With the current turmoil in our Federal Parliament, this is a real possibiilty.

Labor has only to lose 2 seats and the Governor General may choose to dissolve the parliament

and call an election. This is a knife edge situation. Parliament could well be untenable with the

hostility the current speaker will face. Labor will now try to protect 2 members facing serious charges.

Will the Labor Govt. run it’s full term? This must now be in doubt.

A motion of no confidence (alternatively vote of no confidence, censure motion, no-confidence motion, or (unsuccessful) confidence motion) is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.

Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no confidence in an existing government, the head of state must respond in one of two ways:

• ask another individual, whom he or she believes will command the confidence of parliament, to try to form a government
• dissolve the elected parliament and call a general election to elect a new parliament

In determining whether another individual can command the confidence of parliament, the head of state examines whether that individual has the backing of a parliamentary party, a coalition of parties and MPs, or an agreement of support with enough parliamentary seats to withstand any confidence challenges. If this cannot be done, parliament is dissolved and a general election is called.

In some cases, the sitting government will request that the head of state dissolve the elected parliament and call a new election without seeking the forming of another Government, such that it would remain in power during the election period. The head of state may agree to do this, depending on factors such as time until a mandated election, reasonable expectation of the forming of another government or in very rare circumstances, on royal prerogative alone. However, where the head of state believes the government no longer has the confidence of the responsible house (i.e., the directly elected lower chamber which can select and dismiss it; in some states both houses of parliament are responsible), a head of state may refuse a request for a parliamentary dissolution, so forcing an immediate resignation.

This procedure is either formalized through constitutional convention, as is the case in Westminster style parliaments such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia,^{[citation needed]} or explicitly stated in a written constitution, as is the case with Germany ^[1] and Spain.^{[citation needed]}

Sometimes, the government will choose to declare that one of its bills is a motions of confidence. This may be used to prevent dissident members of parliament from voting against it. Sometimes (depending on the country) a government may lose a vote because the opposition ends debate prematurely when too many government members are away.

In the Westminster system, the defeat of a supply bill (one that concerns the spending of money) automatically requires (by convention) the resignation of the government or dissolution of Parliament, much like a non-confidence vote, since a government that cannot spend money is hamstrung. This is called loss of supply.

Where the upper house of a Westminster system country has the right to refuse supply, such as in Australia during the events of 1975, the convention becomes a grey area as Westminster governments are not normally expected to maintain the confidence of the upper house.

News 9 new results for volcanoes

Mexicans on alert as volcano rumbles to life Houston Chronicle By Dudley Althaus A plume of ash and steam rises from Popocatepetl, the volcano that awakened eight days ago, spewing ash and steam and causing President Felipe Calderon to order precautionary measures. / AP A plume of ash and steam rises from … See all stories on this topic »

Mexicans frightened as volcano rumbles to life Ya Libnan PASO DE CORTES, Mexico — From the oak and pine forest below Popocatepetl’s seething caldron, the volcano’s buzzing growl sounds much like the choppy beating of blades. “To me it is like a helicopter just starting up,” said Juan Ochoa, … See all stories on this topic » Ya Libnan

Explosions Continue at Popocat?petl as Mexico Prepares for an Eruption Wired News A report from the BBC says that volcanic bombs are being thrown over a kilometer from the vent and “60 opening” have appeared on the volcano. I actually have no idea what that means – are there cracks at the summit or just lots of fumarolic activity … See all stories on this topic »

Popocatepetl Volcano Rumbles in Mexico Prensa Latina 20 de abril de 2012, 15:39Mexico, Apr 20 (Prensa Latina) Mexican volcano Popocatepetl is still active and in the first hours of Friday it shot ashes and smoke with at least 12 medium intensity exhalations, as reported by the National Disaster … See all stories on this topic »

VOLCANO WATCH: Popocatepetl vs. Tungurahua Hispanically Speaking News Though given the adorable-sounding nickname “El Popo” the Volcán Popocatépetl (Smoking Mountain) in Mexico is one seriously threatening volcano. Still, it is not the only volcano causing worry. In Ecuador, the Tungurahua volcano, known as the “Throat … See all stories on this topic » Hispanically Speaking News

Ash cloud from short Cleveland Volcano eruption dissipates Anchorage Daily News The Alaska Volcano Observatory said a brief eruption at Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands on Thursday sent up an ash cloud that quickly dissipated. Geophysicist Dave Schneider said the cloud rose as high as 15000 feet and dissipated in about … See all stories on this topic »

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• Cassini finds Titan lake is like a Namibia mudflat
• NASA image gallery highlights Earth’s changing face
• Accelerating climate change exerts strong pressure on Europe’s mountain flora

Cassini finds Titan lake is like a Namibia mudflat Posted: 20 Apr 2012 06:40 AM PDT A new study analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft suggests that the lake, known as Ontario Lacus, behaves most similarly to what we call a salt pan on Earth.

NASA image gallery highlights Earth’s changing face Posted: 20 Apr 2012 06:20 AM PDT In celebration of this year’s Earth Day on April 22, NASA’s Global Climate Change website has unveiled a new version of its popular image gallery, “State of Flux.” The gallery presents stunning images, mostly from space, of our ever-changing planet, chronicling changes taking place over time periods ranging from days to centuries.

Accelerating climate change exerts strong pressure on Europe’s mountain flora Posted: 19 Apr 2012 11:31 AM PDT Mountain plants across the continent are moving to higher altitudes. The new article is based on detailed surveys of 66 mountain summits in Europe. Scientists mapped all plant species at each European site in 2001 and 2008.

• Marine scientists urge government to reassess oil spill response
• Can sound science guide dispersant use during subsea oil spills?
• The submarine volcano of El Hierro Island continues its degassing

Marine scientists urge government to reassess oil spill response Posted: 20 Apr 2012 09:39 AM PDT On the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, a national panel of researchers is urging the US federal government to reassess how it would respond to similar oil spills that might occur in the future.

Can sound science guide dispersant use during subsea oil spills? Posted: 17 Apr 2012 08:34 AM PDT On the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, a pair of researchers are testing whether sound waves can be used to determine the size of oil droplets in the subsea—knowledge that could help guide the use of chemical dispersants during the cleanup of future spills.

The submarine volcano of El Hierro Island continues its degassing Posted: 17 Apr 2012 05:03 AM PDT Researchers have found that the submarine volcano of El Hierro (Canary Islands) continues expelling gases, which are primarily carbon dioxide. No sulfur compounds were detected.