It’s election day in Australia and it’s going to be a momentous day for John Howard either way, but especially if he wins for a fifth term after trailing Labor’s Kevin Rudd all year. Howard has looked indomitable in the past few days in contrast with his harried and defensive appearances earlier in the past week. Fran O’Sullivan in the Weekend Herald pays tribute to Howard and sets outs why New Zealand has cause to celebrate his leadership even if it it is “Howard’s end”. It is a replica of the surprise Galaxy one yesterday narrowing Labor’s lead over the Coalition to just 4 points - 52 per cent to Labor and 48 per cent to the Coalition. And it is possible that Labor could again win more of the total vote nationwide but not win most of the seats, as occasionally happened in New Zealand before MMP. It’s a wonder that there has not been a greater movement in Australia for a proportional system like MMP, for which my respect has grown enormously in the past week. read more

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