 2010)
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-08/australia-faces-inflationary-jobless-rate-five-years-early.html

Kevin Rudd delays Emissions Trading Scheme, costing us millions (HeraldSun 28 Apr 2010)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/kevin-rudd-delays-emissions-trading-scheme-costing-us-millions/story-e6frf7jo-1225859070747

Australian PM wins health deal aimed at re-election (Reuters/WP 20 Apr 2010)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042001510.html

Ringmaster Kevin is perfecting the magic art of how to vanish (HeraldSun 27 Apr 2010)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/ringmaster-kevin-is-perfecting/story-e6frfhqf-1225858527393

'No election-year handouts' in budget (AAP 17 Apr 2010)
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/no-electionyear-handouts-in-budget-20100417-skx9.html

Freezing claims 'unlikely to stop asylum seekers' (ABC 27 Apr 2010)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/26/2883012.htm?section=justin

Abbott unveils asylum seekers billboard (AAP/SMH 21 Apr 2010)
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/abbott-unveils-asylum-seeker-billboard-20100421-swmp.html