This is driving me nuts. TA is still waltzing around telling everyone his budget is going to be passed. Really? Does he really think that of he acts like its business as usual that the cross benchers will roll over? Apparently a couple o weeks back he was doing a bit of double dissolution talk (? thinking it will put the wind up the independents, who presumably stand less of a chance of being reelected, but I'm not sure how strongly they really want to be there - I can't imagine Mr Motor Enthusiast has got a high level of life enjoyment right now...). But that talk has stopped now. The budget is so overwhelmingly, behemothly bad on every front, does he really think a pinch and a tuck here and there & a few sweet deals will get it through? Will it get through? Those deals would have to be pretty awesome to offset the amount everyone will be hating on you for voting with the government!! Think: GST - Australian democrats - that was pretty much the beginning of the end, right there.