Abstract: The federal election in August 2010 was distinctive for several reasons: following bitter internal spills two relatively inexperienced leaders led the two major parties into the election; the Greens emerged as a major political force on the national stage; and the cliffhanger on election night resulted in the first hung Parliament since 1940. Following Rob Oakeshott's interminable 17 minute speech, Julia Gillard and the Labor Party were able to form government. It was also Australia's first federal election that really did play out on the internet. Indeed, in some ways the commentary on blogs and social media like Facebook and Twitter became the Fifth Estate, in that it kept a critical eye on both the politicians as well as the establishment media of the Fourth Estate.