Today, with a federal election likely to be called any time now, and the NSW Labor Government due to face the people in just over a year, two states have swung to the right, and a third is balanced on a knife-edge.

Western Australia went Liberal in 2008, and Tasmania and South Australia went to the polls this weekend.

As we went to press, it was believed that Labor would get across the line in South Australia.

Premier Mike Rann was holding off on claiming victory, however, and there was speculation that with a solid swing against the Government, his leadership was under threat.

Mr Rann had not done his party any favours with his involvement in a parliamentary sex scandal – the news of which broke last year.

Labor also suffered a major swing against it in Tasmania.

There, however, the Greens were the major beneficiaries and are expected to hold the balance of power.

With the Liberals outpolling Labor overall, it is considered likely that in the event of a hung Parliament, the Liberals will form a minority government.

How that is going to work if the Greens do hold the balance of power remains to be seen. We suspect there could be interesting times ahead.

With the Labor vote already tanking in opinion polls in NSW – even though Kristina Keneally is a popular premier – it is expected there will be a change of government here in March 2011.

The tide, it seems, is on the turn.

It is against this backdrop that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is going to have to deal with ferocious fallout from the real cost of his carbon tax.

It was revealed last week that power charges in this region are expected to go up by 64 per cent over the next three years if the tax is introduced.

The reaction of the electorate will be interesting to watch.