The final session of Federal Parliament had a familiar ring to it. The Opposition was putting Julia Gillard under enormous pressure by calling for her resignation over the AWU slush fund affair while the Government was attempting business as usual. Whatever happens now there will be no election until March 2013 at the earliest.
This means the Gillard Labor Government has gone almost full term despite relentless pressure from the Opposition and a hung parliament. Even a mid-March election would mean the Government has run for more than two and a half of its three years, about par for the course for Australian governments.
Gillard herself has survived since the last election on 21 August 2010 despite constant pressure from her predecessor Kevin Rudd, one unsuccessful challenge and regular speculation about his intentions.
Her minority government has survived against the odds. There have been no by-elections to change the parliamentary numbers, and no one has deserted the Labor Government on the floor of the House to facilitate a change of government.
We've had two and a half years of speculation about the fate of Craig Thomson over his alleged misuse of Heath Services Union funds. He now sits on the cross-bench rather than with Labor.
We've had two and a half years of extreme personal pressure on the rural Independents, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott. This pressure has been exacerbated by public opinion polls, specially commissioned by media outlets, predicting their certain downfall at the next election. All this has been waged against two individuals who, with no political party to support them, must rely on a small circle of friends and colleagues.
We've had 12 months of concentration on the Coalition deserter, Peter Slipper, who was offered the speakership and then, after a few effective months in the office, was forced to resign following sexual abuse allegations.
We've had Independent Andrew Wilkie's rupture with Labor over the Government's failure to proceed with his plans for poker machine regulation. His personal relationship with Gillard has broken down but he has not forced the Government out.
These controversies have made for a remarkably turbulent period in Australian politics but the minority government arrangements have survived.
Academics have been quite cautious about the likely