Coalesce is more

7 September 2010 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

The Australian PM hung on to power by her fingernails, making her tax on miners’ profits more likely. How hard and widely it hits hinges on yet more horsetrading. But Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton can probably forget hopes of returning to the superprofitable status quo.

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Julia Gillard, leader of the Australian Labor Party, secured her hold on power 17 days after a general election that ended in stalemate between the two main parties. Gillard's government would have three years left to govern.

Gillard earlier gained the support of a Green Party member of parliament, and a Tasmanian independent, but needed the backing of two out of the remaining three crossbenchers. Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott eventually agreed to back the ALP.

Gillard took over the leadership of the ALP in June after ousting Kevin Rudd, who had proposed a tax on miners' "super profits" that would become effective in 2012. Gillard has retained the tax, but modified it to reduce the effective rate.

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