Kristin Said:

When will the results of the US election be available?

We Answered:

I don't know the time you will know...but please be assured, most of us DO care what you think of us! We have people here that don't think outside of the box. Meaning, they are selfish, and only think of themselves. I love my country very much, but I also care what our neighboring countries think of us as well...

Katherine Said:

What do you think will happen in Australia's election next year?

We Answered:

I don't know if you're aware of this but Australia uses 2 election systems for electing their federal MPs. First, the House has 150 Reps and elected in single member districts using Instant Runoff Voting electing the winner in each district. Second, the Senate has 76 Senators and elected statewide using a modified form of Single Transferable Vote and each state has 12 Senators and each territory has 2 Senators. I think the Australian Parliament is going to be split: ALP holding on to the Senate and LP/ NP Coalition holding on to the House.

Diane Said:

Does anyone care about the election results in Australia??

We Answered:

I do. I was never interested in politics but this year I made sure my new address was registered as I was very keen to vote for Kevin Rudd. I even sat and followed the poll results as they came in. I did all that because of my hope and expectations that Kevin will do all the things you have listed above. He seems to be a new breed of labour. Time only will tell if he will live up to our expectations.

Johnny Said:

when will western australia hear about the US election result?

We Answered:

About 3:00 PM on November 5th in Western Australia.

Here is how I figure it:

I think that we Americans will know who is President by about 2 AM Eastern time on Wednesday November 5. That's 7:00 GMT. Western Australia is eight hours ahead of GMT. That means you should probably know the results of the election by about 3 PM on November 5.

Claude Said:

Given the result of Australia's federal election, is it worthwhile changing my mortgage to a fixed rate?

We Answered:

The market expects interest rate will peak in 2008, may be another 25 or 50 basis points by the middle of 2008. Depending on the ALP's fiscal policy in May 2008 budget for 2009 financial year, interest rate may have greater chances to go up again by the end of 2008. Given the ALP record, interest rate may go higher due to the promised tax cuts by the ALP to low and middle income earners in their policies released during the campaign. Research indicates that low and middle income earners are eager consumers to spend most of their tax cuts because they either have to spend it for their daily lives or they don't have long term plan to save it. In summary, expect interest rates to hike even higher in 2008 and yes, it is absolutely wise to fix interest rates now for at least 1 year.