Word: latham
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...record 750,000 postal and absentee votes still to be fully counted - it appeared the Coalition would have 84 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, to Labor's 56, and possible control of the Senate. The collapse was rapid. At 7:45 p.m. - even before Mark Latham's election-night function in outer-western Sydney had warmed up - Labor shadow immigration minister Stephen Smith was admitting the outlook was "Grim, with a capital G, Trouble, with a capital T." Confident right up to the close of polls, morose Labor supporters watched a fourth election slip away. Just...
...Medicare to lift the proportion of doctor's visits paid for by the public health-insurance scheme, and the government promising to lower the cost of consultations through $A1.8 billion in extra funding. Labor followed up with its long-awaited tax and family policy, which promised - in line with Latham's overused slogan "ease the squeeze" - tax cuts to those on less than $A52,000 a year, rejigged family payments and an increase in the top tax-rate threshold. Two days later, as the detail of the complicated plan was still being absorbed, an explosion outside the Australian embassy...
...Although the attack saw each rival insisting that the other's plan for national security was ill-judged - Latham argued the focus should be on the local region, while Howard urged Australians not to "cut and run" by choosing Labor's plan to withdraw Australia's relatively small military contingent from Iraq - attention soon drifted back to interest rates. And when the forecast budget surplus for 2004-05 doubled to $A5.3 billion, both parties suddenly had the money for extravagant promises...
...Sept. 12, Howard and his contender faced each other in the campaign's televised debate. Until then, Mark Latham had struggled to gain momentum in his first tilt at the top office, but on Sept. 12 the fan of community forums found his rhythm, besting Howard with his confident, relaxed demeanor and clearly reveling in the chance to joust with the seasoned campaigner. From the debate, which most commentators awarded to him, Latham and his campaign seemed to draw new vigor, and by the time he announced Labor's key education policy later that week, the Opposition leader was shaking...
...Latham's been unfairly caned for wielding what is really a tiny axe, the more salubrious private schools are feeling misunderstood, too. Lost in the buzz about high fees is the fact that every school on Latham's list is a not-for-profit institution. In Australia, no one gets rich owning or running private schools. "Governments fund students, not schools," says I.S.C.A.'s Daniels. Education consultant Gregory Heath says that Latham's platform is "just part of the mix ... it won't swing the election." By reviving an issue that inflames passions like few others, however, Latham has made...