Lessons from Australia - Telegraph The general election victory of Tony Abbott's Liberal-National coalition has two important lessons for British Conservatives: keep your party united, and hammer home a clear message. During its six years in power, Labour steered the Australian economy through the global financial crisis. But its handsome win in 2007 was frittered away through in-fighting, with Julia Gillard deposing Kevin Rudd in 2010, only to fail to win a majority in that year's election. This year, he in turn ousted her, halfway through a protracted election campaign. Tanya Plibersek, a former Labour health minister, summed up events nicely: "I would give us nine out of 10 for governing the country. I would give us zero out of 10 for governing ourselves. As the Tories found under John Major, voters do not favour parties incapable of keeping their house in order. Mr Abbott ran a dogged and disciplined campaign centred on a few straightforward themes. Put an end to uncertainty about the future caused by a ruling party lacking an overall majority. Take a tougher line with asylum seekers, a road down which Labour also travelled during the campaign. Cut foreign aid. And repeal the carbon tax introduced last year. Australia's prime minister-designate was consistent in what he was offering the electorate, and it responded by handing Labour its biggest defeat for nearly 80 years. The new government is faced with slower economic growth, the need to balance the competing claims of China and America, the challenge of enforcing its tougher asylum policy and the difficulty of financing an extraordinarily generous maternity-leave scheme. Yet in tackling these issues, it will have the cushion of a resounding parliamentary majority. For that Mr Abbott, who has sometimes been the butt of ridicule, is to be heartily congratulated.